The Development of a Good and Healthy Society - Essay Example

?Introduction Emotions are the most important aspects of personality and behavior pattern of human being. Healthy and positive emotions help people to adapt to their circumstances and surroundings effectively. Healthy emotions lead to development of positive and socially acceptable behavior pattern in a person. Hence, emotional well being is an essential aspect of positive relationships with family, relatives, friends and colleagues. However, what really makes a man emotionally healthy is his upbringing and childhood nurturing. The emotional and psychological environment in childhood plays a crucial part in the development of man’s personality and behavior pattern in his adulthood. Hence, promoting emotional well being in children and young people is very important for the development of a healthy society and the world. However, to eradicate emotional problems of young people from its roots, it is very important to understand that it is the home environment that shapes man’s personality and not the society. Hence, the best way to promote emotional well being in young people is to ensure a positive and nurturing environment at home so that the child develops high self-esteem and confident personality which helps him in facing any challenge that society has to offer. Importance of emotional well being The development of a society is possible only when the children and young people living in the society are emotionally and psychologically healthy, as they constitute the future of the society (DCFS 2010, p.3). Emotional well being of young people is important not only for their happy and fulfilled personal lives but also for the healthy growth of the community as a whole (DCFS 2010, p.3). However, there are many challenges to the emotional well being of children and young people as they face many difficulties on personal, family and social levels which make them suffer from different emotional and psychological problems. The emotional and psychological problems become a root cause of different social problems and create an environment of hostility and hatred towards other people. The negative and poisonous emotions lead to friction in social interactions. In this way, instead of harboring positive and constructive thoughts, the minds and hearts of children and young people become a breeding ground for hatred and hostility. This proves to be dangerous not only for their personal lives but also for the society as a whole. Hence, for the peaceful and positive existence of the individual and societies, emotional health of children and young people is the most important thing (DCFS 2010, p.3). The emotional development of a child begins at home (DCFS 2010, p.3). If a child does not get nourishing and positive environment at home, then he becomes incapable of developing trust in the outside world. It has been found that the foundation of the emotional health of a child is laid in the first two years of his life (DCFS 2010, p.3). If a child is nourished properly at this stage, then he becomes an emotionally healthy being and becomes capable of facing the challenges of life (DCFS 2010, p.3). However, the lack of nourishment at this stage leads to development of many psychological and emotional problems like fear, anxiety, violent tendency, lack of direction and most importantly, low self-esteem (Bernard, Ellis and Terjesen 2006, p.26). Hence, if a child is to grow into an emotionally and psychologically healthy human being, then his childhood has to be nourishing and loving. Impact of social and emotional problems Young people suffering from emotional and social maladjustment go through a lot of frustration and anger. The suppressed feelings try to find an outlet through indulgence in sex, drugs, alcohol and violence (Titley 2004, p.33). Violence in young people not only affects the victims of the violence but also affect the personal and social lives of people who display violent behaviour. It has been noted that children and young people who resort to violence suffer from depression, drug addiction, underperformance at school and hopelessness (Titley 2004, p.33).These problems lead to unemployment, financial insecurity, development of criminal tendency and hatred for society in the adulthood (Titley, 2004, p.33). For example, a study by Widom, Weiler and Cottler (1999) has reveled that high risk of drug addiction is generated in young people who suffer from chronic stress levels and abuse in their childhood (Shwabe, Dickinson and Wolf 2001, p.53). Brady and Sinha (2005) have found that an increased risk of drug abuse and addictive behaviour in adulthood are associated with depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress during childhood and adolescence (Shwabe, Dickinson and Wolf 2001, p.53). Between July and September 2009, 324 young people among 1,982 who were referred to support services were suffering from alcohol addiction problem (DCFS 2009, p.6). Hence, it is very important to know the cause of the development of negative emotions like hatred, anger and frustration in an age when one should play, enjoy and live a stress free life. It has been found that children who are born in families with disadvantageous social and emotional conditions are at great risk of suffering from emotional and social problems as they face a negative social practice of ‘exclusion’, when they try to improve their life or make efforts to go ahead in their life. Social exclusion is a major problem affecting the emotional well being and positive outlook of young people. According to the European Commission Green Paper, social exclusion is a result of the discrimination against those children, young people and adults who belong to families suffering from disadvantageous social conditions like poverty, minority ethnic group, poor living conditions, financial insecurity and insufficient income (Edwards et al. 2006, p. 7). Children and adolescents belonging to disadvantageous families experience discrimination, prejudice and insults (Edwards et al. 2006, p. 7) at social places like schools, playgrounds, hospitals, shopping malls etc. The constant negative treatment and discrimination lead to anger, frustration and loss of belief in good behaviour and good social conduct. The continuous insult at all the places make the victims feel that the only way they can display power is by instilling fear in others through violence, criminal behaviour and bullying. Hence, social discrimination plays a major role in development of violent tendency in young people which paves way to other emotional and psychological problems in teenagers and young adults. Youth problems like teenage pregnancy, bullying, violent behaviour and addictive behaviour are result of poor mental and emotional health of young people (DCFS 2010, p.3). Hence, to eradicate the problems experienced by young people and to promote emotional well being, one has to begin even before a child is born because the emotional well being of a child starts right from the time he enters the world (DCFS 2010, p.3). However, for the emotional and psychological well being of a person, the most important thing is to fulfill his innate needs and to accept him as he is. The psychologists who gave the world the revolutionary ideas for complete well being of a person are Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. Roger’s and Maslow’s humanistic approach towards development of emotional well being are excellent methods to develop and promote emotional and psychological well being in children and young people. Promoting emotional well being Human beings have tendency to ignore their responsibility towards their children by blaming the ‘society’ for their problems. Parents have a tendency to blame the schools, peers and media for all the negative behavior that their children display. However, the fact remains that the foundation for child’s personality is laid in its childhood. Hence, it is a responsibility of parents and care givers to nourish the child in such way that he becomes strong and confident in facing all the challenges at personal and social level. However, parents and care givers in families belonging to disadvantageous social groups are themselves emotionally and socially maladjusted and hence, cannot provide the nourishing and positive environment to their children. In such a scenario, it becomes a responsibility of people working in the field of social service, education and medicine, to provide a strong support system for those children who are at major risk of developing anti-social and addictive behavior due to their disadvantageous backgrounds. One of the most effective ways to make a person confident about himself is to accept him as he is. It not only makes him feel content about himself but also makes him feel wanted. This can be achieved by adopting a person centred approach in raising children. Person Centred Approach Carl Rogers was an architect of the person centred approach in relationships (Bryant-Jefferies 2005, p.2). According to Carl Rogers, every person has an ability to achieve “fuller functionality” if certain conditions in his environment and relationships are available to him (Bryant-Jefferies 2005, p.2). According to him, when people who are in any sort of relationship follow these conditions, then they can achieve a constructive personality and behavior pattern in their life (Bryant-Jefferies 2005, p.2). Hence, it is very important to follow certain pattern of behavior with children as their positive growth and development depends on the way they are treated in their childhood. However, most of the times, parents fail to understand this and it leads to emotional, psychological and social maladjustment in children. Some of the conditions that Rogers has described are the transparency in communication, expressions of true feelings without any hesitation, empathy and total acceptance of every aspect of the self (Bryant-Jefferies 2005, p.2). However, the most important aspect of Carl Roger’s person centred approach is a condition that he termed as ‘unconditional positive regard’. Unconditional positive regard Rogers has used the term ‘unconditional positive regard’ to describe the attitude in the person centred approach where a person is not judged on the basis of his achievements or skills but is deeply valued for his humanity (Mearns and Thorne 2007, p.95). According to Rogers, an unconditional regard helps a person to develop a high self-esteem, self respect and contentment with self (Mearns and Thorne 2007, p.95) and hence, it is very important for parents to adopt this approach when raising their children. It means that when raising a child, parents should not put any conditions for the love, affection, friendliness and nurturing that they show towards the child. If parents adopt a conditional approach towards a child, then the child thinks that he is not ‘complete’ in himself and hence, develops a feeling of worthlessness and incongruence (Mearns and Thorne 2007, p.96). The unconditional positive regard is very important for children as it helps them in building confidence by making them feel complete and integrated with self. Most importantly, it helps in building a high self-esteem, which is the fundamental trait of emotional and psychological well being. Developing and maintaining self-esteem Abraham Maslow designed the theory of ‘hierarchy of needs’ to describe the needs of human beings and how these needs motivate them to think, behave and act in certain way (Goble 2004, p.50). Maslow believed that study of human motivation can help to build a good society because when the motivation of a person is known, then one can fulfill his personal and social needs by helping him to shape his unique talents (Daft 2008, p.231). Acceptance by the society is a major motivation behind people’s action. However, to develop social confidence, self acceptance and self-esteem are extremely important for a person. Self-esteem is one of the basic needs of human beings (Goble 2004, p.56) and hence, it is very important for children and young people to develop and maintain self-esteem. People with low self-esteem get discouraged quickly and display a neurotic behavior, as they feel inferior, inadequate and helpless in face of challenges (Goble 2004, p.56). People with high self-esteem, on the other hand, feel confident and capable and hence, develop a healthy outlook towards the society (Goble 2004, p.56). High self-esteem helps people in becoming creative, positive and productive in their lives (Goble 2004, p.56). Hence, it becomes a responsibility of parents to develop high self-esteem in their children by nurturing and loving them with unconditional positive regard. Only love, affection and support without any conditions attached to it can make a child feel worthy of himself and helps him in building and maintaining high self-esteem. Conclusion The discussion above shows that for the development of a good and healthy society, it is extremely important to nurture and promote emotional well being in children and young people. The only way to promote emotional well being is to build high self-esteem in children by loving and nurturing them with unconditional positive regard, and to accept them for what they are. References Bernard,M.E., Ellis, A and Terjesen, M., 2006. Rational-Emotive Behavioral Approaches to Childhood Disorders: History, Theory, Practice and Research. In: A.Ellis and M.E.Bernard, eds.. Rational-Emotive Behavioral Approaches to Childhood Disorders: History, Theory, Practice and Research. New York: Springer. Ch. 2. Bryant-Jefferies, R., 2005. Person-centred Counselling Supervision: Personal and Professional. Oxon: Radcliffe Publishing Ltd. Daft, R, L., 2008. The Leadership Experience. 4th ed. Mason: Thomson South-Western. Department for Children, schools and Families., 2010. Promoting the emotional health of children and young people: Guidance for Children’s Trust partnerships, including how to deliver NI 50. Nottingham: DCFS Publications. Department for Children, schools and Families., 2009. Safe. Sensible.Social. Tackling alcohol fuelled youth anti-social behaviour and crime. Nottingham: DCFS Publications. Edwards, A., Barnes, M., Plewis, I. ….. Morris, K., 2006. Working to Prevent the Social Exclusion of Children and Young People: Final Lessons from the National Evaluation of the Children’s Fund University. Birmingham: The University of Birmingham. Goble, F.,2004. The Third Force: The Psychology of Abraham Maslow. Richmond: Maurice Bassett Publishing. Mearns, D. and Thorne, B., 2007. Person Centred Counselling in Action.3rd ed. London: Sage Publications Ltd. Shwabe, L., Dickinson, A., and Wolf, O. T., 2011. Stress, Habits, And Drug Addiction: A Psychoneuroendocrinological Perspective. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology,19(1), 53-63. Titley, G., 2004. Young People and Violence Prevention: Youth Policy Recommendations. Budapest: Council of European Publishing. Read More