Emotional health

If you are emotionally healthy you will have ways of dealing with and overcoming depression, anxiety, chronic pain, loneliness and grief.
Emotional health can best be described as a state where you are in control of your thoughts, feelings and behaviours. You feel good about yourself and your relationships and can keep problems in perspective. Emotionally healthy people can still have emotional problems and mental illness, but they have learned of ways to cope with stress and problems and know when to seek help from their doctor or counsellor.

Anxiety
Anxiety is an uncomfortable feeling of fear or of impending disaster and is a normal emotional response to danger. Everyone feels anxiety at some stage in their lives, and it is only when it interferes with daily life and activities that it becomes a problem and requires professional help. Anxiety or constant worry about financial situations, retirement, relationships and work can all impact on individuals and can be countered through a number of self help strategies as well as professional advice from your doctor.

Common symptoms of anxiety include:
• irritability, or being in a constantly bad mood
• difficulty concentrating and getting to/staying asleep
• apprehension or a constant feeling that something bad is about to happen
• muscle tension and headaches
• rapid heart rate and breathing/Dry mouth or difficulty swallowing
• nightmares/Trembling/Diarrhoea/Illness flare up/sweating

To alleviate anxiety there are a number of coping strategies that can be highly effective:
• Look at the things that are causing you stress and if possible change your lifestyle to avoid or confront those things.
• An improvement in your overall health and well being through a healthy diet, regular exercise and the practice of utilising relaxation and breathing techniques can all reduce anxiety.
• Communicate regularly with friends and family, or your local counsellor or pastor. Let them know your feelings and listen to their advice.

Chronic pain
Chronic Pain is defined as continuous pain for more than three months, and is usually associated with injuries, surgery and medical conditions such as cancer, arthritis and lower back pain. In some cases there is no evident cause or treatment.
On average one third of Australians are in pain of some sort at any one time, and when a cause is treated there is often ongoing associated pain afterwards. There are a number of management strategies for chronic pain such as acupuncture, massage therapy and pain-killing medications. Medical studies have also concluded that the quality of life can be improved depending upon how an individual copes emotionally with pain and their outlook on life.
Both feature a wide range of links, tips and pain management strategies that will be of benefit to sufferers of Chronic Pain.

Depression
Depression is a very common mental health problem which is significantly different from mere unhappiness or sadness and is known as a depressive disorder. It is a long lasting and often recurring illness that can be as debilitating as heart disease.
A depressive disorder may feature feelings of oppressive sadness, guilt, shame and fatigue. Individuals may often feel isolated, lonely, helpless, worthless and lost. Life events such as bereavement, chronic pain, isolation and illness can often trigger such disorders and it is important to recognise the symptoms and seek advice from your doctor or counsellor.

Grief and loss
The process of grieving is natural and can continue for a long period of time, but help is available to cope with the feelings of grief and loss. Grief is a response to loss, particularly the death of a loved one that will often affect thoughts, feelings, behaviours, beliefs and relationships with other people. Many people experience feelings of sadness and anxiety, and the process of grieving can continue for a long period of time, coming and going in waves. Grief is a normal experience, and the process of grieving does require experiencing the pain of loss. Grief is a process and not an event and most people will continue to grieve in subtle ways for the rest of their lives.
There are several national support organisations with local representation around the country for grief and loss.

Loneliness and social isolation
Increasing your physical and social activity is the key to dealing with loneliness and social isolation. Ageing can often lead to social isolation as a result of increased frailty, lack of mobility, and the loss of friends and family. The resulting feelings can lead to depression and a range of physical symptoms such as sleep disorders, lack of appetite and lower energy levels. Here are symptoms and strategies for dealing with loneliness.

Experiences of loneliness can range from a vague feeling that something is not right to an intense deprivation and deep pain. Loneliness is not the same as being alone; it is the feeling of being alone and being sad about it. While everyone feels lonely some of the time, it is only when you feel trapped in your loneliness that it becomes a real problem.

Loneliness is a passive state, and as such people contribute to their loneliness by letting it continue and doing nothing to change it. To do so is to embrace the feelings of loneliness which leads to a sense of depression and helplessness which in turn leads to a more passive state and more depression.
The keys to alleviating these feelings are to admit and express feelings of loneliness which in turn lead to recognition of the connections to other aspects of life where changes can then be made.

Naturally, becoming more active is the main way to deal with loneliness. Contact friends, family or counsellors/pastors if suitable to help deal with the feelings of loneliness, especially if it is from bereavement.

Getting involved in clubs and associations with people who have similar interests can divert loneliness, widen networks of friends and increase social skills, provide structure and routine so that there are things to look forward to, and be enjoyable.

If you find you are having difficulty dealing with feelings of loneliness on your own, talk to a counsellor, religious leader.//Seniors