Dr. Rose Bricker
Emotional maturity, or sometimes called emotional intelligence, are terms that we may hear today when chatting with our friends, families, and co-workers about relationships. But what do those two terms even mean?
Some Characteristics of an Emotionally Mature Person
• They are realistic and accept reality on its terms and make the best of it.
• They are reasonable and can see different perspectives in any situation.
• They can be objective and don’t take things personally.
• They are respectful, understand boundaries, and have self-control and can manage their emotions. They work to understand their feelings. They build connections with others.
• They have a secure sense of self and are willing to listen and understated others. They can comfort themselves and others. They can hold themselves accountable and make amends.
• They can be fun and playful and are wonderful to be around. They can empathize, and that allows others to feel safe.
A lesser known term is “emotional blindness.” It is officially called alexithymia. It describes the difficulties a person has in identifying, distinguishing, and verbally expressing their emotions. Alexithymia can change how a person understands their environment and how they interact within their relationships. Imagine the challenges when a person is engaged in personal relationships (romantic, work, or friends and family) and they are not able to identify or express their feelings. According to an article written by Rebecca Ellis in PsyPost, here is more information about emotional blindness:
Emotional Blindness (Alexithymia):
• It’s thought to affect roughly 10% of the general population. It often creates interpersonal problems.
• It differs from person to person. It seems to be more common in those who are on the autistic spectrum, have premenstrual dysphoric disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression.
• It’s very difficult for people to have healthy emotional connections when they are challenged with identifying and expressing their own feelings. Because of this, they often experience emotional detachment from themselves and have difficulty connecting with others. So, they often avoid emotionally close relationships.
• It is hard for them to regulate their feelings, and they often feel overwhelmed. When people feel overwhelmed, their nervous system often responds by going into survivor mode, which is fight, flight, freeze, and fawn. When people are in the survivor mode, their reactions can be damaging to both the work and/or personal relationships.
Would you like to learn more emotional blindness? Or learn ways to improve your relationships with your partner, family members, and/or friends? By increasing your knowledge, compassion, and expectations, you can definitely improve your relationships and quality of life.
For more information, please call Dr. Rose Bricker at 520-820-4079 for a 30-minute complimentary meet and greet appointment. I’m located at Blue Lemon Therapy, 2252 W. Magee Road, Tucson, AZ 85742.