It was a few years ago when I was at work that my friend was listening to his wife talk and cry on the phone. Men being uncomfortable when a woman cries is a common thing. Men express their feelings, but usually it is in the things they do like take out the trash, open the car door, lean down and kiss you when he walks past, fills the car with gas, scrapes the snow off the car, fixes the leaking toilet, and the list is endless. Feelings are the way your body reacts to a situation. Those responses are based on your past experiences, the thoughts you are having now and the physical data being sent to your brain.

Emotions are physical reactions of our body to what is happening in our mind. When you were little, you were probably scared of darkness, ghosts, or possibly your own parents. When we face these beasts, we feel bad. Sometimes so bad that we are unable to feel anything else.

Emotional intelligence EQ is a key predictor of mental health. Our EQ refers to our ability to be aware of, regulate, and express our emotions and to understand, and respond skillfully, to the emotions of others. Regulating emotions, especially big, difficult emotions, takes care and practice.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash. Breakups suck. They usually suck more for one of the break up-ees.