Increase emotional awareness, improve your mental health
Emotional awareness is your ability to recognize and make sense of your own emotions and those of others. It’s a quality that matters — good emotional awareness supports good mental health. And there are ways you can improve it.
By Paul Russell
There are many actions that support mental health: getting enough sleep, exercising, eating healthy foods and more. But there’s another mental health support you may not be aware of: emotional awareness.
Valérie Legendre, a registered psychologist and a director of mental health solutions at Sun Life, says emotional awareness is your ability to recognize and make sense of your own emotions and those of others. It supports good mental health. And there are some easy ways you can improve your emotional awareness, even at times like these.
Why emotional awareness matters
Legendre says that emotional awareness helps us in many ways.
“You understand what decisions make you feel good. This includes setting the right personal boundaries. You can also let people know how you feel more easily, and better understand and help others.”
Emotional awareness is a big part of emotional intelligence. It helps you solve problems because you’re aware of many sides of a situation. You can focus more on positive aspects and reduce the intensity of negative emotions. You’ll also be better able to cheer up others when they’re feeling down.
But if your emotional awareness is low, you are more likely to experience problems.
“With low emotional awareness, it can be hard to figure out how you feel,” says Legendre. “You may feel numb, or have trouble controlling your emotions. You may even try to escape your feelings. That’s where mental health problems can creep in.”
These problems can include alcohol or drug addiction and overeating. They can also lead to anxiety and depression.
Improving your emotional awareness
You can practice and improve your emotional awareness. Here are two actions Legendre suggests.
- Belly breathing. Belly breathing is a deep breathing technique. It involves taking deep breaths into your stomach, instead of shorter smaller breathes into your chest. It helps you relax and connect with the present moment.
- Mindfulness meditation. Like deep breathing, mindfulness meditation also helps you connect with the present moment. Here’s how to get started with meditation. Many people gain similar benefits through yoga.
Legendre also suggests an action you can use “in the moment” to increase your emotional awareness.
You can do this by asking and answering five questions the next time you feel an emotion.
- What is the emotion related with the event?
- How intense was the emotion (0–5)?
- What did I do in response to this emotion?
- What need is related to this emotion?
- What would be the best response to this need in the future?
For improving your emotional awareness of others, ask and answer two simple questions when someone confides in you
- What is that person feeling?
- What information does this give me about this person and her need?
Professional help for your mental health
If self-help actions aren’t working, help is still close at hand.
“If you’re struggling with any mental health issue, don’t hesitate to call on qualified professionals,” Legendre says. “Many psychologists have adapted their services and offer virtual or telephone consultations.”
Originally published on Lumino Health.
