Mental and Emotional Health (Daniel)

2/24/2025

Emotional health is such a precarious thing, and I often struggle with a dilemma. The last thing I want to do is suppress emotions, bottling them down inside, only to suffer the repercussions of unprocessed feelings later down the road. But, there is folly in the opposite extreme as well. I find that, often, as I endeavor to avoid under-processing deep and heavy feelings, I, instead, dwell unnecessarily on them. Ignoring our negative experiences can lead to a build up of unmanaged emotions, that is bad for everyone involved. Returned WWII veterans often may fall within this category of poor coping, because they lived in an era that was much more oblivious to mental health needs. Nowadays, we are much more aware. But, that doesn't mean that there is not a place for the setting aside of negative emotions. For me, focusing too much on these hardships in an attempt to process them only weighs me down more, and ultimately, maybe hurts me more than the experience itself could have. What are your guys' thoughts on this balance of deliberately cheerful living, and recovering from trials?

19 Comments

Emylee Perkins

2/24/2025 04:05:34 pm

I can actually relate to this topic heavily and I think that you worded everything in a very understandable way that makes a lot of sense. I struggle with my mental health frequently and I've been recently trying to accept that more, even if I am greatly embarrassed by it. I do not know how to manage it yet, but I think that recognizing my embarrassment and accepting that I have mental health issues could be a great first step. I have never been diagnosed with anything, but I can see it is there in the way that it manifests in my routines. I do not know how to live cheerfully as a conscious choice sometimes, but I do find myself becoming obsessed with giving others gifts, complimenting them, etc. I am very sensitive to when I think that someone doesn't like me very much, which I tend to blame on my appearance. I think that unfortunately there really isn't always something that you can do, so sometimes there can be long periods of depression which may affect anyone. Ultimately, I wish that everyone would just be a bit more kind to one another, because the honest truth is that confidence doesn't just appear in people who feel lonely. I always hear others talk about how you have to "love and appreciate yourself first", and although this may be true and helpful, you won't get far alone. A simple invite goes a long way, and even though I sometimes feel like Eeyore, I appreciate those who will just include me and be with me throughout holidays, special events, and just the average week.

Deanda Lamping

2/25/2025 02:14:59 pm

Emylee, your statement about gift giving is understandable because I do it too. I also know where you're coming from because, I too, feel the same way sometimes. Always here if you need someone.

Deanda Lamping

2/25/2025 01:59:23 pm

Wow Daniel, this is an amazing topic. I sometimes feel silly talking about my own situations because sometimes its hard for me to acknowledge that everything can't be perfect all of the time. There has to be downs in order to feel the highs of life. Which is hard to remind myself sometimes. I feel that some mental health issues resides within us all but we all feel it differently and at different altitudes. Sometimes I find myself in my head to often and I become my own enemy. I go back to the things that make me the saddest or I find myself dwelling on things I know I cannot change because its in the past. I have always felt things and taken things more personally even if it wasn't directed at me. I haven't found a solution that's permanent but by being nice to others helps take me out of my head and from feeling bad about myself. To help with my anxiety I hate talking things out, I like to be left alone but not out of reach from the people I love, I know very wishy washy but it makes sense in my noggin. I also enjoy being able to connect with people on a personal level. Being able to ask questions about people have always been my form of connection. It could be silly questions like 'what's your favorite color' but it opens a world for possibilities. I've tried to be a better person for the person I lost when I was little. Its hard to get past certain things, especially a loss, but I try. And I try for others too.

Emylee Perkins

3/2/2025 07:44:36 pm

I understand what you mean when you say that you don't want to acknowledge that everything can't be perfect all of the time! I feel like lots of people will set their minds to everything either being perfect or completely ruined as a way to protect themselves. I feel like labelling everything as exactly one way or the other takes out any super complicated or gray areas that we don't know how to work through yet.

Brylee Ganske

3/3/2025 09:08:59 am

I agree, at times I will find myself too busy or caught up to actually realize how I feel about something and because of this it usually takes a day or two for things to really hit me.

Brylee Ganske

3/2/2025 02:40:27 pm

When it comes to emotional health I feel like I have expired both sides of this spectrum, when I was little I never really understood how to handle my emotions and they would kinda just come out all over the place and it was a mess. When I became older I tried to hold in my emotions more but because of this when I broke, I really truly broke which usually would happen when I was dealing with a lot of stress and felt like I wasn't fulfilling my expectations of myself. I feel like a proper way to truly deal with this stress is either confiding in someone you can trust, or confiding in yourself through a journal or something similar, a lot of people feel like they just need someway to vent or let go of this feeling.

Emylee Perkins

3/2/2025 07:51:46 pm

I agree with the way you mentioned that both of the extreme sides of the spectrum are harmful. I think that, however cliche it may sound, the most important thing is not to give up. We all fall down and make mistakes that feel like they set us back and can cause us to feel bad about ourselves if we are not careful. Doing something every day to take care of ourselves and improve is important because we can have more good days than bad when we remember that the next day is always a sunny clean slate.

Kennedi

3/2/2025 07:52:22 pm

Do you find yourself keeping a journal or turning to others for help? Sometimes anxiety and stress can come from other people, so talking with someone about it can be rough. However we don’t always get answers by writing them out. I’m curious as to what you do.

Nicolas Sessions

3/3/2025 09:20:41 am

I agree that confiding in others that you trust is a good thing rather than holding your problems inside or blabbing to the wrong people.

Daniel Davidson

3/3/2025 01:23:38 pm

I totally find that writing feelings and experiences down is an excellent way to start me on my coping journey. Sometimes just putting things into words is all I need to process. But, then again, its true that other times I feel like I could not possibly find the words to describe anything accurately.

Chanci Phillips

3/2/2025 07:45:19 pm

I think that as I have gotten older, the world feels a lot more real, especially when we are graduating soon. We are at the stage of our lives where we are experiencing a big transition into becoming adults and the stress can be very overwhelming. This year has been a struggle for me to balance my workload and to stop myself from burning out. By the second semester, I was so unmotivated that it was hard to get back on track. When this happens I try to remind myself that it will pass and to spend time outside for fresh air and sunshine. This usually boosts my mood and I can motivate myself to get work done.

Megan Aiello

3/3/2025 09:11:15 am

I agree with you, I think that feeling unmotivated and trying to stay on track is also a difficult challenge.

Daniel Davidson

3/3/2025 01:24:41 pm

Going outdoors is really good for me too. It gives me time to think, and a space away from all of the noises and attention grabbing things at home (or just indoors, in general).

Kennedi Reagan

3/2/2025 07:50:44 pm

A great example that I can produce from the situation is my experience in our school musical. Many days people are feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and upset. Myself included have known that there are days that I need to just take a break and give myself some space away from other people. However, because we are working together and we are our family. We try to keep a cheerful and positive atmosphere. I and other cast members have constantly reassured that it’s alright to have bad days and it’s okay to not be okay. However, we also say that we need to leave our problems at the door and become our characters when we walk through, so trying to find a balance can be difficult at times. I think mental health is very important and I think crying should be something that is socially acceptable. I also believe taking a moment for yourself when in a crazy situation is necessary and not being around many people is something that can calm me down.

Megan Aiello

3/3/2025 09:10:07 am

I think a big factor that takes place is change, as we are getting older, we are learning how to manage our time and events differently and independently. For example senior project and graduation is a big step toward our future and prepares us for growing into the future out of high school.

Nicolas Sessions

3/3/2025 09:19:21 am

I agree that change is a big factor in dealing with various things.

nicolas sessions

3/3/2025 09:18:23 am

I read a really good book called Tuesdays with Morrie that had a good lesson about emotions. It said that when feeling an emotion it is important to internalize it and feel the emotion but then after feeling it and understanding it to dissociate from it so you don't linger too long on it. Another thought comes to mind as well that It is important to live now not in the past or the future, because past living leads to depression and future living leads to anxiety and stress.

Megan Aiello

3/3/2025 09:25:14 am

That cool you found a book that reflected emotions, I’m also reading a book that puts into perspective about high school and friends. This book has helped my thinking of how I see high school and what we make of it.

Chanci Phillips

3/3/2025 09:28:32 am

This is really good advice because in our society, people are encouraged to not show their emotions.

Mental and Emotional Health (Daniel)

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