If you are wondering how emotional health relates to Physical Education, think about how you react to frustrating or uncomfortable situations.
PE teachers teach a variety of dimensions of heath to our students. Some of the most common are as follows:
- Physical
- Emotional
- Intellectual
- Social
- Spiritual
- Environmental
- Occupational
Notice emotional health sitting pretty high on the list.
Emotional health is being able to understand your feelings, thoughts and behaviors and are able to cope with challenges they are faced with. It does not mean that you are happy 24/7 and nothing brings you down, but instead you’re aware of your emotions.
Emotional Health and Children
I’ve broken up a fair share of fights in my gym before. Some were fist fights, and some were just arguments.
I quickly realized that all parties involved in any altercation are struggling to express themselves. They feel they are not heard, so they fight fire with fire. The last thing they need is their PE teacher running over and yelling at them.
They were upset for a reason and you CANNOT discredit that! But what they are doing, is having trouble sorting out their emotions.
Usually my go to is to head over to the fight/altercation an take one of the students out of the gym. I’ll let them know that I’m here for them, and we are just going to take a breather.
If I cannot leave the gym, I’ll tell one of them to take a lap around the school. Once either party is cooled down, we either talk or I let them go to their behavior specialist to talk it out or just sit with them since they bring a secure presence to the students.
Sometimes, their walk deescalates the situation enough to make them want to come back to class and rejoin the activity.
My point is that these kids have emotions and feelings and who am I to discredit them when they have no other outlet for their frustrations. It comes out verbally or physically.
The goal is to help them understand healthy ways to express their feelings.
Know The Difference Between Expressing Your Feelings and Being Disrespectful
I’m sure you can think back to a time when a teacher told you what you were feeling was not the right thing to feel. They may have told you that what you felt was disrespectful to someone or something.
I get students telling me all the time that they don’t like specific kids in their class. That’s fine! I tell them you don’t have to like that person, but how you handle their presence or words is what’s going to set you apart from the rest.
Always be the bigger person if possible.
If we’ve had a heated class, and tensions ran high, I’ll end the class telling them “you don’t have to like all your classmates, you don’t have to like the game we played, you don’t have to like all your teammates, and you don’t even have to like me…but you do have to rise above in some way shape or form”.
Never apologize for your FEELINGS, because they are yours. But work on finding healthy ways to deal with your emotions so they don’t turn into words or actions you can’t take back.
Understanding that whatever you’re feeling is perfectly normal, but a deeper understanding of where you sit on your emotional health journey is really going to help how you deal with those feelings.
Relating This To The Outside World
Everyone reading this post is going through something in one way or the other.
Personally I am going through a loss. One week ago my beautiful German Shepherd Harley died completely unexpectedly. I saw him the day he passed and gave him a hug and kiss. He always knew how loved he was. And then one hour later he was dead.
I’m trying to be respectful of others right now with all the racism going on in the world, but I’m having a really hard time leaving the comfort of my living room with South Park on to make me laugh, to go start some twitter drama with people who are extremely uneducated.
My feelings are MINE.
Right now what’s best for my well being in the umbrella of PHYSICAL/HEALTH EDUCATION is to stay away from social media pain. My heart is broken for so many mistreated due to racism, but right now I need to grieve in a way that’s best for me.
I’ve spent the last week indoors when it was beautiful outside, with my blinds closed. My living room stayed pretty dark, and I cozied up on my couch with my pillow, childhood stuffed animal, my other dog Nico and some nonsense TV.
Maybe my healthy habits of working out, being outside and cooking healthy have slid a little, but I was actually doing pretty well in my dark little bubble. Crying a lot, but I was comfortable hidden to the world.
To me this was what I needed. I am aware of my emotional health at the moment. I know what I need to do in order to keep myself from lashing out or doing something I regret.
But there are people out there who will tell you “he’s just a dog”, “just get another one” or “you’ll be fine”. What they are doing is discrediting your feelings and emotions.
In my world Harley was not just a dog. He was my family’s angel who helped us through a decade of pain when we got him a week after our dad died in a motorcycle accident. He was our baby, our safety net and the most amazing living angel who showed nothing but unconditional love to us.
So how dare anyone tell someone what they should or shouldn’t be feeling during a time of pain and hurt. No matter what the scenario is.
It could be the loss of a job, you didn’t get into the school you wanted or you don’t like your teammates in your PE class. It all stems back to your emotional health and how you react to others blatant ignorance.
All of these scenarios bring up a whole set of emotions and feelings for people. And they will all be different from person to person. Just because you’re emotionally healthy and understand how to process your feelings, doesn’t mean the next person does.
How To Strengthen Your Emotional Health
When the Coronavirus lockdown first started I wrote a post called 15 Ways To Improve My Mental Health.
Although mental and emotional health are similar, they are not identical.
Mental health refers to your ability to process information, and emotional health refers to your ability to express your feelings which are based on the information you have processed.
But, a lot of the ways to strengthen both aspects of your heath are very similar. The article 15 Ways To Improve My Mental Health will also have great resources for you if you are struggling with emotional health.
Now to expand on strengthening your emotional health try considering the following four coping tips.
Tip #1: Meditation
Meditation is always a great way to pull yourself back to reality.
People who struggle with anxiety might find meditation a great source of relief.
In the article How to Meditate, you will find a beginners guide on how to, and what the benefits are. It’s very detailed, so I think a lot of people interested in this method of strengthening emotional health will really see the value here.
Tip #2: Journaling
This helps. I bought a journal in 2017 to write in as I was living in another state without my Michigan friends or family.
I currently am writing almost daily about what I’m feeling when it comes to my dog who just passed. Some entries are short, some are long. But I’m able to express what I’m going through. I don’t have to wonder if the pages I’m writing on are listening or even care, like you would if you were talking to a friend.
Not saying talking to a friend is a bad idea. Just that I can be as vulnerable as I want without judgement.
Tip #3: Listening To Music
This is huge for me. I have a running playlist that only includes rap music on it. This is what I have been listening too while I shower, or clean up the house.
I love the beats, which makes me want to dance. It takes me out of my head for a bit, and lets me just unwind and enjoy the moment.
Tip #4: Talking To A Therapist
Therapist are great for helping you sort out your feelings.
They are highly trained and give you advice on how to navigate through your emotions.
This would be a great step for anyone who has tried everything and just can’t seem to gain control over their feelings and emotional health.
Moving Forward
My hope is that people start to understand that everyones emotional health is not all on the same playing field.
One person may be emotionally stronger when it comes to sorting out their feelings than the next.
You might see someone lashing out and think “wow they must be crazy”. But they’re not. It’s just like some of our students do when they get into altercations. Fighting fire with fire. There is always a cause and effect in every situation.
Rise above, and try to understand what that other person is going through. Talk to them. Don’t just assume what they feel is wrong. Try to understand why they feel the way they do, and move forward from there.
And if you are the one lashing out a lot, figure out what triggers you and work on solutions to helping you stay level headed in those situations.
Emotional health is a lot of the time overlooked. You aren’t wrong or right when it comes to your personal dealings with it. Just keep on striving to be the best version of yourselves.
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