In this episode, I speak with Dr. Thoraiya Kanafani about emotions and our nervous system. Dr. Thoraiya is a Clinical Psychologist with 20+ years of experience in educational and counseling psychology who mainly specializes in working with young adults, ages 18-45. Her main areas of focus include personality disorders, relationship issues, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addictions, learning disabilities, and trauma. Dr. Thoraiya has taught in 7 universities and is currently working for the Human Relations Institute & Clinics in Dubai. Hope you enjoy! 
Key Themes & Takeaways:
Unpacking Emotions  

We begin by discussing emotions as signals and how our bodies use them to inform us of what is happening within us as humans. 
We transition from there into a discussion on how to assess and respond to our emotions when they arise. 
We finish by discussing the difference between our thoughts and our emotions.

Managing Emotions as They Arise  

We start off by discussing how to identify emotions that are not helpful or serving us. 
We then move to talking about the difference between hypo- and hyperarousal. 
We close this segment by touching on the importance of calming your body when you enter a state of hyperarousal to return back to your window of tolerance.  

Regulation and Resilience in the Modern World 

We kick off this portion of the episode by discussing how dysregulation plays a part in throwing off your emotions, and the unique challenges of maintaining regulated emotions in 2025.
We then transition to talking about building resilience and how to push yourself outside of your comfort zone safely to build long-term resilience. 

Emotional Intelligence

We wrap up the episode by talking about Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and how to build high EQ. 
We move to talking about conflict and conflict resolution and its impact on the brain. Specifically, we touch on how to deal with those who have lower EQ.

Timestamps


00:00 Intro




01:45 Get to Know Dr. Thoraiya




03:15 What is an Emotion? 




05:47 The Relationship Between our Thoughts and our Emotions




12:40 How to Manage Emotions That Aren’t Serving




19:00 Disregulation in the Modern World




26:45 Building Resilience




32:25 Discomfort’s Relationship to Personal Growth 




39:30 What is Emotional Intelligence? 




46:00 Conflict Resolution and How it Impacts the Brain 




48:45 Emotional Literacy



54:25 Advice for Dealing with People with Low EQ


57:30 Nuggets of Wisdom and Resources for Expanding Emotional Intelligence

Book Mentioned by Dr. Thoraiya

Widen the Window by Elizabeth A. Stanley: 

Connect with Dr. Thoraiya

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.thoraiya/?hl=en
Website: https://www.hricdubai.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.thoraiya
HRIC IG: https://www.instagram.com/hricdubai/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-thoraiya-kanafani-2bb76210/?originalSubdomain=ae

Connect with me

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wholesome_practice/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100049758914001 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PeopleAndPlanetPodcast 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alya-alhamad 
Website: https://alyaalhamad.com/ 

Disclaimer:
This podcast is for educational purposes only and should not replace the advice of your doctor or physician. Always consult a medical professional before making changes to your diet, lifestyle, or medication protocol.

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