Emotional delay can be caused by unmet needs at a developmental level, traumatic disruptions in a child's life, and, in the case of children with FASD or other brain injuries, the brain pathways may be unable to adequately process tasks required.
Social and emotional delays refer to conditions in which children have not reached expected interactive and perceptive milestones for their chronological age.
Sometimes, emotional stunting is the result of traumatic events so painful and damaging that normal emotional development is derailed. Whatever the cause, the outcome is often dysfunctional relationships and difficulty living, working and dealing with others.
Stunted Emotional Growth - A difficulty, reluctance or inability to learn from mistakes, work on self-improvement or develop more effective coping strategies.
Emotional stunting can have many causes but is often the result of an overly protective mother, too much praise, and little punishment during adolescence.
To be emotionally mature, you need to understand your emotions. That's easier said than done — vulnerability is scary, but recognizing emotions helps you handle them more maturely.
Emotional immaturity can be the result of insecure attachments during early life experiences, trauma, untreated addiction or mental health problems, and/or lack of deeper introspection or work on oneself. It can manifest as self-centeredness, narcissism, and poor management of conflict.
They fail to integrate the aggressive and libidinal factors at play in other people, and thus are not able to parse their own experiences. It can be caused by a neurobiological immaturity of brain functioning, or through a childhood trauma, or other means.
While emotional immaturity isn't always a sign of a mental health disorder, it has been associated with narcissistic personality disorder and emotionally abusive tendencies. That being said, it is not always the case that an emotionally immature person is either a narcissist or abusive.
Emotional immaturity is an effect of developmental trauma. If you experienced neglect or emotional abuse as a child and identified with the above, healing your trauma wounds can help you approach life and relationships with balance and maturity.
Schizoid personality disorder is a condition where a person shows very little, if any, interest and ability to form relationships with other people. It's very hard for the person to express a full range of emotions. If you have schizoid personality disorder, you may be seen as keeping to yourself or rejecting others.
Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Delays
It is common for children with developmental delays to have difficulty with social and emotional skills. For example, they may have trouble understanding social cues, initiating communication with others, or carrying on two-way conversations.
It was concluded from this study that ADHD children were less emotional mature as well as had less adjustment than the normal children. These finding should be considered while enrolling the ADHD in special psychological training programs to help them achieve better emotional maturity and higher adjustment abilities.
But ADHD can cause specific immature behaviors, causing kids to be an outcast amongst peers. Learn how praise and getting involved in activities can help. The problem: The social maturity of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD) may be a few years behind that of their peers.
Four States of Emotional Maturation
They are: Survival (fear-based living); Security (duty-based living), Success (ego based living) and Serenity (love/trust-based living).
Studies say men reach emotional maturity around 43, while 32 years of age is where most women mature. Considering both genders join the workforce or start a family much earlier than they have a decent level of control over their emotional state, this data explains why sometimes we choose the wrong paths in life.
In general, men and women cannot reach full maturity until their brains are fully developed at around age 25. However, some studies have shown that men do not fully mature until age 43… and that women reach maturity at age 32!
Summary. Having low EI means that a person has difficulty recognizing and understanding their emotions and those of others. People with low EI may also have poor emotion regulation and find it difficult to use their emotions to attain personal goals.
Emotional numbing is a common symptom of trauma, a defense mechanism used to cope with overwhelming events. It can lead to an inability to feel emotion, an inability to connect with others, and a sense of detachment from the physical world.
Age regression is a temporary or long-term reversal of behavior to earlier states of development. It is normal and expected in children but does occur in adulthood as well. People sometimes revert to childlike behavior to cope with trauma, stress, severe illness, or mental health disorders.