Safety is a primary concern for all individuals. There are multiple areas of safety the most common are physical safety and financial safety. People who are more in touch with their feelings and emotions become aware of the sense of emotional safety. It simply means sharing a space with people where exploration and expression of any emotion is easy and comfortable and makes you feel heard. Emotional safety leads to enhanced care and stronger connections among people.
Let's compare idea of emotionally safe relationships with Travelling, as a traveller requires a base to drop off personal belongings, wind down and just be, similarly people require such a 'base' in their relationships to share and experience their valuable personal belongings which is emotions and feelings, to put their emotional turmoil out in the open, to pay heed to the the wear and tear of emotional strain.
This base provides a secure place for the traveller to go out explore things, play around and experience unfamiliar events knowing that there is a safe and comfortable space to rest and recharge. Similarly, emotionally safe relationships helps one feel mentally rested and recharged from draining interactions, unexpected encounters and any other emotional strain that comes along the way.
An emotionally safe relationship leads to growth and learning instead of scanning for threats and focusing on protection. It makes it easy to explore uncomfortable emotional areas along with the comfortable ones which further builds trust and connection in the relationships. Hence emotional safety is not a privilege rather a prerequisite for healthy strong relationships.
Count your blessings if you have relationships in your life which make emotionally safe bases for you, here are some ways to identify it:
- You feel comfortable to talk about your real feelings with them
- You feel heard in those conversations
- You feel you can discuss any emotional experience in those conversations
Remember, higher level of emotional safety indicates increased vulnerability, openness to honest feedback, lower use of defense mechanisms which leads to better conflict resolution and increased level of trust and connection in your relationships.