Six emotional well-being components
When attending individual psychotherapy or couple therapy there are many components to consider within the assessment. The six emotional well-being components and support you reviewing your needs.
1. Self acceptance & self esteem. Accepting oneself, limitations whilst maintaining a positive self image are fundamental for emotional well-being. Our self image of who we are, not just what we look like is usually connected to our previous experience. The lense you see your self as may be limited and connected to ‘unhelpful’ cognitions not based on facts. Your self belief influences how you perceive your self and your ability to do things. This might impact your ability to navigate some of life’s challenges.
2. Growing relationships. Family, partner, friends, work colleagues and a sense of community contribute significantly to your emotional wellbeing. Supportive and loving social connections provide a sense of belonging, security, safety and acceptance which supports emotional resilience and happiness. Life events and family systems are not always this way and much of my work is based upon interpersonal relationships. Sometimes people attend therapy due to a relationship breakdown or to explore their childhood to support healthier relationships in the here & now for intimate relationships.
3. Emotional regulation. This ability to understand your emotions, recognising and welcoming them and managing the emotions experienced is a crucial component for emotional well-being. This is inclusive of expressing the emotions, talking about them with trusted others and supportive coping strategies. Many people suppress emotions and at times anxiety experienced is connected to other emotions requiring to be addressed within therapy. Other times people experience stress or loneliness they may use behaviours such as drinking alcohol, drugs, paying for sex, over exercising or scrolling social media as a way to numb.
4. Resilience and coping skills. Resilience is your ability to bounce back from life events. This is not always easy as many people who attend clinic have experienced trauma. Therapy can support rebuilding your sense of self and increasing resilience. This can include developing effective coping strategies to support increasing social support, self care being practiced and a safe space to speak of previous events.
5. Purpose and meaning. Many people who attend clinic question their sense of purpose in life and what life means. This can be due to many reasons, perhaps they are at the stage of life of achieving what they wanted, the family are complete or experiencing a break up. Some people feel ‘lost’ when they attend therapy.
6. Boundaries and balance. Maintaining a balance between work, relationships, personal time and leisure is essential for emotional wellbeing. Practicing boundaries and prioritising self supports the prevention of burnout, reduce stress and promote overall satisfaction in life.
Being aware of the components of emotional wellbeing can support you to make small changes in your life to bring more satisfaction.
If you would like to discuss therapy or have any questions you can contact me by emailing: info@drashlingdoherty.com or messaging / telephoning 07871301079
