Download Your Mental and Emotional Health

Your Mental and Emotional
Health
Mental/Emotional Health – the ability to accept
yourself and others, adapt to and manage
emotions, and deal with the demands and
challenges you meet in life
Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs
Ranked list of those needs
essential to human
growth and development,
presented in ascending
order, starting with basic
needs and building
Level 5 – Reaching Potential
toward the need for
reaching your highest
Need for self-actualization
potential.
Level 4 – Feeling Recognized
Need to achieve, need to be
recognized
Level 3 – Belonging
Need to love and be loved, need to belong
Level 2 – Safety
Need to be secure from danger
Level 1 – Physical
Need to satisfy basic needs of hunger, thirst, sleep and shelter
Level 1 – Physical Needs
 Survival needs
– Food
– Water
– Sleep
– Shelter
Level 2 – Need for Safety
 Safeguarding yourself from physical harm
 Sense of security – safety of familiar places
and people
Level 3 – Need to be loved and
belong
 Need to give love and feel loved
 We are social – we need to interact with
others
 Want to belong
– A community
– Family
– Friends
– Social group (team or school club)
Need to be Valued and Recognized
 Need to be appreciated
 Valued by family, friends, and peers
 You can meet this need by participating in
productive activities
Level 5 – Need to reach your
potential
 Self-actualization – striving to become the
best you can be
 Having goals that motivate and inspire you
Meeting your needs
 Meeting your needs affect your mental and
emotional health
 Some people choose risky ways to meet
their needs
– Joining a gang
– Sexual activity
 What are some ways to meet your needs in
a healthy way?
Understanding your personality
 Personality – a complex set of characteristics
that makes you unique
 Personality is an important factor in how you
choose to meet your needs
Influences on your personality
 Heredity
– Plays a role in determining a person’s basic
intellectual abilities and temperament
– May also influence risk-taking behaviors and
talents
 Environment
– Everything that surrounds you in your day-to-day
life
 Every person, place, object, event, or activity in your
life
– Role models
 Modeling – observing and learning from the behaviors
of those around you
Influences on your Personality
 Personal Behavior is an Aspect of your
personality you have the most control over
– How you make decisions
– What decisions you make
– Recognizing consequences
– Actions you take
Your Personal Identity
 A sense of who you are
– Your interests
– Your likes and dislikes
– Your talents and abilities
– Your values and beliefs
– Your goals
Your Developmental Assets
The building blocks of development that help young people
grow up as healthy, caring and responsible individuals
External Assets
 Support
– Family support, positive family
communication, caring
neighborhood, parental
involvement
 Empowerment
– Serving a purpose by having a
role in the community, being
valued by adults in the
community
 Boundaries and Expectations
– Clear rules and consequences,
adult role models, high
expectations
 Constructive Use of Time
– Creative activities, youth
programs, time at home, sports
Internal Assets
 Commitment to Learning
– Being motivated to achieve,
being involved at school, doing
homework, reading
 Positive Values
– Compassion, equality and
social justice, integrity, honesty,
responsibility, self-control
 Social Competencies
– Planning and decision making,
interpersonal communication,
tolerance of different cultures,
peaceful conflict resolution skills
 Positive Identity
– Personal power, self-esteem,
sense of purpose, positive view
of personal future
Working Toward a Healthy Identity
 Recognize your strengths and weaknesses
– Accept and take pride in your strengths
– Asses your weaknesses and set goals for improvement
 Don’t be overly self-critical
 Demonstrate positive value
– Make sure your behavior reflects your personal values
and standards
 Develop a purpose in your life
– A framework for your mental health as you grow
– Establish goals and working to achieve them
Working Toward a Healthy Identity
 Form meaningful relationships
– Enable you to express yourself and share experiences
– Give you a support system
 Contribute to the community
– Your community is an extended support system for your
family
– Provides services and resources to meet many of your
needs
 Avoid unhealthful risk behaviors
Self-Esteem
 A healthy identity will
increase self-esteem and
give you a higher level of
mental/emotional health
 Comes from
understanding you are a
unique and valuable
person
People with high self-esteem…
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Take responsibility for their behavior
Generally have a positive outlook on life
Like and accept who they are overall
Try to learn from their successes as well as
from their mistakes
 Build and maintain healthy relationships
Ways to improve your self-esteem
 Focus on the positive things not the
negative
 Think of appropriate way to share your
positive attributes
 Engage in behaviors that will promote your
health
A Positive Outlook
 People with a positive outlook live longer
and are healthier (mentally and physically)
 Remind yourself that no matter what
happens, there is always hope
 Make plans to address problems
 Look at challenges as opportunities for
growth and learning
Self-talk
 Replace negative messages with constructive
criticism
 Remember everyone makes mistakes
 Encourage yourself