Let me say it again – you are not responsible for someone else’s mental health. To be clear, I am not talking about abuse. If you are verbally, physically, mentally or emotionally abusive, then you ARE responsible. If you are …
Tag: Relationships
How to Develop Empathy
Empathy is a skill we learn in childhood. It comes from having attuned parents who meet our needs. With attuned parents, it is safe to feel what they are feeling. We learn that when we express understanding of our parent’s …
Aspects of Emotional Intelligence
Socrates in Plato’s Apology was credited with saying “An unexamined life is not worth living”. This is at the core of self-awareness. Self-awareness calls us to reflect on our words and actions, be curious about our triggers, and understand our …
How We Learn Empathy
If we grew up with unsafe and unattuned caregivers, it is a NORMAL adaptation to be reticent to ‘stand in someone else’s shoes’ and allow yourself to feel empathy. Imagine having a mother who is an alcoholic. Most of the …
Cultivating Emotional Intelligence
Emotional quotient (EQ) is the ability to understand and process your emotions in a positive way to release stress, empathise with others, communicate effectively and work through conflicts. People with a high EQ have a high level of self-awareness and …
Significance of Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
IQ counts for a lot, but research shows that people with a high IQ are NOT the most fulfilled or the most successful. Maybe you know people who are really smart, but struggle socially and in intimate relationships? IQ will …
Importance of Emotional Intelligence
Children can learn emotional intelligence and so can couples. What is emotional intelligence (emotional quotient or EQ)? EQ is the ability to understand and process your emotions in a positive way to release stress, empathise with others, communicate effectively and …
Considering the Perspective of Others
When we take on the perspective of someone else, a whole network of brain regions becomes activated. The dorsomedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, the temporoparietal junction and the precuneus. These areas are responsible for memory, attention, social cognition, integration and …
Healing Shame through Journalling
When we experience shame, our gut reaction is usually to run as fast as we can in the other direction. In the moment, this might be the safest thing to do, but after the moment has passed it can be …
Words Used to Shame and Prevent Assertiveness:
A sure way to stop people from being assertive is to shame them. As Brene Brown talks about so wonderfully in her book ‘Daring Greatly’, shame is pervasive in our culture. It limits innovation, authentic self-expression and stops us from …