General Emotional Hygiene
True or False: We can take care of our emotional health
True!
This is the first step of emotional hygiene.
What is: "To be aware of your emotions."
Name 2 positive and 2 negative ways to react to a setback.
Give up trying too soon
Believing you're incapable
Not trying at all
Never trying that same thing again
Trying again
Taking a break
Positive self-talk
Talk with a friend
Brainstorm, learn about what you could do differently next time
Try not to take it personally
Different minds react differently!
True or False: We all go through struggles in life and have the same need to take care of our emotional health
True
Your friend cancels plans with you. Even though you're hurt, you decide not to take it personally. You're still feeling down, so you decide to call another friend just to talk. What is this called?
What is "reaching out" or "getting help"?
Reaching out for help is one of the most important and best things you can do for yourself (besides positive self talk) to take care of your emotional health.
True or False:
It's not normal to feel down or demoralized after a setback.
FALSE!
It's completely normal and something we all feel at times.
What is rumination? Give an example.
AKA, "negative thoughts spiral," or you think about something over and over again
Example:
You go to a job interview but don't get a call back. Your mind starts reacting and you can't stop thinking negative thoughts.
DAILY DOUBLE!!!!
What is positive self talk and why does it help?
Speaking kindly to ourselves.
The emotional "bandaid" we can use anytime we feel rejected.
True or False: Loneliness can make us think other people care less than they really do.
True!
Loneliness distorts our perceptions - we can't see things the way they really are because we are afraid of being hurt more. It makes us afraid to reach out - because of the fear of rejection when we're already hurt.
True or False: Knowing how your mind reacts to stress doesn't really help you achieve emotional hygiene.
False - Knowing how you react is one of the first key steps. If you know that your mind reacts
Name 3 things that you would actually do for 2 minutes to distract yourself from negative thoughts!
Did you know that sometimes all you need is 2 minutes to distract yourself from a negative thought or situation?
You start ruminating - thinking about something that makes you sad/down - and it's difficult to stop.
Is this abnormal?
No, negative thought processes are a normal response. This is part of our "Fight or Flight" response. Human brains developed to keep us out of danger. When something negative happens, we think about it because our brain wants to prevent something bad from happening again. But, if we aren't in danger, being in "Fight or Flight" all the time is not healthy for us. So we can use emotional hygiene to help us out!
Name 2 reasons why emotional hygiene is important.
- Stress and emotional pain affects our health (higher cortisol, reduced immunity, etc.)
- It can improve quality of life!
DAILY DOUBLE: Name two action steps you can take if you are thinking negative thoughts about yourself or about your life.
- You notice your thoughts and decide to consciously stop!
- positive self talk
- Distraction for 2 minutes!
True
- Common to think of "faults" after a rejection
- Remember, we don't make physical injuries worse on purpose! So catching ourselves when we are doing this and stopping is an important emotional hygiene tool.