People who are emotionally healthy are in control of their thoughts, feelings and behaviors. They feel good about themselves and have good relationships. They can keep problems in perspective.
It's important to remember that people who have good emotional health sometimes have emotional problems or mental illness. Mental illness often has a physical cause, such as a chemical imbalance in the brain. Stress and problems with family, work or school can sometimes trigger mental illness or make it worse. However, people who are emotionally healthy have learned ways to cope with stress and problems. They know when they need to seek help from their doctor or a counselor.
"Mood Disorders" are the most common groupings of psychiatric disorders. The primary symptom is that of changed affect or mood. These mood disorders may be bipolar disorder (formerly known as manic depression), in which the person swings between extreme high and low moods, or depression in which the person has persistent low moods. The medical cause is attributed to chemical imbalances or structural defects that disrupt normal brain processing. The most common affective disorder is depression.