Emotional Health Definition

Emotional Health, Emotional Wellness and Emotional Intelligence Defined

Emotional health is defined by the degree to which you feel emotionally secure and relaxed in everyday life. An emotionally healthy person has a relaxed body, an open mind and an open heart.

The more emotional health you possess, the more self esteem you have. This means you do not frequently react with knee jerk responses, anxiety or panic to the events that occur in your life.

Instead, you are usually calm and patient with yourself and others. This means you are an emotionally safe person.

Emotionally safe people do not judge or criticize others. This is because they have learned not to judge and criticize themselves.

Emotionally healthy people feel safe and secure with their own emotions and feelings.  They feel their feelings and emotions instead of avoiding them or trying to control them. 

To be emotionally healthy you must express your emotions in healthy, assertive ways.

Emotional Wellness is a little different.

Emotional health is on a continuum and it fluctuates moment by moment.  Therefore, emotional wellness is on the upside of this continuum.

Emotionally wellness is when you has such a high degree of emotional health that you radiate joy often.

Therefore, emotional wellness refers to a state where you can have so much healthy, flowing energy that you have vibrant moments, peak experiences and peak performances.

Emotional wellness is the state you enjoy as you move closer and closer to being self actualized.

Most People are Not Emotionally Healthy

Unfortunately most people are not comfortable when their own feelings and emotions. Indeed, the opposite is true. 

Many people judge, humiliate, make fun of and criticize their own emotions and feelings. This means they judge, humiliate, make fun and criticize your emotions and feelings.

Therefore you need to be careful when picking your psychologist, coach or therapist. Pick a holistic psychologist who is comfortable with she or his emotions and feelings.

Make sure your emotional health coach is an emotionally safe person before you share your feelings and emotions.

Emotional Intelligence is similar to emotional health.

Unfortunately, Emotional Intelligence frequently becomes a catch all for many behaviors and feelings that have nothing to do with emotional health and wellness.

For example, a popular one day emotional intelligence seminar offered by Fred Prior says you will "Learn to keep your emotions in check, and help coworkers do the same." 

This definition of emotional intelligence is the opposite of emotional health. Emotional health means you express your emotions in healthy assertive ways and encourage others to do the same.

People, psychologists and researchers often confuse emotions and conditioned responses.  For example, knee jerk responses to situations are not emotions, they are conditioned responses.

Therefore, there is a great deal of misinformation about emotional intelligence in the seminars, workshops and courses that are available to you.

Emotional Intelligence is an academic, intellectual way of looking at emotional health. Two male researchers in 1990, Peter Salovey and John D. Mayergave gave the name emotional intelligence to the qualities they noticed in people during an experiment.

These qualities are basically the same qualities that all human beings have when they are in an open, relaxed, receptive state.

Therefore, anyone can be emotionally sensitive if they are open, trusting and relaxed.

When you are anxious, closed and defensive you lose your emotional intelligence.  Anxiety keeps you from being able to access your emotions and feelings.

When you are relaxed and open, you have access to your emotions and feelings.  So the more you relax and overcome your anxiety, the more you will be effective in relationships at work or home.

How to Access Your Emotional Health?

The way to achieve emotional health is to learn to feel your emotions and feelings and express them in assertive ways.

Anxiety is what keeps you from being able to feel your emotions and feelings. Therefore, overcoming your anxiety will dramatically improve your emotional health, emotional wellness and emotional intelligence.

As you learn to feel your emotions and stand up to your Inner Critic, you will become more relaxed, open and emotionally secure.

The less judgmental you become, the more your emotional health will improve.

Resources to Help You Achieve Emotional Health.

1. "Opening the Heart" audio and Ebook, guides you into your real feelings and emotions. Get help sorting through your irrational thoughts so you can reach your authentic feelings and emotions. Learn how to accept and express your emotions and feelings in healthy ways. Ebook, $19.97, audio, $97.00. Read more and order "Opening The Heart," an emotional health guide.

2. An emotional health phone consultation with Dr. Doris Jeanette. One hour, $200.00. Get right to the heart of what your emotional self needs in order to become secure. Then you can access your emotional strengths and use them in your relationships. Read more and order your emotional health session.