EMOTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY OR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EI), DEFINITIONS

 Dear Readers and Friends,

Today I want to begin another journey with you on a topic that is now part of our culture and very useful for our well-being: Emotional Psychology. We've obviously already discussed feelings and emotions and their impact on our mental and physical health. We'll approach it from a different perspective, though I hope you'll find some similarities with other articles and older disciplines.

Emotional psychology ,  often called  Emotional Intelligence (EI) , is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage one's own emotions and those of others to improve relationships, decisions, and general well-being. It is based on components such as self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills, which are fundamental aspects for personal and professional success, as theorized by Daniel Goleman. 

Emotional competence is defined as the ability to develop internal arguments and reasons that allow us to strengthen our self-esteem and self-confidence. It is not a fixed trait, but a skill that can be cultivated, allowing us to navigate our complex internal world and manage our relationships with the environment more consciously and balancedly. By developing this skill, we learn to value ourselves as we deserve, building a solid foundation of personal security that positively influences all areas of our lives.

One of the key functions of emotional competence lies in our ability to give constructive meaning to the events we experience. Situations, in themselves, are neutral; it is our interpretation that gives them emotional charge. Learning to re-signify experiences, especially negative ones, protects us from falling into states of permanent unhappiness, transforming obstacles into opportunities for growth and empowering us to create our own life narrative.

A person with high emotional intelligence can overcome sadness or anger and consciously choose thoughts and activities that lead to more beneficial states, taking control of their well-being regardless of external circumstances.

From a contemporary perspective, Elsa Punset argues that emotions arise from the intersection of our internal and external worlds. Our thoughts, memories, and values ​​combine with circumstances, people, or events, generating unique emotional experiences. This integrative view helps us understand emotions as phenomena located between the subjective and the objective.

Daniel Goleman explains that emotion encompasses a feeling and its characteristic thoughts, as well as the biological states and action tendencies that define it. It is also described as a complex state of the organism, characterized by an arousal or disturbance that prepares us for an organized response, generally generated in reaction to an internal or external event.

Psychology dictionaries often define emotion as an affective state characterized by being intense and relatively brief. Furthermore, it is noted that this state is often accompanied by strong expressive movements, such as facial gestures, and is intrinsically associated with specific and measurable bodily sensations, such as changes in heart rate or breathing.

Obviously, this is the first article with many definitions, but it's just a first step toward discovering our emotional intelligence. As a holistic practitioner, life coach, and Master in various disciplines, I know how important it is to manage emotions, understand them, and direct them toward more fruitful goals. Therefore, I hope this article will pique your interest and introduce you to the fascinating world of self-discovery through our emotional intelligence.