Mental and Emotional Health: Understanding Emotions

Types of Emotions

Anger

Often people express anger in reaction to being hurt either physically or emotionally. People express anger in different ways, from suppressing and hiding it, to resorting to hostility toward self or others. Expressing anger appropriately, while not hurting self or others, is one key to developing mental and emotional health.

Sadness

Sadness is a normal and often healthy reaction to things that happen to people every day. People feel sad for many reasons, including feeling rejected by someone, being disappointed in oneself or in some bad news, or in response to losing a loved one. Sadness can be a brief reaction or it can last for an extended period of time, as in the case of managing the process of grief. People often express sadness by withdrawing physically and emotionally, by showing lower levels of energy, and being discouraged more than normal.

Fear

Fear is a natural reaction to surprise or threat. When a person is startled by something unexpected, he or she often responds first with a reaction of fear. Fear often causes reactions of heightened alertness, or a “fight or flight” response that helps the body act to keep itself safe in the face of danger. Fear, though an unpleasant emotion for most people to experience, can be very useful in maintaining both physical and emotional health.

Fear becomes unhealthy when it becomes habitual in response to an imagined threat. At this point, fear has developed into a phobia. For example, someone who has xenophobia is afraid of strangers. Xenophobes might imagine that every stranger they meet wants to bring harm to them. A xenophobe can no longer function normally in daily activities. Since they are often very serious and sometimes life-threatening, phobias often require a person to get help by seeking professional counseling.

Think and Click: Phobia Activity

There are many different types of phobias. Complete the Think and Click activity by looking at the phobias listed below and then clicking on each name to reveal its description. When you are finished, see if you can figure out other phobias in this online matching game at studysnack.com

Next: Section B, page 9

© 2009 KC Distance Learning. All rights reserved.