What Do You Really Need? Using Mindfulness to Build Self-Awareness

Having our daily emotional and physical needs met is extremely important for anyone. But how do you know what you need, and how to get those needs met? If you have struggled to decipher your internal needs, this blog will be a great resource for using mindfulness strategies to find and express them. 

For most people, our overall basic needs can be described by the 5 core emotional needs:

• Feeling safe

• Having a sense of self or identity

• Freedom to express your emotions/needs and be taken seriously 

• Having joy and creativity 

• Having self control and boundaries.

These are all essentially fundamental in terms of the Scheme Therapy Theory, but each person has different personal needs that they require in life. Finding these specific needs can be met through mindfulness techniques.

Here are a few techniques to practice:

Reflect on the 5 basic needs from above.

When do you feel that those are met?

Maybe for example, you feel comfortable expressing your emotions around your partner. Maybe you do not. That realization can be uncomfortable, but it's important to identify. 

If you end up finding places or people you do not feel these needs are met, reflect on how you might handle that.

Would you feel safe and free to express your needs and boundaries? 

When working with needs in relationships, consider asking yourself this: What am I willing to compromise on with my partner, and what do I consider non-negotiable?

What am I looking for in a partner and is this reasonable? How do I show love and how does my partner show love?

Throughout your day, monitor your energy levels, both physically and emotionally.

Identify which activities, or conversations, energized you and which ones drained you. Becoming aware of what triggered negative or positive emotions from you can help highlight patterns in your daily life that can lead to identifying your most important needs.

If every time you talk to the same person you feel drained or unheard, become aware of this feeling.

Ask yourself if you feel comfortable setting a boundary, and decide how you want to address it.

Self awareness and mindfulness can drastically affect your personal and professional life. It can repair relationships and protect you from emotional or physical burnout. Try these techniques and see what works for you.