Emotional skills
HEALTH COMPETENCE 6/6Processing and identifying your feelings
Feelings are constantly involved in life. They are reactions to things that people face and make them act in a certain way. Feelings are experienced individually; not everyone experiences similar feelings in the same situations. At best, feelings provide strength.
Feelings tell us what is important to our well-being and also make us avoid things that may be harmful to us. All feelings have a message and you should listen to them. All feelings are also allowed. It is not advisable to fear your own feelings, and even big feelings will pass.
Love – affection and caring, tells us what is valuable to us
Joy – provides strength in life
Grief – helps to deal with losses and cleans the stress caused by experiences and feelings
Fear – warns of a threatening situation
Anxiety – informs a conflict that needs to be resolved
If you do not encounter and process your feelings, you may miss the message they send and the feelings may be locked in, making both the body and mind feel bad. Emotional skills help you to manage and process your feelings, give you strength, and increase your self-awareness and good mood.
Emotional skills in everyday life
Emotional skills also involve
- the ability to see meaningfulness in your existence and in what you do
- curious openness to new things, people and learning
- internal motivation, i.e. the desire to commit to studying and understanding its meaning
- initiative, i.e. action to achieve your own goals
- independence and responsibility, i.e. the ability to decide on and assume responsibility for your own actions
References
Erkko & Hannukkala 2013, Mielenterveys voimaksi, Suomen Mielenterveysseura
Törrönen, Hannukkala, Ruuskanen & Korhonen 2011, Hyvinvoiva oppilaitos, Mielen hyvinvoinnin opetus- ja koulutusaineisto toisen asteen oppilaitoksille, Suomen Mielenterveysseura