EQ: Understanding Emotional Intelligence
When we talk about intelligence, we often think about passing exams and logical problem-solving. But when it comes to mental health, we should talk about "emotional intelligence" or as it's often called, EQ. This is how well we understand and manage emotions.
Everyone experiences stress at some point in their life and having a high EQ can make it easier to manage complicated and negative feelings. It can also help us build stronger relationships.
According to Harvard University psychologists Daniel Goleman and Richard E. Boyatzis, there are four key areas of emotional intelligence. These are "self-awareness," "self-management," "social awareness" and "relationship management."
Self-awareness means understanding our feelings and what causes them, and how they can affect our thoughts and actions.
If we are aware of our feelings in this way, self-management becomes a lot easier. Self-management is about being able to control how we express our emotions. For example, you may feel stressed or upset, but you can still manage your reactions well enough to not lose your temper and make things worse.
When we understand ourselves, we may also better understand how others are feeling. This is what we mean by social awareness when we talk about emotional intelligence. Part of social awareness is having empathy for others, letting us see things from their point of view.
This empathy for others really helps the fourth key area of emotional intelligence — relationship management. This includes being able to communicate clearly, maintain good relationships with others and deal with conflicts in a healthy way.
By keeping these key skills in mind and working on them, anyone can develop their emotional intelligence.
