Understanding Your
EMOTIONS
What are EMOTIONS?

Emotions –
– Def: feelings created in response to thoughts,
remarks, and events

Basic Emotions –
– Happiness, love, jealousy, sadness, anger,
fear, anticipation, & joy
Understanding EMOTIONS?

You can not always choose when an
emotion will well up inside of you, but
YOU CAN CHOOSE HOW TO HANDEL IT!

People with good Mental & Emotional
Health seek healthy, RESPONSIBLE
ways to express their emotions

Expressing Your Emotions
Identifying Your EMOTIONS?

Which emotions are familiar to you?

Definitions –
– Empathy:
 the ability to understand and share another
person’s feelings
– Anxiety:
 an overwhelming feeling of dread, much like fear
Expressing EMOTIONS?

People express emotions in different ways
– We often learn how to express them by
watching people close to us

Learning how to understand emotions and
expressing them in a healthy way is an
IMPORTANT part of good Mental &
Emotional Health!
Expressing ANXIETY & FEAR

Anxious & Fearful =
– Shorter breaths, heart beats faster, muscles
tense

Too much anxiety & fear =
– Lose of sleep or PANIC
 PANIC: a feeling of sudden, intense fear
Expressing ANGER

Unhealthy ways – Yelling, hitting, threatening
– Holding anger inside

When you feel angry…
1. Exercise self-control

Take a deep breath and calm down
2. Focus on exactly what made you angry
Expressing ANGER Con’t
3.
Think of words to communicate your
true feelings
4.
Calmly tell the other person who you
feel and what actions has caused you to
feel this way
5.
Tell the person what you expect from
him or her in the future
Understanding your EMOTIONAL NEEDS!

Emotional Needs – Def: needs that affect your feelings and
sense of well-being
1.
The need to feel worthwhile
 Need to feel you make a difference in the
world
 You are making a contribution
 Working toward a short/long-term goal = a
sense of accomplishment
Understanding your EMOTIONAL NEEDS! Con’t
2.
The need to love and be loved
– Need to feel that you are cared for
– You are special to people [family, friends,
classmates, etc.]
3.
The need to belong
– Know that others accept and respect you as
you are
– Find friends who are accepting, reliable, and
trustworthy
Meet
EMOTIONAL
NEEDS
in
HEALTHY WAYS!
How do your friends help you practice healthful behaviors?