217. Emotional entanglement

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Hello, darling heart, and welcome to this episode of the drink less, live better podcast.

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This is the podcast that helps you to see that drinking less doesn't need to be stressful, lonely, or boring.

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I'm your host, Sarah Williamson, and I decided to have a year alcohol free as a little life experiment and haven't looked back.

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I'm here to support you with your alcohol free or drink less adventures.

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Follow me on Instagram at drink less, live better. Find resources on my website, drinkless,livebetter.com. I hope you enjoy this episode. Let's get straight to it. Emotional entanglement. It's a biggie.

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When we become emotionally entangled with others, we create complex webs of shared feelings that can both enrich but also complicate our lives.

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Emotional entanglement occurs when we deeply internalize and respond to the emotional states of those around us, sometimes

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to the point where it becomes difficult to distinguish our own feelings from theirs. Emotional entanglement often begins subtly.

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Parents naturally attune to their children's emotional needs, but this connection can become problematic when taken to extremes.

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How might this play out in our lives?

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Imagine that you have become enmeshed with your teenage daughter's social struggles and find yourself lying awake at night

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worrying about her friendships, checking her social media accounts, and experiencing mood swings that mirrors her emotional ups and downs.

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Whilst parental concern is natural, this level of emotional investment will affect your own mental health and your ability

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to be able to provide her with stable support. How about in the workplace?

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This presents another common area for emotional entanglement.

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Team dynamics create ripple effects where one person's stress or, indeed, enthusiasm spreads throughout the group.

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Have you ever noticed your mood shift dramatically based on the emotional state of others around you? And how about romantic relationships?

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They probably demonstrate emotional entanglement in its most intense form.

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Partners develop deep emotional connections, and they can experience sympathetic joy and pain.

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While this can create beautiful moments of shared happiness, it can also lead to unhealthy codependency. Ah, yes. Codependency.

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I think we'll come back to that as another podcast episode later.

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Of course, the rise of social media has introduced new dimensions to emotional entanglement.

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We now have access to the emotional lives of friends, family, and, of course, even strangers.

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Many people report feeling anxious, sad, or angry after scrolling through their social media feeds.

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Perhaps we're there absorbing the collective emotional climate climate of other people online.

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The digital entanglement can be particularly insidious because it operates at a distance and sometimes without our conscious awareness, so watch out for it.

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Curate your social media feed very, very carefully.

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Let's think then, what do we need?

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Perhaps an understanding of emotional entanglement and then the opportunity to develop some healthy boundaries while still

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maintaining genuine empathy and connection to those people you care about.

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Some practical strategies might include regular emotional check ins with yourself to distinguish between your actual feelings

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and those you may have absorbed from others.

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This might involve asking yourself, 'would I be feeling this way if the other person wasn't experiencing these emotions?'

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Creating kind boundaries, like designated time alone or spaces where you can process your own emotions without external influence?

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Do you use the drive home to mentally leave behind the emotional weight of your workday?

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Do you shut yourself in the bathroom and read a book in the bath for an hour to decompress?

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Do you go for a walk, listen to music, or journal perhaps?

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How about practising very mindful engagement with others' emotions, being present and supportive whilst maintaining awareness

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of where their experience ends and yours begins.

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The challenge lies in finding the balance between connection and separation.

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Too much emotional distance can lead to coldness and inability to form meaningful

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identity. The goal is to develop what psychologists call healthy differentiation, the ability to maintain close relationships

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while preserving a strong sense of self. Emotional entanglement isn't inherently negative.

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Our capacity to deeply feel with and for others is part of what makes us human and enables us to form loving connections.

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Awareness of how we absorb and respond to others' emotions allows us to engage more consciously with those people that we

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really want and need to and maintain our own emotional well-being in the process. Thank you for listening in today. Come back again next week.

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Check out the show notes for a link to a hidden podcast episode that will help you with your 5PM cravings and details about

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my one to one life coaching and sober coaching programs, and, p s, I believe

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in you.