People & Planet

24: Understanding Our Emotions and Expanding Emotional Intelligence with Dr. Thoraiya Kanafani

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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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                                          People & PlanetBy Alya Alhamad
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