The concept of emotional intelligence and emotional health is not a new one. In the 1930s it was known as ‘social intelligence’, followed by ‘emotional strength’ in the mid-20th century, and now it is known as ‘emotional intelligence’. The question, however, is what exactly is emotional intelligence, and why is it important. Read on to know these answers.
What is emotional intelligence?
Emotional intelligence, often abbreviated as EQ, is a concept that is broken down into five parts—self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, social skills and empathy. It can be defined broadly, into an ability to recognise and control the emotions, as well as, recognise and properly respond to the emotions of others.
Significance of emotional intelligence for physical health
It is understandable that emotional intelligence will have an impact on mental health outcomes. What most people don’t know is that it also has a significant effect on physical health. Moreover, it has been proven that people with higher EQ are more successful professionally, and have a better academic profile. In fact, people with better emotional intelligence also have more meaningful and satisfactory relationships.
On a personal level, if you are unable to manage your emotions, it is likely that you are unable to manage your stress also. Uncontrolled stress is associated with serious health conditions—raised blood pressure and subsequent risk of heart attack and stroke, suppression of the immune system, infertility, diabetes, and overall poor health. Better EQ can, therefore, help you manage stress and avoid a horde of health issues.
A person with high emotional intelligence has sufficient self-awareness to recognise and manage stress to prevent escalation. Moreover, the skills that come with high emotional intelligence enable us to promote more positive emotions and hence, prevent vulnerability to mental health issues.
Emotions when uncontrolled not only contribute to stress but also make you vulnerable to anxiety and depression. It is inherent that emotional intelligence affects our attitude and outlook on life. Moreover, someone with higher EQ can fight off depression and mood swings more easily. Thus, a high level of emotional intelligence makes for a positive attitude and a happier outlook.
People with better emotional health are also able to have better relationships. They communicate their feelings in a more constructive way and are able to relate to their partners in relationships. High EQ, therefore, enables stronger and more fulfilling relationships, which contribute to overall health and happiness.
Conflict resolution is another strong suit of the people with higher EQ. In fact, due to their ability to discern people’s emotions, they can avoid altercation from arising in the first place. Moreover, they are also better at negotiation because of their ability to understand the emotions of others. Their perspective of what people need is often spot on.
Our emotional intelligence enables us to be strong internally, thus increasing self-confidence and our ability to focus on a goal. Therefore, our EQ helps us be successful and even, more creative. We also build a better network of support and a more resilient outlook if they are emotionally strong.
People with high EQ are also better leaders and strong team builders. They benefit their team by strategic utilisation of the emotional diversity of the team as a whole. They understand what motivates others, and relate to them in a positive Fashion.
How to increase EQ?
The skills that constitute EQ can be learned, but, it is also important to apply that skill set in your daily life. In order to remain emotionally aware, it is necessary to learn how to overcome stress in the moment of it and stand up to the pressure.
The key skills for building emotional intelligence and improving your ability to connect with others, and managing your emotions include self-management, social awareness, self-awareness and relationship management.
Self-management: to engage your EQ, you must use your emotions to make constructive decisions about behavior. Stress can lead to loss of control of emotions and overwhelm you; it can also compromise your decision-making ability.
If you manage to control your stress and stay emotionally present, you can teach yourself to receive upsetting information without letting it overwhelm you and make better choices. Therefore, impulsive feelings and decisions can be managed with better self-control.
Self-awareness: our emotions influence our thoughts and actions. What we don’t realize is that our current emotional experience is based on early life emotional experience. For instance, if our primary caretaker as infants did not value our emotions, then it’s likely that as adults we would distance ourselves from our emotions. However, it is the ability to connect with our emotions that makes us understand the role of EQ in our life.
It is important to prioritize your emotional health for the wellbeing of the mind. Practice mindfulness and purposely focus on your emotions to be more emotionally healthy.
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