Are you someone who leads a very busy life? Does it feel like the days have been passing by too quickly without getting any sort of break? It can be easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of our daily responsibilities, which unfortunately leads many of us to unintentionally neglect our emotional well-being. This is why emotional awareness is important to practice, as it can lead to a much happier life. Emotional awareness is the ability to make sense of our emotions and identify the things that trigger us to feel different ways. Learning how to manage our emotions can lead to several amazing benefits, including improved relationships with others, improved relationships with ourselves, increased self-awareness, and the ability to live more in the present.
While the benefits of practicing emotional awareness might seem obvious, it is often easier said than done, so it is also useful to consider why it has been difficult for many of us to practice this life principle. Some of the most common barriers are:
Fear – At the end of the day, emotions are scary for many people. Allowing ourselves to be emotionally vulnerable with others and even ourselves can be challenging due to fear of judgment, rejection, misunderstandings, or abandonment.
Coping Strategies – Often, people rely on various methods to get through the day mentally and emotionally. Unfortunately, some coping mechanisms tend to be unhealthy and thus make it more challenging to practice emotional awareness. Such coping mechanisms include substance use, emotional avoidance, bottling up emotions, and overeating.
Upbringing and Conditioning – Many people are raised to suppress emotions when faced with difficulty, as they are considered a sign of weakness in different generational and cultural upbringings. Although we now recognize the importance of healthy emotional expression, our conditioning can make it difficult to acknowledge or resolve the negative feelings formerly associated with expressing emotions and being vulnerable.
Alright, so now we know what emotional awareness is, its benefits, and some of the most common barriers to consistently practicing it. Let’s now look at how to practice and improve emotional awareness:
Mindfulness and Intent – Being mindful means being intentionally present and aware of what you are thinking and doing. By practicing this, you can learn to become more self-aware about your feelings and emotional triggers. Identifying your feelings will teach you how to control your reactions and maintain emotional regulation. Deep breathing, meditation, and journaling are all fantastic techniques to help make it easier to practice mindfulness.
Empathy – Practicing empathy helps us understand the feelings of others better. By understanding the feelings of others, we are better able to connect and communicate with them. Understanding and learning more about the complex ranges of emotions and feelings can also help us understand our own, even better as it often leads us to reflect and consider things we might not have on our own without the connection to others’ feelings.
Self-Reflection – This is a powerful tool because it gives us a look back and analysis of past experiences, how we handled them, what triggered us to the point where we reacted the way we did, and how we generally felt afterward. Reflecting on our experiences in a productive way can help us identify what we need to be mindful of in future situations that challenge our emotional regulation.
Emotional awareness can initially seem overwhelming to start consistently practicing immediately. It does, however, become much more manageable if you do it one step at a time rather than trying to learn everything at once. Before you know it, emotional awareness will become a habit you practice naturally. The goal here is not to reach a specific destination of achievement but to gradually improve the best we can one day at a time while taking care of ourselves. As you practice and improve emotional awareness, you will become much more resilient, and future challenges won’t feel as challenging as they used to.
Written By Alan Nahle, LCSW
Throughout September, we are highlighting resources around Back to School and Talking to Your Children about Mental Health. If you or a loved one need professional support, our counselors at Mathews Counseling are available for appointments. Request to book today!
