What is emotional health? Here is a definition from the American Academy of Family Physicians: “People who are emotionally healthy are in control of their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. They are able to cope with life’s challenges. They can keep problems in perspective and bounce back from setbacks. They feel good about themselves and have good relationships.”
Evidently up to 70% of doctor’s visits in the US are related to stress and emotional health issues. Stress can be brought on by multiple factors. Here are some of the more common ones:
- Family conflict
- Work or school issues
- Feelings of worthlessness or low self-esteem
- Financial insecurity
- Mental illness
- Physical illness, especially chronic or life-threatening conditions
- Guilt
- Addictions
These emotional health issues may result in physical illness – conditions like asthma attacks, panic disorders, skin rashes, abdominal pain and cramps, diarrhoea or nausea, palpitations, headaches, anxiety and sleep disorders.
It takes a perceptive doctor sometimes to find the underlying emotional issue causing the physical manifestation.
On too many occasions I have had women presenting with chronic pelvic pain. Careful repeated examination and special investigations have shown no physical defect. Only then have I discovered a history of sexual abuse which may have happened many years before, and was never addressed by a professional counsellor, or it may never have been openly discussed with a parent, or even dismissed as nonsense by an adult. It is so important to get professional help in this situation.
On the other hand physical illness is often associated with emotional health issues. People who have had a heart attack or diabetics who have to go onto insulin may develop depression. A diagnosis of cancer can understandably often bring on depression and anxiety. Chronic pain may also cause depression. Not only does the doctor need to address the underlying illness, but the patient may also need management of the emotional distress.
ALSO READ : Turning the Tide – The role of mindfulness in promoting health
How does the doctor/nurse practitioner identify if you suffer from depression or anxiety or other emotional health issue? A number of screening questionnaires are available. The simplest is:
- Over the past 2 weeks, have you felt down, depressed, or hopeless?
- Over the past 2 weeks have you felt little interest or pleasure in doing things?
This short questionnaire may show up potential problems, which can then be addressed using a more detailed assessment.
Sometimes people see mental illness/emotional distress as a weakness and feel people must just pull themselves together. It is important to realise that mental disease is just as much a reality as high blood pressure, or kidney infection, or breast cancer. The brain is also an organ of the body just as the heart or liver and is liable to malfunction. Just as choices we make and the lifestyle we live can affect our heart, or immune system, or blood sugar control, so too can lifestyle choices influence the functioning of our minds. This is why lifestyle interventions are so important to help emotional distress as well.
Next week we will look at some of the practical approaches to emotional well-being.
Dave Glass
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