Finding new tools to help our emotional well-being

How are you feeling?

This is how Marc Brackett, director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, begins his book, “Permission To Feel: The Power of Emotional Intelligence to Achieve Well-Being and Success.” We don’t tend to think much when expressing the passing nicety “How are you?” or of the typical response, “Fine.”

For one in five people in any given year, the honest answer is “I am struggling with a mental health disorder.” For 20 million Americans over age 12, it’s “I’m facing addiction.” In 2019, even before the pandemic, one in three high schoolers answered “sad or hopeless,” up 40 percent from 2009. Recent reporting has highlighted these trends, noting that COVID exacerbated the stressors faced by both young people and their parents alike.

On Wednesday, May 18 at 7 p.m. in the Roger Ludlowe Middle School Auditorium, Fairfield CARES Community Coalition, together with event co-sponsors, LifeBridge, RYASAP, Fairfield Public Schools, Fairfield Rotary and Parent Connection, will feature emotion scientist, Yale professor, and internationally published author Marc Brackett to talk about one way we can work to reverse these trends.

Brackett, whose RULER approach to social-emotional learning is used in more than half of Connecticut schools, has focused his scholarly work on emotions and emotional intelligence. Recognized as a national expert, he has appeared on numerous national news outlets to discuss how we identify, understand and utilize our emotions. Using both his personal story and his extensive research, he provides tools for parents, teens and people of all ages.

When it comes to mental health, we could all use some new tools these days. Teachers report unprecedented behavioral challenges at school, while parents struggle to find available treatment for children in crisis. From road rage to the tragic results of violence we have seen both locally and nationally this past week, feelings are the precursors of behavior. Honing our skills at naming and managing those feelings is one of the tools we can use to address struggles with mental health.

The legislature responded to the growing crisis by passing three landmark youth mental health bills that provide an array of solutions. With a $300 million investment in mental health services, we assured 24/7 access to adult and pediatric mobile crisis care, extended school-based health centers and the availability of mental health providers, eliminated barriers to service, and much more. A bipartisan working group, which I was honored to join, worked with providers and advocates to increase resources available to families.

Legislation alone, while an important step in providing those resources, won’t be enough. As U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy noted in his 2021 Protecting Youth Mental Health Advisory, “Ensuring healthy children and families will take an all of society effort, including policy, institutional, and individual changes in how we view and prioritize mental health.” Young people themselves, parents, and communities all must work collaboratively to combat the mental health pandemic. The problems were increasing before COVID and will last long after.

Fairfield CARES Community Coalition is taking to heart one of the many recommendations of the surgeon general, to, “Empower youth and their families to recognize, manage, and learn from difficult emotions.” Professor Brackett will help us start with ourselves to honestly and accurately answer the question, “How are you feeling?”

As a parent, legislator and Fairfield CARES leader, I know how valuable these skills are in every aspect of life. Teens, parents and residents of all ages are invited and encouraged to join us in person this Wednesday. You can register for the event at https://bit.ly/3Ng6RkT