Personal Development

One of the biggest challenges therapists encounter in many of their clients is the inability to identify their emotions. It seems like an elementary concept. Even small children can pick up on facial expressions and body language cues that indicate emotions, at least in their own cultures. So why is it so difficult for adult clients to label their own emotions? Parents often ask their children if they are happy or sad, but how often do they ask their children if they are frustrated, jealous, envious, or stressed? Adults tend to simplify complex emotions by labeling them as either sad (negative) or happy (positive). This oversimplification may work for very young children, but as kids grow up, we should be teaching them to distinguish between more complex emotions. For instance, they should be able to differentiate between the negative emotion of sadness and the negative emotion of loneliness. This lack of training and vocabulary can make therapy sessions and life in general more difficult. If someone is challenged by defining and communicating their thoughts and emotional state, it becomes even more difficult to find the support they need. Even a trained therapist may have a difficult time zeroing in on a specific emotion their client may be feeling if there is a disconnect in communication. It’s no wonder that there is a definite and strong connection between emotional intelligence and linguistics. It stands to reason, then, that many therapists are good communicators and that linguists typically have strong interpersonal skills. Vocabulary, communication, and interpersonal connections are all interwoven and interdependent. Everyone can benefit from improving their emotional communication skills. If you’re struggling with identifying your own emotions, here are a few tips to help you better understand and communicate those feelings: Understand your feelings Rather than jumping to immediately label [...]

Listen to this article There are few things as precious as having a deep sense of connection to other people. Feeling like you belong, like you are valuable and wanted, is a deep need that people have, as we are such social creatures. That’s why it hurts so much when disconnection happens – it isolates you from others and it can make you question your self-worth as well as ask questions about why the disconnect occurred. One of the ways the sense of disconnection between people can happen is when rejection occurs. Rejection happens for many different reasons, and there are healthy as well as unhealthy ways of dealing with it. Dealing with rejection well will help you make the most of your life as it is, and it allows you to grow and learn as you move toward your goals. Rejection in all its facets Rejection can occur in a wide variety of situations. You might experience a sense of rejection if you apply for a job and don’t get it. The same can happen if you put in for a promotion at your current workplace and someone else gets it. When you apply to a college for a spot, or you try out for a team, or you ask someone out and they say “no” – these are just some of the ways rejection happens. Rejection also happens when you’re in a committed relationship with someone, and for one reason or another, they decide to end the relationship. That situation can hurt more than the others because of the deep personal connection that gets severed. Neurologically speaking, an MRI indicates that there is very little difference between the emotional pain of rejection and the physical pain experienced through an injury. The agony of being rejected is [...]