Psychological well-being is born from preserving our mental and emotional health, two concepts that are not exactly the same.
Therefore, delimiting the condition of “good” or “evil” in a completely objective spectrum is difficult when it comes to mental well-being. We always move in gray scales, because absolute statements are out of play in the general psychological field. Things get even more complicated when we take into account that, indeed, mental health is composed of different types of well-being with certain differences and similarities.
In order to unravel a little this terminological conglomerate, today we are going to talk about the 3differences between mental health and emotional health. Understanding these concepts is important, as knowledge is the first step to personal self-actualization.
- We recommend you read: “What is anxiety and how to identify it?”
The importance of psychological well-being
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as follows: “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”tag. It also clarifies that “mental health encompasses a wide range of activities directly or indirectly related to the mental well-being component.” These components are, as we have said before, of an emotional, psychological and social nature.
Defining this generalist term is far from anecdotal, since the WHO itself throws us a series ofworrying data regarding the general mental health of the population:
- Depression affects more than 300 million people in the world.
- Every year 800,000 people on Earth commit suicide. It is the second most common cause of death for young people between the ages of 15 and 29.
- Bipolar affective disorder affects 45 million people in the world.
- Schizophrenia affects 21 million people, who are 2 to 2.5 million more likely to die at an early age.
To cement these data beyond quantitative figures, we can say thatdepressive disorders affect 3% of the Western populationat any given time. As low as this figure may seem, we are facing an astronomical incidence.
We deal with pathologies of a serious nature, since it is an irrefutable fact that mental disorders shorten lifetag. Whether due to the risk of suicide, greater predisposition to cardiovascular pathologies, a depressed immune system and many other reasons, it is clear that addressing psychological pathologies is essential to maximize individual survival and well-being.
How are mental and emotional health different?
Once we have framed the importance of mental health and its registration in the general population, it is time for us to focus on the 3 differences between mental health and emotional health. Let’s go there.
1. The mental includes the emotional; the emotional does not always include the mental
As you may have seen, mental health always includes emotional well-beingin its own definition, but by association, emotional health does not always imply full mental well-being. Although there is no standardized cataloging of these terms accepted by all official bodies (as far as we have been able to see), we explain ourselves below.
Within its very definition, mental health appears to include three different types of well-being :
- Psychological well -being : development of capacities and personal growth, where the individual shows indicators of positive functioning.
- Social welfare : refers to the quality of life in a society that makes existence possess all those elements that give rise to human satisfaction.
- Emotional well-being : focused, above all, on managing both positive and negative emotions.
As we have recorded in these lines, there does not seem to be a “book” definition that categorizes these three terms, but for example, it is clear that there are differences between a state of emotional well-being and another with a more social component. In the latter, it is necessary to take into account economic agents and population parameters, among many other factors that border on economic sciences. Individual self-realization depends largely on its social component, but this is not the only one that conditions it.
On the other hand, psychological well-being is observed from a multidimensional perspective, where special emphasis is placed on positive functioning mediated by the development of capacities and the growth of the person. Of course, here the classificatory lines are blurred much more, and this is why it is not surprising thatMany sources use the terms “mental health” and “emotional health” interchangeably .
As a summary, we can summarize that psychological well-being focuses on self-realization, social well-being on the quality of life in society, and emotional well-being on the management of feelings and emotions. Of course, this is not an official classification, but we do propose a terminological categorization that helps readers understand which components of their mental health are most vulnerable.
2. Emotional intelligence is linked to emotional health
One of the invaluable tools provided by emotional health is, forgive the redundancy, emotional intelligence. This is defined as “theability of individuals to recognize their own emotions and those of others, to discriminate between different feelings and label them appropriately, to use emotional information to guide thought and behavior, and to manage or adjust emotions to adapt to the environment. or achieve goals”, according to the Oxford Dictionary of Psychology (2008).
Studies have shown that high individual emotional intelligence is clearly correlated with greater emotional well-being, and consequently, with greater mental health at the individual level. There is research that even affirms that pathological nature.
Thus, we can say that emotional intelligence (an essential component of emotional health) promotes general mental well-being, but that its scope of study and development is based on the world of emotions (leaving a little more “out” the components of social well-being and others of mental health).
3. The emotional manages feelings; mental, relationships with other people
The term “health” includes both an objective and a subjective definition, since the absence of a pathology does not always mean that everything is finetag. Various sources propose 4 categories that are basic pillars for general health:
- Physical Health.
- Mental health.
- Emotional health.
- Spiritual health.
In this case, a clear distinction is made between the two terms. Mental health refers to the way we manage our daily lives and the way we relate to others in different environments. On the other hand,the emotional one places special emphasis on the responsible management of feelings, thoughts and behaviors; recognizing them, giving them a name, accepting them, integrating them and putting them to positive use.
Other authors, in turn, divide general well-being into four different pillars: essence or spirituality, work and leisure, friendship, love and self-control as basic components, and another 12 subareas among which are the sense of value, sense of control , realism, fighting ability, nutrition and many other factors.
Does this mean that mental and emotional health are completely different terms when it comes to quantifying general well-being? Of course not, because as we have said previously,they are concepts so interrelated that, depending on the source, they are separated or used interchangeably .
Conclusions
Despite the fact that today we have shown you two terms that in many cases are used for the same thing, and that the 3 differences between mental health and emotional health are not “officialized”, we hope that one thing is clear: mental well-being includes a great series of fronts, but emotional health refers specifically to the responsible management of feelings , their mastery and the individual capacity to channel them and give them a positive use both individually and collectively.
Compartmentalizing the information provided by official sources is sometimes a complex task, since the criteria depend entirely on the person who records it. Even so, we hope that this terminological division allows readers to make one last reflection: which of the pillars of mental health fails me the most? Of course, asking the question is always the first step in an improvement process.
Bibliographic references
- Smoked, F. (2011). The relationship between emotional intelligence and mental health. In III International Congress of Research and Professional Practice in Psychology XVIII Research Conference Seventh Meeting of Researchers in Psychology of MERCOSUR. Faculty of Psychology-University of Buenos Aires.
- Rodriguez, YR, & Berrios, AQ (2012). Psychological well-being in the process of helping university students. Griot Magazine, 5(1), 7-17.
- Physical and emotional health, Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo. Collected on September 22 at https://www.uaeh.edu.mx/docencia/VI_Lectura/licenciatura/documentos/LECT100.pdf
- Mental health. MedlinePlus.Gov. Collected on September 22 at https://medlineplus.gov/spanish/mentalhealth.html
- Mental disorders, World Health Organization (WHO). Collected on September 22 at https://www.who.int/es/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-disorders
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.
