How to Invite Emotional Consent

In my previous post, I addressed the importance of emotional consent. In this post I’ll share how to ask for emotional consent when you want to have a heart-to-heart with someone. It’s pretty straightforward in terms of the words. The intention behind it is what matters most. You could start with a line like this: I want to share my thoughts and feelings about ___.Something’s really bothering me, and I’d like to discuss it with you.I’m feeling stressed/worried/anxious/____.I’m stuck on ____.I’d love some help with ___.I had a really difficult experience a while back.There’s something I think you should know about me. Then add something like this: Is this a good time?Can we have that kind of discussion?Do you want to hear about it?Is it okay if I tell you about it?Are you in a good place to hear about this now?When would be a good time to talk about this? (if it’s already a normal part of your relationship to have these discussions, so there’s at least some pre-consent for that)I need to vent my feelings to someone… can you play that role for me? And then if the other person consents willingly, you can have that kind of discussion. It’s also important to let the person be free to withhold consent or to get clarification, so honor their choice if they follow up with something like this: This isn’t a good time. How about ____?I’m not up for that. Maybe you could discuss this with ____ instead?How deep do you want to go?Do y...
Source: Steve Pavlina's Personal Development Blog - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Abundance Emotions Relationships Source Type: blogs