Psychological healthy people are not perfect. They have their share of problems, flaws, and
mistakes. However, it is how they
perceive themselves and how they cope with their stress and failures that
separates them from unhealthy individuals.
Psychologically healthy people have the following
characteristics:
· Accept themselves and others
· Like themselves
· Appropriately express the full range of human
emotions, both positive and negative
· Give and receive care, love, and support
· Accept life’s disappointments
· Accept their mistakes
· Express empathy and concern for others
· Take care of themselves
· Trust others as well as themselves
· Establish goals, both short and long term
· Can function both independently and
interdependently
· Lead a health enhancing lifestyle that includes
regular exercise, good nutrition, and adequate sleep
Normal Range of
Emotions
Do you know people who seem to be “up” all the time? These people appear to be confident, happy,
and full of good feelings 24 seven.
Although some people are like that, they are truly the exceptions. For most people, emotions are more like a
roller coaster ride. Sometimes they feel
good about themselves and others, but other times nothing seems to go
right. This is normal and healthy. Life has its ups and downs, and the concept
of “normal range of emotions” reflects these changes.
Self-Esteem
What is self-esteem?
How do you know when someone is lacking in self-esteem? Most people answer this question by saying
that they define positive self-esteem as:
·
Having pride in yourself
·
Treating yourself with respect
·
Considering yourself valuable, important, worthy
·
Feeling good about yourself
·
Having self-confidence, being self-assured
·
Accepting yourself
People with lower levels of self-esteem tend to allow others
to mistreat them, don’t take care of themselves, and have difficulty being by
themselves. In addition, they have
little self-confidence and so avoid taking risks and have trouble believing
that other people care about them. People
with low self-esteem tend to take things personally, are sometimes seen as
“overly sensitive” and perfectionistic, criticize themselves and others, and
believe that they can’t do anything right.
These individuals tend to have a pessimistic outlook on life, and see
themselves as undeserving of good fortune.
Self-Concept
People with low self-esteem also have a poor self-concept,
meaning that their internal picture of themselves, how they see themselves, is
very negative. Because of this poor
self-concept, people with low self-esteem are more vulnerable to allowing
others to mistreat or abuse them, and fail to be assertive. Many psychological problems have their
underpinnings in low self-esteem, including eating disorders, substance abuse
problems, depression, and anxiety disorders.
Where do we get our self-esteem? Most people would say from their parents,
teachers, peers, siblings, religious institutions, and the media. While these factors certainly can positively
or negatively affect our self-esteem, they are all external factors. Self-esteem relates to our internal self-perception. If self-esteem truly came from outside
ourselves, then would need to change our environment and the people around
us. This is the reason that people tend
tell themselves, “If I just made more money, had a nicer car, were married, or
had a more prestigious job, I would feel better about myself.” This can become a vicious cycle, leaving the
person always seeking more, and perpetually unsatisfied with him- or herself.
This can also lead to perfectionism and not accepting yourself.
It is generally accepted that self-esteem comes from within
ourselves and is ultimately within each individual’s control. Moreover, self-esteem in not an all-or-none
commodity, as most people have varying degrees of self-esteem, depending upon
their stage of development, events in their lives, and their environment.
Emotional
Intelligence
A third aspect of psychological health is the degree of
emotional intelligence you possess.
Emotional intelligence refers to “the ability to understand others and
act wisely in human relations.”
Furthermore, emotional intelligence can be broken down into 5 main
domains:
·
Knowing
your emotions. This is considered to
be the cornerstone of emotional intelligence and relates to how much
self-awareness and insight you have. How
quickly you are able to recognize and label your feelings as you feel them
determines the level of your emotional intelligence.
·
Managing
your emotions. How well can express
your feelings appropriately and cope with your emotions? People who have trouble coping with anxiety,
distress, and failures tend to have lower levels of emotional intelligence.
·
Motivating
yourself. People who can motivate
themselves tend to be more highly productive and independent than those who
rely on external sources for motivating.
The more you can self-motivate and engage in goal-directed activities,
the higher your emotional intelligence.
·
Recognizing
emotions in others. Another aspect
of emotional intelligence is the degree of empathy you have or how sensitive
you are to the feelings of others and how you come across to other people.
·
Handling
relationships. This refers to your
level of social skills. The more
interpersonally effective you are and able to negotiate conflict and build a
social support network, the more emotional intelligence you possess.
Of course, people have differing levels of emotional
intelligence and may have higher levels in one domain than in another. People with overall high levels of emotional
intelligence tend to take on leadership roles, are confident, assertive,
express their feelings directly and appropriately, feel good about themselves,
are outgoing, and adapt well to stress.
