By: Nicole
June 5, 2020

Emotional Intelligence in Recovery

Table of Contents

Emotional intelligence – we all know what emotions are, but most of us probably aren’t familiar with how it pertains to intelligence. Emotional intelligence varies from person to person, but the great thing is, the more you practice it, the stronger it becomes. At Multi Concept Recovery, there are two unique tracks for treating addiction and maintaining recovery. The reason we provide two different treatment tracks is for the comfort of our clients. We believe in letting our clients choose their own path to sustain a successful recovery. The two treatment paths that we offer are the Traditional Treatment Track and Emotional Intelligence & Mindfulness track.

 

What Is Emotional Intelligence?

When people obtain Emotional Intelligence (EI) they gain the ability to recognize their own emotions as well as the emotions of others. Emotional intelligence usually includes at least three different skills. These different skills include emotional awareness (the ability to identify one’s own emotions), emotional management (the ability to manage one’s own emotions and helping others manage their emotions as well), emotional application (the ability to harness one’s own emotions and apply them using different tasks). These tasks include things such as problem solving and thinking. Emotional intelligence affects many different things within someone’s life, including things such as your school/work performance, your mental health, your physical health, your relationships, and your sociability. Becoming emotionally conscious can help improve emotional intelligence. Being emotionally conscious means being aware of and understanding the emotions in and around you, whether positive or negative. The key to emotional intelligence is comprehending your feelings, applying them in a positive manner, and regulating them frequently. There are many examples of EI in day to day life, these include things such as putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and being able to think before you speak or consider a situation before reacting to that situation, because emotions can be powerful.  

 

How Is Emotional Intelligence Used in Addiction Recovery?

Emotional intelligence is used in addiction recovery through helping our clients develop long-term skills. These long-term skills can include things such as being able to choose what they become emotional over and when, how they behave/respond when they do become emotional, and helping to increase the gap between the stimulus and the response by developing and maintaining a regular mindfulness. This helps with regulating emotions and prevents a future relapse. It is important to increase emotional awareness around each client so that they all will have positive influence that is necessary to intervene before there is a destructive emotional episode that could possibly cause a relapse to occur. Within all of the groups in the Emotional Intelligence treatment program, practicing and maintaining mindfulness is at the core of each of them and each group either begins or ends with meditation. Sometimes within recovery, the client may feel frustrated and want an immediate fix, which can cause relapse. This is why developing emotional awareness in recovery is important in maintaining sobriety. 

 

Which Track Is for Your Emotional Intelligence and Addiction? 

At Multi Concept Recovery, there is a traditional treatment program that offers a variety of different evidence-based treatments. These evidence-based treatments include treatments such as; Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), 12 Step Program Education, Medication Assisted Treatment, etc. Within the traditional treatment track at MCR, our clients are encouraged to find support groups that can help create a community of others who are recovering. Finding a sober community is crucial in ensuring long-term success in the recovery process. The Emotional Intelligence in Recovery program helps our clients achieve the ability to express and control their emotions while being able to understand, interpret, and respond to the emotions of others appropriately. In improving your emotional intelligence, you will also improve your ability to empathize, to listen, have confidence, be open to change, etc. There is no right or wrong when picking the kind of addiction treatment you’d like to pursue. We offer different options because we know no two people are alike! 

 

Reach out to Multi Concept Recovery

 At Multi Concept Recovery we want to help you become successful in your recovery process. Contact us today to learn more and ask questions about our different tracks of treatment. While the decision is ultimately up to you, we’re happy to help guide you in the right direction for addiction treatment.