7: The Creative Self

Emotional Wellness

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Emotions show up in many forms. Learning to name them and express is essential to building emotional wellness and well-being. (Photo by Pavel Danilyuk from Pexels.)

The first aspect within the creative self is emotional well-being, which refers to how well an individual understands and articulates emotional states as well as their ability to engage in emotional management. Emotions are a neurobiological activity that serves the purpose of communicating our concerns to others. In a baby, this can include hunger, in an adult this can be related to values and goals in life. For detailed information about emotions, access this article by Izard (2009).

The ability to understand and articulate emotional states can be related to development in that individuals are the result of their environment. Access to adults with knowledge of emotional states and the willingness to discuss them can lead to greater competency in this area. Many families hold beliefs that emotions should not be expressed openly or shared outside the family unit. Other families encourage the sharing of feelings. Much of this is determined by cultural values, social norms, and the goals of the caregivers. The individual temperament of the child can also play a part in the development of emotional expression.

Begin the facilitation of emotional expression by first assessing the level of emotional/feeling vocabulary available to the individual. This is usually fairly obvious during the intake interview process and first few sessions. The client will have a tendency to use the same and/or limited words to express feelings. Click here [no link in Word document - need the link] for a list of resources including lists and worksheets that can help your client expand their vocabulary and understanding of the variety of feelings they are experiencing. This can be beneficial in helping them express exactly what they are concerned about and what they need to move forward.

The second aspect of emotional well-being is somewhat more complex. It is emotional management. This is seen in the person who struggles to maintain control of their emotions, especially when they have been triggered by something or someone in their environment. In the therapeutic world this is called emotional escalation and most clients who come in for treatment are unaware of both the triggers and the escalation. Individuals who experience emotional escalation usually feel that their response is valid and realistic in relation to the reaction they are experiencing to the trigger.

In working with clients experiencing emotional escalation learning first how to self-regulate their nervous systems is paramount. Using psychoeducation to teach them the difference between the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic nervous system perceives a threat – the trigger – and responds to protect the individual. The parasympathetic nervous system returns the individual to a state of calm. While this process is an automatic one comprised of neurotransmitters and unconscious reactions to stress, there is much that the individual can do to counter the automatic stress response that catapults the body into a sympathetic response. Meditation, breathing exercises, yoga, walking in nature (or anywhere), prayer, and music are all examples of actions that can help return the body to a parasympathetic state.

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Regulating the nervous system begins with recognizing stress responses and practicing intentional self-soothing techniques. (Photos by Oluremi Adebayo from Pexels (top), Ivan Samkov from Pexels (bottom).)

The client must understand that this process is happening, and they are responsible for reversing it. They must also understand that when this happens, they may say and/or do things that can be viewed by others in ways they may not desire. In other words, they may act irrationally or differently than how they would act if they were calm. This can cause disruptions in their relationships in any area of their lives, including home, work, and school. Most clients are very aware that this is occurring and welcome assistance with learning to change this pattern to increase their wellness in this area.

Work with clients who are experiencing emotional escalation can continue with identifying triggers and examining past trauma and invalidation that might have led to the emotional escalation. Dialectical Behavior Therapy is especially useful in working with emotional escalation. See below for resources on how to do additional work in these areas.

Humor

“A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble on the road.” Henry Ward Beecher

“I knew racial discrimination at its worst in the 1930’s. I lived with the humility of it, but never lost my sense of humor. Humor is the escape valve from the deadly reality of adversity." Nipsey Russell

“A sense of humor is good for you. Have you ever heard of a laughing hyena with heart burn?" Bob Hope

“What’s another word for Thesaurus?” Steven Wright

Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): Laughter, humor, and optimism are essential to well-being. (Photo by Tim Mossholder from Pexels.)

We’ve heard the axioms “Laughter is the best medicine” and although most would assert that humor, laughter and generally optimism are all related to a general state of well-being, there has been surprisingly little research done on the topic until recently to substantiate these beliefs. Most of the conjecture is based on the idea that humor serves as a distraction from one’s problems and offers the opportunity to distance oneself from the intensity of stressful situations making them seem less dire and detrimental to functioning and wellness (Bast & Berry, 2014; Martin et al., 1993). Kuiper and colleagues (1993) identified that individuals with a more developed sense of humor were able to perceive difficult situations more positively and put more emotional distance between the problem and themselves. Research has shown a positive correlation between high levels of trait humor, which is having a sense of humor or a readiness to find or create humor in different situations, and self-esteem, self-concept, and evaluation of self-worth. Similarly, individuals with higher sense of humor levels made cognitive appraisals of stressful situations in terms of how they could be solved and coped with, where individuals with lower sense of humor tended toward a focus on the problem (Martin et al., 1993).

There are notable differences in humor among gender and type of humor that can affect outcomes. Men are more likely to utilize biting or hostile humor as part of their repertoire, where women may engage in self-deprecating types of humor. This research does support the idea that humor helps with physical and emotional well-being. It is certainly useful in strengthening social relationships and appears to be linked to greater enjoyment of positive experiences.

Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\): Humor helps to support social relationships. (Photo by Elle Hughes from Pexels.)

Work/Occupation

Work is a general term that can apply to a job, occupation, vocation, or any kind of work task that is performed whether paid or not and is an important area of wellness. A job is typically seen as an entry-level position that usually provides the worker with a lower salary. An occupation is most closely associated with work an individual performs for a longer period of time that has involved either some training or education and brings in a higher level of pay. A vocation is considered a “calling” or work an individual does that has deep personal meaning. The financial rewards may or may not be substantial, but most individuals who work at a vocation will say that the satisfaction is part of what they earn.

Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\): Work can be a job, occupation, or calling. Finding purpose and satisfaction in work is important to wellness. (Photo by Yan Krukau from Pexels.)

With regards to work, what matters most is the client’s satisfaction with the work they are or are not currently doing. An individual may be content to be unemployed if they have the financial resources to survive. Another individual may be miserable making a considerable amount of money at an occupation that they dislike. Work with a client in this area will usually involve helping them find solutions to find more satisfaction with their work situation. It appears that what might be restorative about an individual’s occupation is the engagement in what they are doing and the level the person feels they are connecting to the past and contributing to a hopeful future (Hammell, 2009).

Utilizing vocational assessments from O-Net, a governmental vocational website, can be useful in helping clients narrow down interests, abilities, and values and explore occupational opportunities and ideas. If you have had your career counseling course you are aware that most career assessments look for a combination of abilities, values, skills, and interests. You will also want to know what kind of work the client is interested in doing and why. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) type indicator is a valuable and fun tool to discover personality characteristics.

Of course, sometimes when people come in to talk about vocation, the issues are not related to vocational problems and are psychological in nature. As usual, use your exploration skills and work to uncover what is going on with the client to interfere with their satisfaction in this area.

Cognitive/Intellectual Wellness

This area involves both realistic thinking (cognitive wellness) and intellectual engagement (intellectual wellness). While both are related to cognitive functioning and brain health, they are distinctly different processes. Cognitive wellness refers to what the individual is thinking and how those thoughts impact functioning, while intellectual wellness refers to utilizing the brain to maintain cognitive health, growth, and cognitive skills, in other words - use it, or lose it.