Do little things that happen during the day make you angry? Maybe it’s when you’re at a traffic light and the car at the front doesn’t move when the light turns green. Or when you don’t get your way at work or at home. If you find yourself yelling or showing your frustration to others, your emotions might be getting the better of you — and there is a good chance it could be affecting your health and your relationships with others.

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“Emotional intelligence allows you to manage your feelings and understand others.”

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“You can tell people how you feel while respecting their ideas,” says Hayley Flott, PDRMA Wellness Consultant. “If using these skills is difficult for you, it can affect your work and home life. You might have emotional outbursts or difficulty handling criticism. You may lack empathy for others or have trouble managing stress, which can affect your physical and mental health. When we struggle to manage our emotions, we can develop headaches, digestive problems and even heart issues. Mentally, we can feel anxious and depressed.”

If there are times when you struggle with your feelings, the good news is you can learn to become more aware of — and manage — your emotions. Four main skills will help you do that: self-awareness; self-management; social awareness; and relationship management. Start by picking one area to improve and then move on to another.

Resources for Improvement

Our March 18 Mindful of Mental Health Webinar — Emotional Intelligence with Cari Hamilton from Ulliance’s Employee Assistance Program, is a great place to start learning. You can click here to listen to a recording of the webinar, which is available for a limited time on PDRMA’s website. You can also find the link in the photo banner section of our home page and access both the webinar and details of everything covered in the webinar on our Wellness Benefits and Resources page, under Related Information on the right, Mental Health Resources and PDRMA Health: Understanding Emotional Intelligence.

And PATH has lots of resources to help you become more emotionally intelligent. Check out one of the many Journeys available anytime. These are daily, self-guided courses to help you build healthy habits. View all Journey offerings by clicking here, or choose one of these featured Journeys:

• Having Difficult Conversations at Work.
• How to Live Better by Setting Boundaries.
• Letting Go of Perfectionism.

PATH also has a number of short videos on this topic. To find them, click the Media link at the top of the PATH home page. Then click on the Topic menu and select Emotional Balance.

And you can use Healthy Habits to track your progress:

• Click Healthy Habits under the Home menu in the top navigation.
• Then click View All.
• Browse the Filter by Topic list on the left, and under the Focus heading, click Mental Health & Wellbeing.
• Click on the following habits to add these items to your daily healthy habits tracking: Intentional Moments, Patience with Emotions, and Staying Thoughtful.

You can also talk with a PATH health coach about strategies to understand and regulate your emotions better. Click here to connect with a Health Coach.

With all these PATH resources, you can be well on your way to a healthier future. Make the choice to gain control and learn to master your emotional intelligence!