Healthy relationshipsMental healthStress relief

8 signs of emotional balance and well-being

Try these simple skills to give your well-being a boost.

Jan, 2026
LearnAnger management8 signs of emotional balance and well-being
Slide 1
Labeling Your Emotions
Reaching Out for Support
Being Kind to Yourself
Respond constructively to rejection
Owning Up to Mistakes
Keeping Stress in Check
Living in the Moment
Carving Out Time for Fun

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Slide 1

Emotional well-being is something all of us want, though we may not take time to think about it or work on it. That’s a big mistake, says therapist Julie de Azevedo Hanks, LCSW, author of The Burnout Cure. Finding emotional balance can boost happiness, improve relationships, and support recovery from a mental health condition—and that’s not all, Hanks says. By reducing stress, it can also help relieve or lower the risk of physical ailments, including obesity, heart disease, and digestive issues. 

Can you tell when you and others are doing a good job of working on emotional well-being? Watch for these signs.

Written byMichael Gollust.
Medically reviewed byAmy Gonzales, MD.April, 2025
Sources: University of New Hampshire. Emotional Wellness. Accessed January 6 + 15
  1. University of New Hampshire. Emotional Wellness. Accessed January 6, 2023.
  2. FamilyDoctor.org (AAFP). Mental Health: Keeping Your Emotional Health. Last updated June 23, 2020.
  3. TeenHealth.org. Dealing With Difficult Emotions. January 2017.
  4. HelpGuide.org. Self-Medicating Depression, Anxiety, and Stress. Last updated December 6, 2022.
  5. Harvard Health Publishing. The power of self-compassion. February 2, 2022.
  6. Kwasnicka D, Sanderman R. Emotional Health and Well-Being. In Psychological Insights for Understanding COVID-19 and Health (pp. 13-52). 2020 Routledge
  7. Smeets E, Neff K, Alberts H, et al. Meeting suffering with kindness: effects of a brief self-compassion intervention for female college students. J Clin Psychol. 2014;70(9):794-807.
  8. Luo X, Che X, Li H. Concurrent TMS-EEG and EEG reveal neuroplastic and oscillatory changes associated with self-compassion and negative emotions. Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2023;23(1):100343.
  9. Hardavella G, Aamli-Gaagnat A, et al. How to give and receive 
feedback effectively. Breathe (Sheff). 2017 Dec;13(4):327-333.
  10. Frontiers for Young Minds. Learning From Mistakes: How Does the Brain Handle Errors? Published June 16, 2020.
  11. Harvard Health Publishing. The art of a heartfelt apology. April 13, 2021.
  12. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Coping with Stress. Last reviewed January 3, 2023.
  13. American Psychological Association. 11 healthy ways to handle life’s stressors. Last updated October 21, 2022.
  14. Lim SK, Yoo SJ, Koo DL, et al. Stress and sleep quality in doctors working on-call shifts are associated with functional gastrointestinal disorders. World J Gastroenterol. 2017;23(18):3330-3337.
  15. Schuman-Olivier Z, Trombka M, Lovas DA, et al. Mindfulness and Behavior Change. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2020;28(6):371-394.
  16. Mental Health America. Create Joy and Satisfaction. Accessed January 6, 2023.

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