Hello qpet!
Thanks for the opportunity to answer another of your intriguing
questions. I hope the following is what you're looking for. As
always, please don't hesitate to ask for any clarification before
rating the answer.
______
The topic of human emotion is an extremely broad, complex, and
multi-dimensional subject -- one of the few that most brazenly treads
the realms of both natural science and supernatural belief, of
objective and subjective thought. More specifically, the question of
what constitutes emotional well-being is as much metaphysical as it is
scientific. A duality of approach is necessary in assessing the range
of factors that influence and constitute the well-being of the human
emotional frame.
Firstly, science has determined that there is unequivocally a physical
component to human feeling. Specific neurotransmitters in the brain
are responsible for carrying the gamut of emotional signals -- from
fear to boldness, joy to depression. The brain, being a physical
organ, responds physically to natural factors like the every other
components of the physical body. It must assimilate nutrition and
eliminate waste to thrive. The body on a whole, being an extremely
interdependent "machine" of sorts, follows the same model on a macro
level, and is primarily influenced by its fuel intake, waste removal,
and exercise. Proper maintenance of the body yields physical
well-being. And this physical well-being is inextricably connected to
mental or emotional well-being.
Most people are empirically aware of how their mood may be affected by
what they eat. According to TelMedPak physician-led website(1), there
is increasing evidence that eating foods high in carbohydrates but low
in protein can lift mood and increase calmness and drowsiness. "It is
thought that, as long as there is not much protein present, the
insulin released by eating carbohydrates triggers an increase in the
level of the calming neurotransmitter, serotonin, in the brain." The
degree of reaction and influence varies widely from person to person,
as environment, genetics, and physical constitution play concomitant
roles in an individual's aggregate emotional well-being. Human beings
tend to incline to "the familiar," and this is no more evident than in
each's daily dietary routines. Although transient ingestion of a
particular food or drug may have a temporal effect on a person's
well-being, a person's long-term, sustained emotional state can be
largely influenced by their daily eating patterns.
Part and parcel to these eating patterns is a person's exercise
regimen, or lack thereof. A study on the treatment of depression
through aerobic exercise, done by the Benjamin Franklin Medical Center
in Berlin, Germany, showed that 50% of the patients studied
demonstrated "substantial" improvements via treadmill exercising(2).
Additionally, new research from Duke University in North Carolina
shows that exercising three times a week can be just as effective as
drug therapy when it comes to relieving the symptoms of major
depression(3). "Aerobic exercise stimulates neurotransmitters in our
brain to produce serotonin, an endorphin which make us feel good. And
exercise, unlike antidepressants, has no negative side effects., says
Dr. Fernando Dimeo, who led yet another study on the topic at Freie
University in Berlin(4).
These physical contributors to emotional well-being are mutually
causal, in that a lack of emotional well-being to begin with [from
some unidentified reason] may trigger a change in diet/exercise habits
and vice versa.
Equally intriguing is the intangible component to emotional
well-being. If one believes that the human being is more than a
machine, then it's typically easy to make the leap to a belief in the
concepts of "spirituality" as being a constituent of one's emotional
make-up. The Biblical quote, "As a man thinks, so he is" --
popularized by the philsopher René Descartes as "I think, therefore I
am," nicely introduces the concept of one's chosen thought-life as
being a very important facet to one's emotional stability. The simple
insertion of an adverb within this quote can easily illustrate how
one's thoughts can have a bearing on "Who he is." For example, "I
think sadly, therefore I am [sad]." "I think happily, therefore I am
[happy]." "I think fearfully, therefore I am [fearful]." It's very
much common sense: if one's thoughts are continually on those things
that are contrary to emotional well-being, then he will eventually
become that reality internally. "Attitude determines one's altitude"
is another adage along the same lines. These precepts illustrate that
thoughts are seeds which grow into a tree of emotions -- healthy or
unhealthy.
The garden of the mind is planted not only internally. These seeds
can be planted by others from the external as well. One's emotional
well-being is often shaped by this at an early, particularly by his
parents, since his internal musings are influenced by his elders'
thoughts of him.
These internally and externally originated "seeds" of thought shape
one's
sense of worth and significance. People can [inappropriately] place
their sense of self-worth on what others think of them. Their
emotions then become a ship upon an unstable sea of opinions that are
often hollow, forever changing, ill-advised and inappropriate.
People's sense of signifance is often so rooted in other's opinions,
that a rejection from others can actually trigger mental illness.
Assuming thoughts have a metaphysical component as I'm describing, one
could see how it's possible, given this belief, to infer that one's
emotional well-being is only partly rooted within the physical make-up
of the brain. The essence of this metaphysical application rests on
understanding the brain analogously as a "switch" -- or an organ that
is "acted upon" by the spirit/soul. It is a mysterious interaction
that will forever be mused over.
Fundamental to many a religious understanding of emotional well-being
is the concept of external spiritual forces that may reside on or in
an individual. In the Judeo-Christian ideology, for instance, this
domain resides within the classification of the "demonic" or "evil"
spirits. The mere presence of these spirits can cause one to have
skewed viewpoints of himself, others, and reality in general (5). The
presence of the external spiritual influences can place emotional
"filters" that couldn't be classified as being legitimate feelings of
the person himself. It's as though the person is feeling "someone
else's" feelings; in this case, a spirit or spirits.
People who feel that they suffer from emotional imbalance try any
number of avenues to alleviate their ailments. Now-a-days a popular
approach to addressing emotional needs is in the popping of
antidepressant pills. These pills work to correct an imbalance that
has been scientifically classified as being chemical, which may indeed
be correct [even if secondarily]. However, often this imbalance is
the symptom of a deeper problem that may not be adequately addressed
for a number of reasons, one of which may be the practicality and cost
of digging deep into someone's past or present struggles, and the lure
of a quick fix. Other approaches include diet changes, exercise
increase, attitude alterations, re-evaluation of self-worth and
significance, and a change in what company a person keeps.
These physical and spiritual causalities can create a wide range of
"good" and "bad" emotional make-ups. Much of the concept of
well-being rests upon the *absence* of such detrimental factors. It
is my opinion that most humans emotional systems are at a typical
state of equilibrium unless acted upon by some outside force [this
includes the self-induced internal forces of unedifying thought].
Happiness, hope, joy, peace, love, and desire, and other such
universal ideals are all those things that constitute well-being to
one degree or another. When this equilibium is out of kilter, the
classifications for a lack of emotional well-being fill the books in
any psychiatry/psychology library: from light depression, anxiety,
hopelessness and fear, to schizophrenia, major depression, anxiety
disorders, despair, and ultimately suicide.
Links/Sources:
(1) TelMedPak
http://www.telmedpak.com/generalpublics.asp?a=Nutrition&b=MentalHealth
(2) Aerobic Exercise Lifts Depression in Treatment-Resistant Patients
http://www.drugawareness.org/Archives/2ndQtr_2001/4501Aerobic.html
(3) Depression and exercise
http://www.abc.net.au/quantum/s256716.htm#transcript
(4) Beat the blues with exercise
http://www.ivillage.co.uk/dietandfitness/mndbodsprt/stressmgmt/articles/0,,272_565736,00.html
(5) About.com recommended site
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_exor3.htm
Search Strategy:
sugar influences emotional
exercise neurotransmitter
demonic depression dr. |
Clarification of Answer by
jbf777-ga
on
18 May 2003 14:45 PDT
Hi qpet -
Please do not hesitate to ask for any additional clarification or
resources before rating this answer.
Emotional well-being can typically be synonomous with the term "mental
health." Here are links on the subject with short excerpts:
From the Surgeon General
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter4/sec1.html
"Mental health in adulthood is characterized by the successful
performance of mental function, enabling individuals to cope with
adversity and to flourish in their education, vocation, and personal
relationships. These are the areas of functioning most widely
recognized by the mental health field. Yet, from the perspective of
different cultures, these measures may define the concept of mental
health too narrowly. As noted in Chapter 2, many groups, particularly
ethnic and racial minority group members, also emphasize community,
spiritual, and religious ties as necessary for mental health. The
mental health profession is becoming more aware of the importance of
reaching out to other cultures; an innovation termed “linguistically
and culturally competent services” is pertinent both to the field’s
conception of mental health and to the diagnosis and treatment of
mental disorders..."
Federal Definitions and Kansas State Definitions
http://www.srskansas.org/hcp/mhsatr/MHRDmhdef.htm
Psychology Help
http://www.psychologyhelp.com/emot94.htm
Emotionally Healthy Adults (with respect to sadness)
1. are comfortable with sadness, their own and others.
2. allow their own wracking sobs and tears.
3. feel good once their sobs and tears have been expressed.
4. are not stuck in recurring sadness, which happens when (a)hatred is
blocked, (b)one's spiritual system is an unhappy one or if
(c)childhood hopelessness is being blocked.
Subjective Emotional Well-Being
http://s.psych.uiuc.edu/~ediener/hottopic/paper2.html
"We must caution, however, that single reports of global well-being
may not measure exactly the same construct as the aggregation of
multiple moment or daily reports of well-being. Kahneman (in press),
for example, reviews evidence that people weigh certain emotional
information more heavily than others do when making global judgments."
What is Mental Health
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ahead4health/whatis.htm
"'Mental health' properly describes a sense of well-being: the
capacity to live in a resourceful and fulfilling manner, having the
resilience to deal with the challenges and obstacles which life
presents. Mental health 'problems' or 'difficulties' are terms that
can be used to describe temporary reactions to a painful event, stress
or external pressures, or systems of drug or alcohol use, lack of
sleep or physical illness; this terminology may also be used to
describe long-term psychiatric conditions which may have siginificant
effects on an individual's functioning."
Administration on Aging: Performance Outcomes Measures Project
http://www.gpra.net/EWmain.htm
"The emotional well-being performance measure is one of three
cross-cutting performance measures, which are independent of service
type. For POMP, it was suggested that these cross-cutting measures be
linked to a specific service, and administered at the same time that
the service questionnaire was administered."
Search strategy:
"mental health definitions"
"defined as mentally healthy"
"defined as emotionally healthy"
"mental health criteria"
mental health diagnosis
mental health diagnosed by
"mental health" "diagnosed using"
mental health assessment
"emotional health" standard
"emotional health" indicators
emotional health
range of emotional health
|
,
0 Comments
)