The “101”

Emotions are a person’s response to specific situations. Moods are a person’s deep-seated feelings or outlook. Our emotions and moods are influenced by a number of inputs, or “factors.” Some emotions and moods are your body’s physical response to signals from your brain. Some emotions and moods are triggered by events or situations that take place around you or happen to you. Some examples of these events are things like the death of someone important to you, being picked on, or teased by another person or group, or experiencing or witnessing violence.

Everyone has a “bad day” here and there. That’s normal. What’s not normal is when a person has negative emotions or moods that are long lasting or trigger unhealthy actions, like violence or self-harm.

There are treatments for negative emotions and moods (sometimes called “mental illness” or “emotional disturbance.”) So it’s important to know that if now or at some point in the future, you feel sad, anxious, stressed, irritable, depressed, or angry—either a lot of the time or as a sudden change to your usual mood—you are not alone; there are people who will want to and can help.

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Mental Health Information Get a run down on emotions, moods, and links to reliable information about mental health just for young people.