According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a person is considered to be healthy when his physical, mental, and social well-being are intact and not merely the absence of any diseases. Nowadays schools focus on the overall well-being of students and hence aims to develop the child holistically. Extra-curricular activities are given equal weightage, as studies are, and students are encouraged to participate in sports, drama, music class, and learn coding, etc.
What do we understand by emotional health?
Emotions are related to mental health and a healthy emotional state of being is when an individual can cope with positive and negative emotions with grace. Those who suffer from negative emotions are more likely to feel stressed which may even have an adverse impact on their physical well-being.
Here are a few examples of positive and negative emotions that people have to deal with through their lives, under different circumstances and phases.
| Positive Emotions | Negative Emotions |
| Love | Fear |
| Joy | Anger |
| Satisfaction | Sadness |
| Contentment | Loneliness |
| Happiness | Disgust |
Everyone needs positive emotions to be successful in life and lead a fulfilling path. However, negative emotions are very unpleasant and though we try to stay away from them, they appear as guests every now & then, even though everything may be going perfectly fine.
If negative emotions are dealt with carefully, they actually help us grow. How does this happen? We become more grateful for the things we already have. We push ourselves to outdo fear and evolve. We remind ourselves to be positive and spread joy around, so that it multiplies and comes back to us.
Growing children go through a lot of emotional ups and downs and often don’t understand why they feel the way they do. Being unable to express their feeling, thoughts & emotions in words is frustrating. Most schools in Dubai and Middle East have child counsellors on-board and the number of cases of children who need counselling is increasing, due to the stressful lives everyone is facing today.
Some signs that tell us that the child is having difficulty managing his emotions:
• Isolating themselves from friends
• Not able to concentrate white studying
• Feeling irritable and throwing tantrums
• Poor hygiene habits
• Lower energy than usual
• Having disturbed sleep patterns
• Eating too much or too little
Play Therapy for Positive Emotional Development
Did you know play is the most important aspect of a child’s growing phase? Preschoolers must be encouraged to indulge in play whether it is solving a puzzle, drawing, or playing with a LEGO® Education set.
Imaginative play: This is more like a role-play exercise where children assume, they are different characters. One day your kid may become a pilot and on the other she may want to mimic a surgeon in an operation theatre. Children have wild imagination and they pretend to be whatever they want to. This helps kids experience different emotions in a safe way. Like hat would a pilot feel while landing a plane? They undergo the same feeling of urgency while preparing to land and then pride, once they have successfully accomplished their mission. This way, a child is able to channelize built-up energy and emotions in a positive way.
Play Builds Self Esteem: Every baby step counts in increasing confidence building the child’s self-esteem. Remember the first time you helped your mom bake a cake? How did you feel? We’re sure that would have been one of your most memorable childhood times. Kids love to experiment and try new things, which in-turn builds their self-esteem. When one is able to finally solve a puzzle independently, it is worth every unsuccessful attempt they made. When your child is able to do one more pull-up at the jungle-gym than what he did yesterday, it gives him the feeling of getting stronger both physically & mentally. Even small things like independently being able to pack one’s school lunch box, is a big achievement & must be celebrated!
Deal with Trauma: Art therapy is for real! Studies have shown that drawing elevates the mood and keeps the child engaged for long, such that the focus shifts from negative emotions to more positive. Coloring a beautiful scenery, butterflies, and unicorns, is such an elevated feeling. It liberates one from the trauma that kids might have experienced at home due to fights amongst elders or having to deal with bullying at school. Art is a medium in which emotion is expressed. So, go ahead and relieve all those anxieties & fears by indulging in art & craft therapy.