What is the story about?
What's Happening?
Hilary Jacobs Hendel, a licensed clinical social worker, and Dr. Juli Fraga, a psychologist, have released a new book titled 'Parents Have Feelings, Too,' which emphasizes the importance of parents working through their own emotions to raise emotionally healthy children. The book introduces an 'emotional health tool' called the Change Triangle, adapted from the Triangle of Experience in the AEDP model of psychotherapy. This tool helps parents identify, validate, and process six core emotions: anger, sadness, fear, disgust, joy, and excitement. The authors argue that understanding and managing these emotions can prevent destructive behaviors and improve mental health. They highlight the significance of experiencing emotions like anger internally before acting on them, which can help parents handle their emotions constructively.
Why It's Important?
The book's insights are crucial for parents aiming to foster a supportive environment for their children. By addressing their own emotional challenges, parents can model healthy emotional processing for their children, potentially reducing the risk of emotional distress in future generations. The Change Triangle tool offers a structured approach to navigating emotions, promoting mental health and relationship satisfaction. This approach can help parents avoid passing down emotional inhibitions and defenses to their children, thereby enhancing family dynamics and emotional resilience. The emphasis on emotional education and awareness can lead to more empathetic and connected family relationships.
What's Next?
The book encourages parents to actively engage with their emotions using the Change Triangle, aiming for a calm, connected, and compassionate state. As parents become more emotionally aware, they can better support their children's emotional development. The authors suggest that understanding one's emotions can lead to improved interactions with children, fostering secure attachments and open communication. This approach may inspire further research and discussions on emotional health in parenting, potentially influencing parenting practices and educational programs focused on emotional intelligence.
Beyond the Headlines
The book challenges common myths about emotions, such as the belief that emotions are under conscious control. It highlights the importance of recognizing emotions as rapid-action programs for survival, originating in the subcortical part of the brain. By understanding the physiological basis of emotions, parents can better navigate their emotional experiences and reduce reliance on defensive behaviors. This perspective can lead to a broader cultural shift in how emotions are perceived and managed, promoting emotional literacy and mental health awareness.
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