what are some situations in which you might experience stress that interferes with your ability to be emotionally available and engaged with others

Professor and Class,

In 2010, I was standing in an air guard hatch of my Stryker in Iraq when I had an RPG fly by my head as we traveled down the road. That was a pretty stressful experience, and for a lack of better words I will say that it interfered with my ability to be emotionally available and engaged with others. According to pages 74 & 75 of our course text in Chapter 4, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and calling someone who is calm and alert that I feel a close connection with are ways to rapidly relieve stress. I most definitely practice deep breathing when I feel stress now, and I remove myself from the stress inducer to try and calm myself down. Whether my wife is present for the stressful situation or not, she is someone I turn to whom always listens and calms me down. I practice actively listening to people, I make eye contact when they are speaking, and I try to understand their point of view.

Reference:

Segal, J. The Language of Emotional Intelligence. [University of Phoenix]. Retrieved from https://phoenix.vitalsource.com/#/books/1259641740

v/r

Nate Stone

How might you improve your communication skills and how might you use these skills to facilitate conflict resolution? Conflict triggers strong emotions and can lead to hurt feelings, disappointment, and discomfort. When handled in an unhealthy manner, it can cause irreparable rifts, resentments, and break-ups. But when conflict is resolved in a healthy way, it increases your understanding of the other person, builds trust, and strengthens your relationships. If you are out of touch with your feelings or so stressed that you can only pay attention to a limited number of emotions, you won’t be able to understand your own needs. This will make it hard to communicate with others and establish what’s really troubling you. For example, couples often argue about petty differences the way she hangs the towels, the way he slurps his soup—rather than what is really bothering them. Emotional awareness is the key to understanding yourself and others. If you don’t know how or why you feel a certain way, you won’t be able to communicate effectively or resolve disagreements.