Shruti Shashidharan
Have you ever been in a situation that sparked a wave of emotion inside you but you weren’t able to name it? How many times have you actually been honest about your emotions?
The ability to recognize your own emotions as well as those of others is called EMOTIONAL AWARENESS. It might sound like an easy task but is not always so. We humans are complex beings and experience a wide range of emotions.
So to understand this concept of emotional awareness and it’s importance, let’s begin from the basics.
What are emotions?
Emotion is a subjective state of mind. They can be caused due to either internal or external stimuli. There are 7 basic emotions- happy, sad, anger, love, disgust, fear and hate. All other emotions are a mix of these basic emotions. Emotions aren’t good or bad, because they’re merely reactions to situations. We classify them as good or bad based on are actions, thoughts and feelings that these emotions elicit. The so called negative reactions, like anger, disgust, shame, are actually very complex emotions.
Why should we be aware of our emotions?
Emotions bring about various chemical changes in the body, which decides the way we react to a particular situation. For example, when we feel fear in a particular situation, our body releases adrenaline which is the protective hormone in situations of danger. This helps us make rational decisions to escape from danger, either through “fight “or “flight”. Therefore, emotions are extremely important mechanisms for us. They help us gauge a situation and react appropriately. But not all emotions help us, such as anger. People usually tend to lose control and are unable to think rationally, and hence act out impulsively, which is why it’s judged as a negative emotion. All emotions, if channelled correctly can result in favourable outcomes.
Thus, emotions help us in the following ways-
- Help in better communication
- Help solve problems and face difficulties effectively
- Deal with others better
- Know yourself better and thus set boundaries
Emotional intelligence
Emotional awareness is one of the components of Emotional Intelligence. Emotional Intelligence (EI) is defined as the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships (Daniel Goleman, 1998). Therefore, the other two components of EI are, the ability to sue one’s emotions for problem solving, and to be able to manage one’s own emotions.
Relation between Emotional Awareness and well-being
If we are well aware of our emotions, we can make the right choice between alternatives. We’ll be better able to decide what actions or situations might lead us to feel certain emotions, and therefore, we can avoid any such thing that will lead to adverse reactions and negative emotions.
On the other hand if one is not very emotionally aware, they’ll face more difficulty in making the right choices, be it for themselves or with others in their life. This can give rise to more conflicts which will cause instability in their well-being. If the conflict is not maturely resolved by understanding one’s own emotions as well as others, the person’s mental health will keep declining and can lead to mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, drug addictions, eating disorders, etc.
To be emotionally aware, one needs a huge level of acknowledgement and acceptance of one’s situation and thoughts. This will help in understanding and helping others, leading to better relations.
Sometimes we may feel several emotions at a time. Reflecting upon that and understanding what part of the situation elicited which emotional response is extremely important in making sense of the situation better. It will also help in giving the appropriate behaviour response and communicate better with others present in the same situation. For example, your friend and you have the same dream college and both of you work extremely hard for it. Unfortunately, you fail to get into the college of your dreams while your friend secures a seat there. Such a situation can bring about a mix of emotions. You might experience sadness for not securing a seat but at the same time feel happy for your friend. You might feel the situation to be unfair and might even feel angry about it which could be mixed with guilt for not being happy for your friend. Ambiguity with respect to emotions in such complex situations is not helpful. Clearly understanding and accepting your emotions will help you convey your feelings to your friend in a better way, and it will also help them to understand your situation better. This mutual understanding of each other’s position will help strengthen the relationship and will also preserve mental well being.
How can one be more Emotionally aware?
Think of any past emotional event and try to break it down into components. Try to focus on bringing to mind
- the thoughts that went through your mind,
- your bodily reactions,
- your facial expressions,
- your attention,
- the intensity and duration of the emotions.
This will help you put the situation and yourself in that situation into perspective. Recollect and analyse and much of your experience as possible. Similarly, think about an upcoming situation and analyse all the components mentioned above, ranging from physical reactions to psychological ones. Emotions are also elicited by imagined situations, therefore this exercise will help you understand your current reactions to an imagined, future situation.
Thus, the key to being more emotionally aware is to sit with your emotions and identify them, recognize areas that you can deal with better, communicating instead of letting all the pent up emotions eat away at you mental health, and accepting your feelings with a willingness to manage rather than hide your emotions.
Conclusion
Being aware of one’s emotions is a sign of self-growth. There are definitely ways in which one can be more emotionally aware. The lesser we try to run away from our emotions, the better life we’ll be able to lead. Our relationships with others as well as with self will be healthy. It requires efforts, commitment, acceptance and an immense amount of courage to be able to recognize one’s unhealthy emotional reactions, forgive oneself for the past mistakes, and consciously take steps to improve and be more emotionally aware individuals.
References
https://www.harleytherapy.co.uk/counselling/emotional-awareness.htm
https://psychologycompass.com/blog/emotional-awareness/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/emotional-intelligence
very informative Article
Really loved this post, general audience isn’t actually aware about specific terms like stimuli so I hope you would try to use very general language the next time !
The overall content covered in the article was very nice and informative. But it would have been more effective if all the points in the article would have been linked to each other while writing so as to maintain its impact.
It is well-structured and very absorbing!!!! Keep at it !!
Very well written article. Keep it up
It’s very well researched article. Good work.
amazing article ..kudos buddy 🙂
your article is very convincing. Really liked the way you’ve focused on emotional awareness which is very necessary for almost everyone. The article is very interesting and detailed.
Very well described topic. Actually I had different perspective on the emotions but this article made me understand the other perspective of what emotions are and how they work.. that awesome! Humans are really a great creation and this article made me admire the humankind!
well written article. I would suggest using simpler terms and linking each paragraph so the information flows as the reader reads.
This is really insightful! Understood how emotions, something that we often take for granted, play an eminent role in making and breaking our lives. The pictures that you have included have indeed added to the effectiveness of this piece of writing. Also loved the format of your writing. Looking forward to reading more of your works!
this was a very well written informative article. a small suggestion you could also add the IQ vs EQ factor
The article is really great and informative but if the flow of the information was better than it would have made the article all the more better! Keep up the great work!
It’s very very informative….u put more effort to write this article…it’s really nice… simple and informative
Very informative and detailed article. I thought the article was very interesting and loved how you covered all the topics and talked about emotions in a very precise manner. I hope you try to use simpler language next time which will make it easier to read and comprehend. But in all the article was very nice. Keep up the good work !
great article. next time you can also add more about how being unaware of one’s emotions affects one’s mental health and how gender plays a role in emotional intelligence.
Thank you for putting together this beautiful piece. It was an enlightening read. I would have really appreciated it if you could add some causes and risk factors to emotional distress. I will definitely take back something from your article today.
Quite informative, the starting paragraph was eye-catching.It is a well structured and researched article Loved it. All the best
Fantastic article, very well researched and composed . Crisp and precise in what it wanted to convey. Breaking the article into various segments made it easier for the readers to comprehend various topics like the pieces of a puzzle fitting together perfectly.
Such a well explained article.
Informative helpful and insightful article
The post is very informative. I really liked the topic. It is indeed very important for us to get in out with our emotions and introspect it. The are is very well written nicely structured.
A very information article
Loved reading this. So full of information and brief. Would have loved to learn more about emotional intelligence and its importance as a soft skill
It is very important to be aware of our emotions, and your article has highlighted the importance of the same. Very succinct. Thank you for sharing
very well written. Emotional awareness is really important throughout the various age groups and genders. This article can really help enlighten society and find ways to be more expressive.
I can’t begin to express how much I enjoyed reading this article. Simple and subtle way was used to explain everything. Really well written. It is so important that we understand our feelings and emotions because that is what affects our behavior too. I hope this article is read by as many people as possible.
Emotions are very important in expressing our inner self. Without them we would have not been complete. Mainly hormones plays a major role in controlling our emotions.
This is a very precise and informative article. Maybe you can add a bit more information about emotional intelligence and its various components next time ?
This article is amazing the way you have put into words and it is also impactful but you can work more on your sentence formation else I must you have researched well about your topic. Keep doing and working hard!!!!
Informative one. The way to regulate emotions have been mentioned well.
Emotional Awareness is one such psychological aspects that has its own significance in the individuals mindset. Most importantly it varies from individual to individual.
Yes, feelings, emotional intelligence in particular. Emotional intelligence is our capacity to perceive and use feelings in ourselves and others to direct our thoughts and behaviors. Because emotionally intelligent people appear to be stronger and empathized and caring, relative to their peers, they are probably more effective. And it’s worth talking about emotional intelligence.
Very good information! Keep writing!
Informative and useful
Very well explained. The subtopic consisted of all the information required. Just felt that little more information about disorders could have been added. Very informative piece of work.
Its a really involving and enthralling article. Just a suggestion there is a little bit of word formation error, rest everything is beautiful. Keep writing.
emotional awareness is one of the important topics to speak out about. written very well and a must topic
emotions is really an intriguing topic to discuss on
Emotional awareness evolves and brings out the best version of yourself! I had these emotional complexities and I know how acknowledging our own situations and getting more clarity about our emotions helps a lot. Thank you for this amazing post. Really insightful! Good luck ☺️
The article really helps in understanding the differences and meaning behind this whole concept. A little more point wise breakage could have made it easier to read and understand.
Excellent article! It included everything that is required to understand the concept of emotional awareness. All the information was organised well and backed up with examples and research studies. A range of important topics that come under the title were covered, making it highly informative. The diciton used is simple, yet professinal, which delivers the message well. All in all, a well-rounded article, keep up the good work!
Emotional awareness is very needed and people tend to avoid their emotions. People need to be aware about their emotions and this article will help all the readers. Very informative and helpful. Good job.
This article will be very helpful to everyone because every people in this world they don’t know what is emotional awareness. In this article i really liked the example of mixed emotion. A very informative article
Very informative and well explained. Emotions play a important in everyday, to understand , accept and move on from any incident. To understand yourself and others , first you need to know your own emotions. the concept was well explained and can use more simpler terms and break the content and more example of complex combination of emotions so it can be easily understood .
Good luck !!
Hey!! Lovely work…Loved your entire way of writing…Just a suggestion..Do use simple words so it becomes easy to understand for everybody… Thank-you
I loved the way you start the topic the questions are amazing. You started the topic as well that can make the person to read it till the end and without being bored. Emotion are really important that every emotion can effect us in particular way so that is why it’s really initial to know about that….
I really enjoyed reading this article. Everyone feels emotions, but trying to understand what is actually happening in the mind can help one feel less overwhelmed.
The topic is very well written ad structured. Good work with the research
Amazing read keep thankss again. Need to focus on self growth