Heartmanity's Blog

Emotional intelligence is my specialty, but it wasn’t always. As a young adult, I was angry all the time. Every day I had frequent meltdowns—yes, way too emotional with no ability to regulate my emotions. I felt continually jerked around by life’s challenges and other people’s expectations of me. As a teen, I was severely depressed; even when I was functional, anxiety and a brutal inner critic were my constant companions. Learning emotional intelligence changed everything for me. It gave me the tools and the encouragement that I needed to heal and create inner peace. It’s why I am so [...]

Years ago, when a friend and I would meet for lunch, somehow, it always turned into a meal of complaints or a conversation orbiting around the critique of others. I’d walk away from the luncheon splattered with the emotional mud of gossip, feeling disappointed and reticent to get together in the future. It could be months before we got together again, partly because of the heavy feeling in my heart.

However, I ached for relationships that challenged me to be my best self and held me accountable to be kind and loving. To create trustworthy relationships that were strong enough to handle [...]

How many of you grew up encouraged to freely express your emotions when you were a child? What happened when you got angry? Or sad? Growing up in a family where the whole spectrum of emotions was accepted, encouraged, and explored is rare, yet it’s one way that children develop emotional intelligence. Most of us grew up with a double standard where it wasn’t okay for us to express our challenging emotions, yet our parents sometimes reacted out of tiredness or stress.

Do you remember seeing your mother cry when you were young? I do. I remember asking my mom what was wrong as she [...]

Description: Quarantine has been a challenging period for many relationships. People have had to deal with many pressures, worries, and anxieties. Being together is equally complicated as many partners find it difficult to spend extended time together peacefully. Everyone was hoping the pandemic would fizzle out; however, its effects are still impacting our lives. We offer tips that can help make your relationship strong enough to survive the quarantine and the challenges life throws at you.

Partners have found it hard to sustain their relationships during this pandemic and accompanying [...]

Employees across all industries complain about micromanagement. In my work as a business consultant and leadership coach, micromanaging surpasses all other complaints. It is one of the quickest ways to shut down productivity, creative minds, and passionate employees. And it’s one of the leading reasons why employees flee a company.

Micromanagers are not deliberately trying to cause distress in the workplace even though the outcomes are usually fed-up employees and burnout. In fact, people who micromanage rarely intend to disempower those they supervise. They often mean well and don’t [...]

Dr. Charles Raison said in an interview recently with The Sun magazine: “We’ve replaced a fictitious certainty with an honest confusion.” A statement has never felt truer.

Whatever certainty we may have thought we possessed has since blown away like an empty plastic bag in the wind. This past year has been unprecedented and challenging, with disruption felt to our core. The pandemic has taught us many lessons, and one shouts louder than most: we affect one another—profoundly. In times like these, emotional fitness, resiliency, empathy, and inner peace are priceless treasures.

Do you know the recipe for keeping your relationship with your preteen and teen strong and healthy? As a parent, are you aware of the critical responses needed to support and ensure vital teen brain development? Simple and crucial parental responses can make the difference.

One of the greatest concerns of every parent is keeping their teen safe when teenage rebellion and risk-taking are prevalent. Science shows that teens rebel more when parents react and are unable to regulate their own emotions. Too often, parents engage in fighting matches and arguments, flinging reprisals and wielding [...]

In today's busy world, it doesn't take long for two people in a relationship to become distant or fall out of love. If you really think about it, although you live with that person, sleep next to them, eat meals with them, and maybe even talk to them during the day, how much of that connection is really mindful and nurturing?

Because of the day-in, day-out details of life we are constantly juggling, many times our relationship can begin to cruise on automatic. As we all know, relationships take time—and sometimes they feel like a lot of work. But it doesn't have to be that way; it can be [...]

Human beings are quite fragile psychologically, partially since we live longer than most other animals and mammals that live on our planet. And one of the most sensitive periods in human lives is adolescence. In 2017, Karen Young, a contributor for Hey Sigmund website, provided statistics* showing that nearly 12.5 percent of teenagers suffer from a major depressive episode between ages 13 and 17.

In many cases, those episodes were contributed by body image and societal issues. So, to be a responsible parent, it’s imperative to help your teen manage their mental well-being, which requires [...]

Blended families naturally face countless combinations of complexities. The intertwining worlds of parents, stepparents, children, and stepsiblings, as well as their potentially clashing values, emotions, and schedules, can be a tough world for families to navigate. Children in these families constantly have to adjust as they move back and forth between households, navigating the different personalities and parenting styles of their biological parents and stepparents.

Children in blended families are immersed in a family dynamic that they did not create and have little control over. [...]