Emotional Health – What is it?

There is currently no internationally agreed definition for the term “Emotional Health”. Why, you may ask? There will be a number of reasons.. One of those is perhaps a reflection on society and the scientific community failing to recognise (or perhaps ignoring) the significance of emotions when it comes to our health and wellbeing. It is thanks to people like Daniel Goleman, who introduced the term “Emotional intelligence”, who stimulated the neuroscience research community  to  delve deeper into how human health and wellbeing is connected to the fullness in expression of emotions.

In terms of a definition, perhaps a good place to start is the WHO definition of “Health” which is: “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” 

Then, the word emotional:

Daniel Goleman’s definition of “Emotional intelligence” is ‘the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships.”  

A more recent definition published in 2016 is: the ability to perceive, use, understand, and manage emotions. 

By taking a combined approach, and in partnership with both the Lifestyle Health Foundation and the Person-Centred Neurosciences Society, we offer the following for a potential definition of ‘Emotional Health’:

“An uninterrupted two-way (bidirectional) relationship, enabling the timely and appropriate free expression of ALL emotions to maintain a person’s health.”

Given this is a rapidly developing field of health, you may also wish to contribute a thought or two on what emotional health means to you. We would be pleased to hear from you, so just get in touch with us. You may of course find that when you start  SmartTracker^® it will spark a few thoughts. 

Expressing Emotions

It is our hope by making SmartTracker^® freely available to all individuals you will discover a safe space to that not only encourages you to express all feelings, but also helps you to find people who might benefit from you sharing your emotions.

SmartTracker^® has been created by people who recognise that many people, including health professionals, have experienced trauma, including hearing life-altering medical news; a time or significant anxiety, both for you and the people around you; a time when you can feel many emotions, but can struggle with.  

It is our hope by making SmartTracker^® freely available to all individuals you will discover a safe space to that not only encourages you to express all feelings, but also helps you to find people who might benefit from you sharing your emotions.