Why Mental Health?: Through the Lens of Emotional Regulation, Social Connection, and Systemic Environmental Systems
“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary.”
-Fred Rogers
Yes, mental health. I said it, and it is a topic that must keep coming up because of how essential it is to our overall well-being and quality of life. Mental health, like physical health, exists on a continuum (Menefee et al., 2022). Think about this as shades of gray between white and black. Mental health is not all or nothing nor is it an isolated aspect of being human. Mental health is linked to our physical health, emotional well being, and social relationships. And, this list could go on listing many more additional aspects. The point is how much mental health is connected to so many other aspects of our lives. And our mental health is impacted from many levels, individual, family, community, and societal. It is also their interplay that impacts our mental health. The above just begins to touch on the topic of mental health. While we do not have the space to dive too deeply, what we can do is look at a few aspects that impact or are connected to our mental health.
Emotional Regulation
"Emotion regulation is not about not feeling. Neither is it exerting tight control over what we feel. And it's not about banishing negative emotions and feeling only positive ones. Rather, emotion regulation starts with giving ourselves and others the permission to own our feelings—all of them."
- Marc Brackett
Part of the joy of being human is our ability to feel. We feel joy, sadness, pain, anger, disgust, fear, and countless more emotions. Emotions serve many purposes, such as data/information to investigate, motivate our behavior, help with survival, and encourage social connections. One skill we need to develop in our lifetime is emotional regulation so that we can interact with our emotions more effectively. Thus, emotional regulation is our ability to manage our emotions in a way to empower us to respond appropriately to different situations rather than react or be overwhelmed. This process begins by understanding what we are feeling when an emotion arises, listening to the information that the feeling is providing, and then being able to express and act upon them effectively. Developing good emotional regulation is a mental health-promoting behavior (Menefee et al., 2022).
Social Connection
“Life doesn’t make any sense without interdependence. We need each other, and the sooner we learn that, the better for us all.”
-Erik Erikson
Humans are social creatures. We grow and develop in the context of social interactions and throughout our lifespan we need social connection. The pandemic was a good reminder of the importance of connection. Many studies have looked at the importance of connection via loneliness. Two of these studies are mentioned here. The first study identified that loneliness is likely either a cause or consequence leading to poor mental health (Hare Duke, 2017). The second study stated that there is much evidence pointing to how social connection is a predictor of mental and physical health (Holt‐Lunstad, 2024). While these are just two studies, as mentioned, there are many more that point to how impactful social connectedness is to our mental health.
Systemic Environmental Systems
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
When discussing mental health we must not neglect to account for the environment and the systemic systems that are present. It would be highly neglectful to not remember how the environment has a direct impact on our mental health. Systemic system, in the context of mental health, we are looking at mental health as influenced by interactions and engagements with larger systems including family, community, society, the dynamics of each and as they interact, factors such as systemic inequality, and the structure and dynamics of mental health services. This included looking at issues of racism, sexism, ableism, genderism, etc. Research continues to point out racism (Williams & Etkins, 2021), sexism (Borrell et al., 2011), and ableism (Kattari, 2020) have negative impacts on our mental health, which means when it comes to addressing mental health, social justice work becomes part of the picture.
This blog post is not the first, nor will it be the last, to talk about the importance of mental health. We need to continue to talk about mental health so that it becomes ingrained in our lives as care that is essential to our everyday lives.
A butterfly background with an iPad on it. There is a pencil for the iPad on the right side and the screen has the words mental health matters. The background of the iPad is red with pink lines.
take action today moment:
Consider how much attention you are giving to your mental health. Where does mental health come in your priorities, understanding, and values? Yes, values! What have you learned about mental health from your family? Community? And, society? After you reflect, if you notice that you want to spend more time engaging with your mental health, what steps can you take to engage more? Remember, you can also seek out mental health support if you need extra help.
Learn More About Narratives, Cognitive Reframing, and Confirmation Bias:
World Health Organization: Mental Health
Emotions are Signals to Approach (Not Avoid)
5 Reasons Emotions Are Important
Social connection linked to improved health and reduced risk of early death
References
Borrell, C., Artazcoz, L., Gil-González, D., Perez, K., Perez, G., Vives-Cases, C., & Rohlfs, I. (2011). Determinants of perceived sexism and their role on the association of sexism with mental health. Women & Health, 51(6), 583-603. https://doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2011.608416
Hare Duke, L. (2017). The importance of social ties in mental health. Mental Health and Social Inclusion, 21(5), 264-270. https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-07-2017-0029
Holt‐Lunstad, J. (2024). Social connection as a critical factor for mental and physical health: Evidence, trends, challenges, and future implications. World Psychiatry, 23(3), 312-332. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11403199/
Kattari, S. K. (2020). Ableist microaggressions and the mental health of disabled adults. Community Mental Health Journal, 56(6), 1170-1179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-020-00615-6
Menefee, D. S., Ledoux, T., & Johnston, C. A. (2022). The importance of emotional regulation in mental health. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 16(1), 28-31. https://doi.org/10.1177/15598276211049771
Williams, D. R., & Etkins, O. S. (2021). Racism and mental health. World Psychiatry, 20(2), 194-195. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8129841/pdf/WPS-20-194.pdf