Listen, don’t label

“Listen, Don’t Label”

This bears reiterating more than anything else. We have been communicating knowledge and emotions as trends that we can “hashtag”, and not as important aspects of the human experience.

The question is, “Why are we trying to diagnose & label based on our limited understanding?” Does it satisfy some deep-seated primal need?
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It’s seeming like a trend to “just want to name” a dynamic. We joke about our coping mechanisms, codependent relationships, and avoidant attachment styles. Words like these, as well as other more serious ones, like trauma, passive aggression, depression & OCD are thrown around in casual conversation. Everyone has an opinion on “self-care” and staying away from “toxicity.”

But are these conversations really helpful?

Ever since the pandemic, where interactions went digital- we have been outsourcing human connection. We look at people these days, pick up on certain keywords and immediately feel like we know enough about them to slot them into a box. The language of psychology & mental health is supposed to create a safe space for us, but it’s instead creating more confusion than ever.

Unfortunately, by virtue of being products of the age of information, our younger generation suffers the ill effects of this more than ever before. They believe they can use a 60 second video to truly know someone.
This needs to change. And there’s a simple, yet important way to do that- #listening .
Developing #emotionalintelligence works to create meaningful #connections. The EI strengths of #selfawareness, #selfmanagement evoke awareness, #empathy & #compassion for others. Leads to deeper listening.