Emotional Intelligence

Self confidence, sensitivity, self awareness, self control, empathy, optimism and social skills, these are all a part of the qualities we desire in ourselves and all are a part of our Emotional Intelligence.  What is Emotional Intelligence and what has it to do with our Mental Health.  Emotional Intelligence in short is the ability we have in perceiving emotions in ourselves as well as in others.  Its controlling emotions and coping with emotional situations and many people fail to manage emotions with success as we may be closed to our own emotional attitudes or we may not be able to control our own emotional selves as in acting foolishly while we are under pressure.

In the mental health field, many consumers have lost touch with their own awareness and their ability to control their emotions.  With the many people who are diagnosed especially with schizophrenia, manic depression and depression, they find it hard to control themselves, yet with treatment, these people find it remarkable that they have learned not only self control, yet have build up their confidence and self-esteem as well.  Being a mental health consumer, with a diagnosis, I have to understand my emotions can lead me astray.  I have to learn to understand another person’s emotions, facial gestures, voice and posture.  I must know when to think and what emotions are particular to thought and how to control my negative emotions, such as anger or being despondent.

 Emotional Intelligence is different than cognitive intelligence, which is the ability to reason, read, write and have logic.  You are not using the emotional parts of your brain to solve equations, to build structures or dial a phone number; the thought that emotional intelligence is a structure, which links the emotional abilities with other capabilities that includes our mental thinking abilities.

Howard Gardner in 1999 stated that “there are multiple intelligences in addition to abstract reasoning, such as musical and kinesthetic intelligence.”  He also stated there are two types of abilities that resemble emotional intelligence, (1) interpersonal intelligence (understanding the feelings and intentions of others) and (2) intrapersonal intelligence (your awareness and discrimination of your own feelings).”  In understanding my positive emotions, I would feel good about myself not only in this present time yet also I would have positive hope for the future.  The reality of the change of ideals, self-esteem, awareness, and empathy becomes such with the control of emotions and the bearing of  knowledge that I am working with such as I struggle to migrate from the negative approach to one which is more positive.

Written by Donald S.