As part of my therapy sessions, we’ve been discussing emotional needs.

One of the statements made, is that in order to have a relationship between two people, you have to really understand and buy into the following three statements about emotional needs:

• Everybody has emotional needs
• It is okay to have emotional needs
• It is good to have your emotional needs met

By “understand” I don’t just mean that you have to read them and agree to it on some superficial level – you have to really believe it. In your heart, not just your head.

From this list:

• Attention
• Acceptance
• Appreciation
• Affirmation
• Affection
• Comfort
• Encouragement
• Respect
• Security
• Support
• Understanding

… it appears that my top three emotional needs are respect, acceptance and understanding.

What are yours?