Emotional maturity
Emotional maturity seems like a big fancy term psychologists use. But the words simply mean: capability to handle one’s emotional needs in a healthy way. And this is something I have been struggling with, something I am looking to learn and improve at the ripe old age of 28.
I started reading this book and learnt a few things, which are really important in life:
- Emotional maturity starts from childhood interactions.
- Emotions can’t be ignored, they can be deferred.
- Different people handle their emotional needs differently.
And many other learnings, which in hindsight are something most people learn in their childhood. Which leads to ask the question: why are we not taught about mental health, emotional maturity and stability when we are young and in school?
Just imagine, mental health being a subject in school. Each and every kid will know how to take care of one’s emotional needs. They will understand each other better, think before saying whatever comes to their minds, and in general be nice to each other! They will realise that simply studying engineering, getting married, having 2 kids, and dying are not the only goals in life.
They will understand that life will have ups and downs and it is okay to reach out to people for help. They will learn what a good childhood means, and how to manage without it. They will keep in mind that the interactions they had in their childhood will likely reflect in their adulthood, consciously or unconsciously.
We need to make mental health available to each and every human being. It can be certainly done, and will definitely pay off, when we have a society full of people who understand each other, are less judgemental, helpful and kind. We will see the benefits of such a society when people don’t hate each other as much and as often, where people can avail physical and mental support from the people around them, and generally enhancing lives. Such a society is my dream!
