what are emotional needs

Emotional needs are feelings or conditions that must be fulfilled in order for us to experience happiness, fulfillment, or peace. They are part of the normal human experience and are essential to a healthy lifestyle. When our emotional needs are met and responded to appropriately, they keep us in balance. However, when they aren’t addressed, we may feel frustrated, hurt, or dissatisfied. Emotional needs are sometimes harder to pinpoint but carry tremendous impact – the need for community/belonging, companionship, love and affection, acceptance, compassion, and comfort, just to name a few. Everyone has their own unique set of emotional needs, which might be the product of upbringing, genetic predisposition, identity, and other individual factors. However, there are some basic emotional needs that are common to all humans, such as feeling appreciated, feeling accomplished, feeling safe, or feeling part of a community. According to Marriage Builders, Inc., the most important emotional needs are admiration, affection, intimate conversation, domestic support, family commitment, financial support, honesty and openness, physical attractiveness, recreational companionship, and sexual fulfillment. Understanding our emotional needs empowers us to make ourselves happy and can relieve a sense of helplessness. We can look at the imbalances in our jobs, relationships, and environments from a unique perspective and take steps to address them.