How does a person’s mental health influence their emotional health? I never thought there was a relationship between mental health and emotional health until I began to heal my trauma memories. When my memories and resulting resentments were healed, my emotions changed. There is hope that your future can be different.
What you dwell on creates memories, either good or bad. The stronger the feelings, the stronger the memory connection. For example, think about your favorite vacation. Why was it your favorite vacation? What made that memory so strong? Strong feelings develop beliefs like “I had a great vacation because…”. Or, “I hated that vacation because…”.
For example, I hate going to the Outer Banks because of many traumatic memories from my negative perspective. How we feel is a matter of perspective. My husband loves going to the Outer Banks and didn’t understand why I was traumatized by it. I was anxious about so many things that my perspective was negative, which generated bad behavior. These negative beliefs caused me to stay home alone while my family vacationed at the Outer Banks. Being home alone was better than dealing with the trauma I felt going on that miserable vacation. Have you noticed that each family member has a different memory of the same event? Some family members are more traumatized by an event and have bad memories, which often affects their relationships in some way.
I also realized that my mental health improved when my spiritual health improved because the Bible verses I memorized changed how I processed disappointment from unmet expectations. The scripture that had the biggest effect on my mental and emotional health was 1Theselonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” So, when my expectations were not met, and I got angry, I would think, “What can I rejoice about?” Then, I would pray and give God the situation that made me angry or depressed. Next, I would think about what I can be thankful for in the situation. That discipline took me two years to master. By changing my thinking, I changed my feelings, which changed the beliefs that controlled my behavior. So, my relationships changed, and so did my future.
An emotionally healthy person does not allow a problem or disappointment to define who they are but sees themselves as separate from the problem. They can go to God with the disturbing issue and trust God to help them with it. An emotionally healthy person can self-regulate their emotions and have inner control. The following list is not an exhaustive list of what an emotionally healthy person is. As you read each one, count how many you struggle with.
- Can love others without judgment.
- Has a healthy self-worth and gives all shame and guilt to God.
- Being able to regulate your emotions like sadness and joy.
- Can give grace to messy people who frustrate them and are unaffected by their opinions.
- Giving to people, not being selfish, and not expecting others to conform to their expectations.
- Maintains hope in God despite life’s setbacks.
- Take responsibility for their emotions and actions, and do not blame others.
- Is not fearful but trusts God.
- Identifies wrong beliefs and adopts God’s truth for their beliefs.
- Is empathetic toward others.
- Is comfortable being alone and being with people.
In the coming weeks, I will address many of these and how to identify the source of the negative feelings and traumatic memories. There is hope for complete healing. God bless you this week. Thank you for joining me today.
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My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.
If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.
Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.
Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.
