1. Understanding Emotions
Emotions – signals that tell your mind and body how to react

2. Emotions affect all sides of the health triangle
Joy
Release brain chemicals that make you fell warmth and a sense of well-being
Promotes mental/emotional health
Improves relationships
Fear
Fight or flight response – physical changes
sweating, increased heart rate, increase breathing rate, tightening of muscles, slowed digestion

3. Identifying your emotions
Sometimes you know exactly why you feel a certain way
Sometimes you have no idea what caused that emotion to occur
Hormones – a chemical secreted by your glands that regulate the activities of different body cells
Accurately identifying what emotion you are feeling will help you respond in a healthy way

4. Happiness
What are some words that describe how you feel when you are happy?

5. Sadness A normal, healthy reaction to difficult events
What are some words that would describe how you feel when you are sad?
May be mild and fleeting or deep and long-lasting

6. Love
What are some words that describe how you feel when you are feeling love?
Can be expressed through words or actions
How can you show love to others?

7. Empathy The ability to imagine and understand how someone else feels
Different from sympathy

8. Fear
What are some words that describe how you feel when you experience fear?
Phobia – exaggerated fear
What are some examples of phobias?

9. Guilt
What are some words that describe how you feel when you experience guilt?
Results from acting against one’s values or failing to act when you should have

10. Anger
What are some words that describe how you feel when you are angry?
Common reaction to being emotionally or physically hurt
If not handled in constructive ways it can result in violence
Hostility – the intentional use of unfriendly or offensive behavior
Hostile people are 4-7 times more likely to die from heart disease

11. Dealing with emotions in a positive way
Every time you experience an emotion, you have a choice of how you will handle it
Strategies for responding to your emotions
Look below the surface – What are you really reacting to?
Will this matter later (tomorrow, next week, next month, next year)?
Thoroughly consider the possible consequences before taking action
Let positive feelings inspire you. Relieve negative feelings.
If a negative feeling doesn’t go away…seek help.

12. Defense Mechanisms
Mental processes that protect individuals from strong or stressful emotions or situations

13. Common Defense Mechanisms
Suppression
holding back or restraining – conscious, intentional pushing of unpleasantness from one’s mind
Repression
involuntary pushing of unpleasant feelings out of conscious thought
Rationalization
making excuses to explain a situation or behavior rather than directly taking responsibility for it
Regression
reverting to behaviors more characteristic of an earlier stage of development

14. Common Defense Mechanisms
Denial
unconscious lack of acknowledgement of something that is obvious to others
Compensation
making up for weaknesses and mistakes through gift-giving, hard work, or extreme efforts
Projection
attributing your feelings or faults to another person or group
Idealization
seeing someone else as perfect, ideal, or more worthy than everyone else

15. Handling Fear
Some fear is healthy and natural. It is only a problem if it is irrational or uncontrollable
Overcoming fear
Identify your fear
Talk about your fear
Learn about fear

16. Managing Fear You can choose how to approach your fears
1. Forget Everything And Run Or
2. Face Everything And Rise
The Key is having the knowledge, skills, and support to know how to face the fear.

17. Dealing with guilt Try to get to the source and deal with the problem
Do your best to right the wrong
Learn from the experience and be more responsible in the future
Check yourself to make sure it was within your control. If not, it is not your guilt.

18. Managing Anger Get at the underlying source and address it
Even if you can’t do anything about the source
Cope with your feelings

19. Strategies for Managing Anger
A 12-step program developed by doctors at Duke University Medical Center
Some examples
Try seeing an upsetting issue from the other person’s perspective
Learn to relax
Practice trusting other people
Develop your listening skills
Learn to assert yourself. Using assertiveness – instead of aggression – can improve your relationships and help you achieve your goals
Remember that life is short. Ask yourself whether you really have time to get angry

20. Managing Anger Activity
Write the following headings on your paper
Do something to relax
Re-channel your energy
Talk to someone you trust
Get some physical activity
Under each heading list at least 2 activities you can try the next time your are Angry and record them in your phone. For extra Credit if you qualify (meaning all your other work has been completed) you can access your “Anger Management Techniques” in your phone the next time your are angry and put one or more of them to use. Then write a paper clearly communicating the following;

21. 1. What made your angry?
2. How did you feel before and after using your “Anger Management Technique”?
3. Were you able to move forward in a positive way in the relationship with the person or people you were angry with?
4. Did you use your healthy communication skills to try and move beyond the argument?