Emotional maturity is the ability to understand and process your emotions in a helpful and healthy way. But how do we make our way to an emotionally mature place?
Developing emotional skills helps us to understand ourselves and how to best cope with emotions we’re unsure of how to deal with. We have all found ourselves in a situation where we’re flooded with emotions that overwhelm us or cause confusion.
Emotional development may sound like an overwhelming project, but when you take it one step at a time you’ll find it is more manageable than it seems.
Read on to find out how developing emotional skills can help you and how you can begin this process for yourself or a loved one.
What Does Emotional Maturity Look Like?
You may be wondering how to tell if you have any emotional maturity or what it looks like on someone else.
Emotionally mature people take responsibility for their actions and do not hide behind excuses. They recognize their missteps and ask how they can improve the situation.
They also do not blame others or run from dealing with consequences. They understand how “mind over matter” works and own up to their mistakes. They do their best to fix the problem to the best of their abilities.
An emotionally healthy person also knows how to set themself up for success and how to accept the positive emotions that come after. This can look like knowing how to set boundaries and knowing when you need a break from socializing.
On the flip side, this can mean knowing when you need to socialize and have fun or take a break.
An emotionally mature person will also be able to be vulnerable when the occasion calls for it. You don’t need to expose your deep thoughts and fun personality to everyone, but it’s good to know you can when you want to.
Emotional maturity looks different for everyone and there is no clear end goal. It’s a process that takes time and there is no need to rush.
How Can I Develop Emotional Skills?
Developing emotional skills looks different for everyone.
For some, it will be reading a book or listening to audiotapes. For others, it may be taking a class or seeing a therapist.
Thanks to technology there are even development apps that can help you work on yourself from the privacy of your home. Apps can be helpful if you don’t feel comfortable talking to a stranger or are unsure of how to start building emotional skills.
Apps are an easy way to start with a child’s development as well as adults. You can find an app out there for almost any situation. You can learn emotional skills and develop coping or soothing steps as soon as today.
Mental Health and More
Now you know all about how to develop emotional skills and how important they are. You also know of a few ways to do this, so now is the time to start!
For more about mental health and other health-related news, check out our health page today.
Author: Mandy Kloppers
Mandy is a qualified therapist who treats depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, trauma, and many other types of mental health issues. She provides online therapy around the world for those needing support and also provides relationship counselling.
