Relationship Skills: How to Develop Self Awareness Skills to Improve Your Relationship

This is the third in a series of articles about developing self awareness as a relationship skill (see my articles: Relationship Skills: What is Self Awareness? and Why is Self Awareness Important to You as an Individual and in Your Relationship?).  In this article, I'm focusing on how to develop these skills.

Developing Self Awareness Skills to Improve Your Relationship

How to Develop Self Awareness Skills

There are many ways to develop self awareness skills.  Here are some tips:

• Get Curious About Yourself: Becoming curious about yourself is the first step in developing self aware.  This is the best way to get ready to explore your inner world and to become more psychologically aware.  By getting curious, you're also opening up to self discovery.

• Allow Yourself to Open Up to New Experiences: Whether the new experiences include taking an improv class or traveling to a country where you've never gone before, allowing yourself to try something new and interesting can provide you with the kind of experience where you learn about yourself.  You can share these experiences with your partner or you can experience them on your own (see my article: Being Open to New Experiences).

Open Up to New Experiences

• Write in a Journal: People who journal on a regular basis are able to reflect on and learn about their thoughts, emotions and behavior.  Taking the time to write in a journal can help you to develop insight into yourself.  Journaling is having an inner dialogue with yourself (see my articles: The Benefits of Journaling).

• Practice Mindfulness Meditation: Observing your thoughts and emotions without judgment is a good way to develop self awareness.  When you quiet your mind and just allow thoughts and emotions to flow, you're able to enter into your inner world.  If you find yourself distracted, you can just observe the distracting thoughts and then let them go (see my article: The Mind-Body Connection and Mindfulness Meditation and The Benefits of Meditation).

• Attend Psychotherapy:  One of the best ways to get to know yourself is by attending therapy--whether it's individual therapy or couples therapy.  You'll learn about yourself in ways that no other process provides.  Experiential therapy, which focuses on the mind-body connection, is the most effective type of therapy (see my article: Why Experiential Therapy is More Effective Than Regular Talk Therapy).

Using Your Self Awareness Skills to Improve Your Relationship

Talking to your partner and sharing your thoughts and emotions with each other can increase emotional intimacy between you.  When I say talking, I'm referring to face-to-face talking--not texting, which is not intimate at all and often leads to misunderstandings.

Share Your Thoughts and Feelings With Your Partner

Although it can be frightening, especially if you're sharing more vulnerable emotions, you can strengthen the bonds between you and your partner by allowing your partner to experience you on a deeper level (see my article: Vulnerability as a Strength in a Relationship).

Sharing yourselves builds trust and strengthens your relationship in a meaningful way. 

About Me

I am a licensed New York City psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, EFT, Somatic Experiencing and Sex Therapist.

I am a sex positive therapists who works with individual adults and couples.

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.