When people share their feelings, it’s often easy to get defensive and respond with unsolicited advice. But if you want to build trust and strengthen your relationships, learn to validate their emotions.
Validating their feelings means acknowledging and empathizing with their emotions. It also includes rephrasing what they’ve said and asking open-ended questions.
- Listen with empathy
When someone shares something that is difficult to hear, it can be hard to know how to respond. One way to be a good listener is to use empathy. Empathy is more than just hearing the words, it’s recognizing and understanding the feelings behind them.
When you validate someone’s emotions, it means that you understand what they are feeling and that their feelings are normal. You can do this by repeating back to them what they said in your own words, asking questions when necessary and showing through your body language that you are listening.
You may also want to offer reassurance or compassion like “I can see how you feel that way” or “I’m so sorry to hear that”. This can help them to feel understood and supported. The most important thing is that they feel heard.
- Reframe the situation
It is no secret that our thoughts and emotions have a direct impact on our physical well-being. When we are sad, for example, our heart rate increases, and when we are angry, it can cause us to experience a physiological response such as an increased blood flow.
However, what many people may not be aware of is that reframing a challenging situation can also have a positive effect on one’s emotions. Reframing is a cognitive tool that allows individuals to change their perspective on an event or circumstance by replacing negative, anxious, and fearful thoughts with more helpful, productive, and hopeful ones.
Validating a person’s feelings by reframing is an excellent way to prevent and resolve conflict. However, it is important to remember that reframing does not equate with agreeing with or condoning harmful behaviour. Invalidating a person by labelling their emotions as irrational or blaming them for how they are feeling can shut down the conversation and make it difficult to move towards a solution.
- Don’t challenge their feelings
Men are often expected to put on a brave face, and this can make it harder for them to tune into their sensitive side. This can make it difficult for them to name their emotions, and this can lead to them burying those feelings, acting out their anger, or engaging in addictive behaviours.
It is important not to challenge someone’s feelings because this can make them feel invalidated and discourage them from opening up in the future. Instead, you should try to understand their feelings by asking questions like “How did that make you feel?” or “Why are you feeling that way?”
Validating someone’s feelings is a crucial skill to learn if you want a healthy relationship. But it’s not always easy because it requires empathy and a willingness to listen to and understand another person’s emotions. So, if you are struggling to validate someone’s emotions, be patient and keep practicing! It’s worth it. You may find that it reduces conflicts in your relationship and helps you to create a more intimate bond.
- Encourage them
When men feel validated, they are more likely to talk about their emotions, which can lead to better mental health and stronger relationships. By building deeper levels of emotional awareness, men can learn to recognize, embrace, and understand their emotions so they don’t bottle them up.
Emotional invalidation can hurt someone’s feelings and make them feel like they are irrational or shouldn’t be feeling that way. This can lead to resentment and may even cause them to avoid sharing their feelings in the future.
When you validate your partner’s emotions, it shows that you care about them and their feelings. This can be done by empathizing with them and reflecting back what they’ve said to you. It can also be done by asking questions to further understand their emotions, such as “How did this experience make you feel?” or “I think many people would feel the same way in that situation.” Nodding while listening and other cues that show you’re attuned can help them feel heard and understood.validating men’s emotions
