7th Grade Chapter 5 Lesson 2 - Emotions PDF

What Are Emotions? MAIN IDEA​ ​It is normal to experience a variety of emotions. For two years, Tanesha has played only minor roles in school plays. Now, for the first time, she is being considered for a lead role. As she walks toward the cast list, she feels nervous and excited. When she sees her...

What Are Emotions? MAIN IDEA​ ​It is normal to experience a variety of emotions. For two years, Tanesha has played only minor roles in school plays. Now, for the first time, she is being considered for a lead role. As she walks toward the cast list, she feels nervous and excited. When she sees her name at the top, she is thrilled. She can’t resist jumping and clapping her hands for joy. Have you ever been in a situation like Tanesha’s? Even if you have not, you can probably imagine her emotions at this moment. In fact, nearly every life experience goes hand in hand with some kind of emotion. Some of the most common emotions are shown in the figure in the Lesson Resources panel. It is normal to experience many different emotions, sometimes in just a short period of time. During your teen years, mood swings are common. They can happen because of changing hormone levels in your body, worries over the future, or concerns over relationships. Mood swings are a normal part of growing up. READING CHECK Define​ What are mood swings? Expressing Your Emotions MAIN IDEA​ ​The way you express emotions affects your mental/emotional, physical, and social health. Some emotions, such as happiness and love, can be very pleasant. Others, such as fear and sadness, can be very unpleasant. However, no emotion is good or bad in itself. All emotions, even unpleasant ones, are normal and healthy. What matters is learning to express them in healthy ways that don’t cause any harm to yourself or others. Learning to manage your emotions is an important part of mental and emotional health. Dealing ​with​ Anxiety Have you ever had “butterflies in your stomach” before a big test or an important sports match? This is a normal reaction to anxiety​.​ It is a form of stress. Mild anxiety can be actually useful because it gives you extra energy. When it builds up too much, however, it can be harmful. It can interfere with normal and necessary functions like eating and sleeping. When you are feeling anxious, talking with others can sometimes help calm you down. For example, you might try talking through your problems with a family member, friend, or counselor. You can also try writing about your feelings in a journal. Physical activity can also help you feel less tense. One approach that will not help is to run away from the problem. If you meet a challenge directly, you will learn skills that can help you deal with similar challenges in the future. You may also find that the anxiety is not as bad the next time around. Dealing ​with​ Fear Fear can be a useful and important emotion. It helps us to sense and escape from danger. For example, suppose you begin to cross the street at a busy intersection. A car horn honks loudly and you look up to see a speeding car coming right at you. You escape getting hit by the car by jumping back quickly onto the curb. The emotion you felt, fear, at seeing the speeding car caused you to jump back on the pavement. Sometimes, however, the things you fear are not real threats. For example, you might be afraid of meeting new people, even though they are unlikely to harm you. In this case, your fears could hold you back from living a full life. Likewise, fear of failure can hold you back from doing what you want in life. Fear becomes a problem when it stops protecting you and instead keeps you from reaching your goals. Like anxiety, fear can be easier to handle if you talk about it. Support from friends and family may help you learn to face your fears. As you grow more used to situations, they can gradually come to seem less scary. Dealing ​with​ Anger Think about the last time you felt really angry. Did you feel like screaming and throwing things? Feelings like these are natural. In some cases, they can even be helpful. If a mugger attacks you, your anger might give you the strength to fight the attacker off and break away. However, if you’re angry with your little sister for messing up your room, yelling and hitting will only make the problem worse. This doesn’t mean that anger is a bad emotion that should be hidden from others. You just need to express it in positive ways that do not hurt others. One helpful approach is to think about what is causing your anger and look for a solution. Sometimes, though, you just feel angry for no good reason. In that case, it may help to find ways to relax, such as writing or listening to music. Physical activity can also help you release feelings of anger. The Health Skills Activity, located in the Lesson Resources panel, offers more ideas for anger management. Defense Mechanisms Defense mechanisms are strategies that people use to cope with strong emotions. Everyone uses them sometimes, usually without even realizing that they are doing it. Defense mechanisms are your mind’s way of shifting focus away from an emotion that you do not want to face. The chart in the Lesson Resources panel shows some common defense mechanisms. Some defense mechanisms are more harmful than others. Denial or projection can help protect you from pain in the short term. In the long term, however, they prevent you from dealing with your problems. Sublimation, on the other hand, can turn unwanted emotions into something positive. READING CHECK Identify​ Name two defense mechanisms. Your Emotional Needs MAIN IDEA​ ​All human beings share certain emotional needs. What do people need in life? You might think first of physical needs, such as food, water, and shelter. These are needs​ because people must have them in order to survive. They are much more important than ​wants​, things people like to have, such as books and DVDs. However, once people have met their basic physical needs, they begin to notice their emotional needs. All people share several main emotional needs​.​ They feel a need to love and be loved by others. They also feel a need to belong. For instance, you might think of yourself as a part of a family, a student at your school, or a member of a team. Finally, people feel a need to make a difference in the world. They want to do something that matters to them and to be valued for their achievements. Meeting Emotional Needs in Healthy Ways During your teen years, you can meet your emotional needs in many ways. Unfortunately, some teens try to meet these needs in ways that can harm their health. For example, one teen might try to meet her need for love by becoming involved in a sexual relationship. This would put her at risk for pregnancy and disease. Another might try to meet his need to belong by joining a gang. This would put him at risk for violence, injury, and trouble with the law. Fortunately, you have the power to choose healthy ways of meeting your emotional needs. For example, you could meet your need for love by spending time with your family and friends. You can meet your need to belong by joining a group or a club. As for your need to make a difference, helping out in your community can be a great way to help others. You will earn the respect of your neighbors, and you will boost your self-esteem as well. READING CHECK Identify​ Which emotional needs can be met by your friends and family members?