Am I emotionally immature? And no, I do not mean elementary school slapstick-humor immaturity. What is emotional immaturity? I mean, am I showing up in my relationships lacking the maturity to properly handle my own emotions or respond to someone else’s emotions?
Vulnerability and Emotional Maturity
This is a question I should take into consideration more often than I do, but I’m not going to lie… it is hard. As a couples therapist I work with emotional immaturity daily, but even I sometimes still find it difficult to look inward, self-reflect, and lean into the vulnerability of being and responding in an emotionally mature way. So how do you know if you’re leaning towards immaturity on the emotional maturity scale? Let’s explore a few common signs.
Characteristics of Emotionally Immature People
Some common characteristics of the emotionally immature person are signs of
defensiveness, blaming others, lacking empathy, lying, inappropriate emotional outbursts, impulsivity, and struggling to see another person’s point of view. If we are honest with ourselves, we have all displayed a sign or two throughout our relationships. However, the important question is: How do we counteract this and start tipping that scale to the mature side?
Counteracting Emotional Immaturity
The journey to counteracting emotional immaturity starts with the awareness that we are being and acting in an emotionally immature way. Once we gain awareness, we can move on to questioning the purpose of the emotionally immature behavior or the root of our emotions. With awareness and a newfound understanding, we can begin to implement new emotionally mature behaviors and responses.
The process of achieving emotional maturity is challenging; however, the reward of being and responding in an authentic and emotionally mature manner is worth all the hard work.
