EMOTIONAL DISTANCE: what it is, techniques and advantages

In psychology, talking about emotional distancing can also mean talking about emotional obstruction, with a double meaning. On the one hand, it consists of the inability to connect to others on an emotional level. On the other hand, it is a useful method to deal with a problem.

This tactic of coping, also known as coping Focused on emotions, it is used avoiding specific circumstances that could trigger an anxiety process, such as the separation of emotional bonds. In this Psychology-Online article we will focus precisely on this meaning of emotional distancing: what it is, techniques to achieve it and the advantages related to this psychological process.

Index

1. What is emotional distance
2. Emotional distancing techniques
3. Advantages of emotional distance

Emotional detachment is inability or a reluctance to connect emotionally with other people. For some individuals, being emotionally detached helps protect them from unwanted drama, anxiety, or stress. In contrast, for others, detachment is not always voluntary, except as a result of events that make the person unable to be open and honest about their own emotions.

Emotional distancing can be helpful if used in a targeted way, setting boundaries with certain people or groups, but it can also be harmful when left unchecked. This last case, known as emotional octundion, is usually a symptom or problem that should be addressed by a mental health doctor.

Emotional distancing in psychology can be put into practice through different methods. Next, we will show you the main emotional distancing techniques:

Find the way to manage emotions

Each personality has its own quirks. Therefore, it is important that each one starts from a internal self-analysis process to understand the basic motivations that drive you to behave in a certain way. This is a starting point for healthy emotional distancing. Consequently, a process of complete acceptance of oneself and one's own emotions will be reached. In this article you will discover how to make peace with yourself.

The second step in letting go of your emotions and successfully achieving emotional detachment is learn to express them in the most useful way, perhaps in solitude, writing them down to absorb them, looking for distractions or playing sports.

dedicate yourself

Reflecting and dedicating time to yourself, trying to see things with an external eye, is necessary to put emotional distance in the couple or with the family. Learn how much you can tolerate by others and the outside world. There are no pre-established rules, each one decides according to their sensitivity.

Practice emotional distancing

The human mind is a mixture of rationality and emotionality, as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy has undertaken to deepen. Thus, one of the techniques of emotional distancing lies in the willingness to question the conscious part of the brain itself, even during a supernatant emotion, and seek balance between the rational mind and the emotional mind.

Reaching that level of awareness and emotional detachment is helpful in forging a space of empathy towards someone, but without getting too carried away by it. Next, we will show you different ways to exercise emotional distance:

• Walk.
• Focus on the present.
• Take your own ideas as hypotheses dictated by the moment and not as absolute truths.
• Carry out breathing exercises.
• Maintain adequate oxygen supply.
• Focus on the balance of the body.
• It helps the physical, but above all the psyche, in the process of emotional detachment.
• Perform bioenergetic exercises that act on emotional detachment.

Too often life drags us down, preventing us from savoring the moment, being in the present and being aware of what is happening. Therefore, developing a healthy emotional distance becomes essential.

• makes you freer: if you can "put space" between you and what is happening outside, and even inside you, you will be truly free. The alternative is simply to be a slave to yourself, that is, to your character, your history, your fears, or what you have been, but too often have not chosen to be.
• Allows you to regain the power to determine your life. How many times have you told yourself that if you had done something different, things would have turned out differently? Imagine if in those important moments you had had the time and the lucidity to reflect and be able to listen clearly to the many instances that are within you. Emotional distancing allows you to choose with full confidence and responsibility.
• Frees you from dependent emotional states: in this way, you will be able to achieve balance and inner serenity. Do not let your happiness be in the hands of others or something else outside of you. Remember that you can be happy by yourself. In this article you will find more information about What is emotional independence and how to work on it.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Emotional distance: what it is, techniques and advantages, we recommend that you enter our category of Emotions.

• Gamba, E. (2018). Emotional distance and consapevolezza. Recovered from: https://www.enricogamba.org/psicologo-milano-blog/distacco-emotivo-e-consapevolezza
• Ludovici, M. (2021). Tre strategie per raggiungere il distaco emotivo e stare meglio. Recovered from: https://www.robadadonne.it/225575/distacco-emotivo-benefici-3-strategie/