Emotions are a major component in any divorce, if not the central matter. Therefore, it is critical to understand your emotions at a higher level as you begin the process of ending your marriage.
Your emotional intelligence can play a significant role during this time. Here is a brief overview of emotional intelligence, and how this skill can help you navigate your divorce in North Carolina.
What is emotional intelligence?
Put simply, emotional intelligence is the balance of empathy with reason. As Verywell Mind notes, it encompasses the skills of identifying, evaluating and controlling your emotions, and using those skills to interact with yourself and others.
Improving your overall emotional intelligence can be important for many aspects of your life, not just for a divorce. However, there are two key aspects of emotional intelligence that can help you during divorce:
- Improving your skills of identifying and managing your emotions
- Thinking before acting when faced with a stressful emotional situation
There are many ways to improve your emotional intelligence. The first step is to be aware of your emotional intelligence and the skills you already have. Then, it is a matter of setting intentions to improve your skills.
Who can this help?
While facing divorce, considering and improving your emotional intelligence may be the last thing on your mind. However, taking time to enhance it can be very helpful for:
- You: It is common to experience a wide range of emotions as you go through your divorce. Improving your emotional intelligence can help you process these emotions in a healthy way. It is also possible that it can help you negotiate more effectively with your spouse as you establish the terms of your divorce. Understanding your ex-spouse’s emotions may not be high on your list of priorities in a divorce, but it can help you communicate and reason with them better.
- Your children: Worrying about your children is a part of being a parent. When you divorce, you may worry about how it will affect your children now and in the future. Increasing your emotional intelligence can help you empathize with them. However, it can also help you to help them understand their own emotions better, and improve their own emotional intelligence.
Empathy can go a long way in divorce. It is an intensely emotional process, so being aware of these emotions and understanding how to process them can benefit your mental health and well-being in the long run.