What is and what is not emotional well-being?
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. In this context, emotional well-being is a personal and subjective perception of feeling comfortable with ourselves and our environment, of being who we are, doing what we do, and living as we live, including our relationships with others.
This well-being also includes desires, goals, and needs ; the environmental factors that affect us and the experiences we have throughout life; as well as physical, mental, and social aspects. Emotional well-being involves enjoying a fulfilling existence, with balance and harmony in the different aspects of life. But not in a static way, rather dynamically, with a growth mindset.
A growth mindset is the deep-seated belief that one can continue to progress personally, academically, and professionally ; that one can face new challenges knowing that one has sufficient strategies to overcome them; and that one can always enhance, even slightly, one's talents and skills, as well as acquire new ones. This mindset—which is the opposite of a fixed mindset, or the belief that we can do nothing to progress—generates subjective feelings of well-being in those who possess it.
Well-being or happiness?
However, it is necessary to make a clarification: well-being is not the same as happiness.
The concept of happiness is often used in a generalized way, as a marketing ploy. If we don't feel happy, it's as if life has lost its appeal. If children or teenagers aren't happy, it's as if their lives are no longer worthwhile.
- Well-being fosters motivation and optimism based on realism and doesn't necessarily have an expiration date. An important aspect is that uncomfortable emotions like sadness or frustration, for example, have a place within well-being. These emotions allow us to accept losses and disappointments, making it easier to move forward resiliently and overcome them.
- Happiness, on the other hand, generates much more intense and explosive sensations , and therefore more pleasurable, but ephemeral and driven by a false sense of motivation and optimism. Happiness doesn't allow for sadness or frustration, or rather, happiness ends when we perceive these other emotions. After an explosion of happiness, if another doesn't follow, we tend to feel empty, without purpose in life. However, it's necessary to clarify: well-being is not the same as happiness.
Is there such a difference in the brain?
At the neurohormonal and neurotransmitter level, the difference between well-being and happiness lies not in the specific molecules that are produced, but in the proportion in which these molecules are found and in the responses generated by the brain.
This proportion depends on each specific situation and on certain genetic and epigenetic factors, as well as on learning and prior experiences that have shaped neural networks. All of this brings attention back to the emotional well-being experienced during childhood and adolescence.
The main neurotransmitters and neurohormones involved in subjective feelings of well-being are:
- Endocannabinoids, or natural cannabinoids, affect mood, memory, and various cognitive processes. This is one of the reasons why adolescents and young adults with low well-being are more likely to use cannabis.
- Endorphins: These are natural opioids that reduce the sensation of pain, both physical and emotional, and also promote a positive mood.
- Dopamine: involved in feelings of reward and anticipation of future rewards for actions performed in the present — such as challenges, effort and planning — and also in feelings of pleasure, motivation and optimism.
- Oxytocin: promotes the establishment and maintenance of social bonds and is related to social pleasure.
- GABA: generates a feeling of mental calm and reduces anxiety.
- Serotonin: is related to confidence, self-esteem and positive self-perception, feelings of dignity, sense of belonging and positive mood.
- Adrenaline: or epinephrine, which generates a feeling of vitality.
The dictatorship of constant happiness
For these reasons, creating environments that promote well-being and that help children and adolescents access and manage them is a fundamental issue for healthy development.
This development should positively influence youth and adulthood, contributing to the formation of healthy and well-rounded individuals . Consequently, it should also contribute to building a society that is as just, dignified, and respectful as possible.
This is an original article from the Escola de Salut de l'Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona . For more information on family communication, please consult the 16th FAROS Report, entitled Navigating adversity: keys to a resilient childhood and adolescence.
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