I am a therapist. Here are five simple ways to recognize if someone is emotionally immature

One therapist has identified what he explained as five key indicators that show someone is emotionally immature.

Jeffrey, who goes by @therapytothepoint on TikTok, has amassed more than 120,000 followers on the platform with his list-like clips detailing external behaviors that indicate major psychological illness.

Among his popular posts lately, with almost a million likes, was one in which he explored “5 signs someone is emotionally immature,” as the video was captioned.

First, an unwillingness or total refusal to apologize.

The ‘5 Signs Nobody is Emotionally Immature’ clip has racked up almost a million likes on the platform (stock image)

“An emotionally immature person avoids apologizing because apologies usually damage their ego,” Jeffrey explained.

“Instead, they resort to defense mechanisms, such as deflecting blame or defensiveness.”

In second place are people who ‘always’ ‘have an answer to everything’.

“Again, this is an ego problem: For someone to be emotionally mature and having to admit that they don’t know something really damages their ego,” Jeff described.

“Admitting you don’t know something and saying something like, ‘I don’t know anything about this, I need to do more research,’ is what an emotionally mature person would do.”

Being passive-aggressive is third on Jeffrey’s list.

“(It’s) a subtle way to put people down, and it usually comes from a place of moral superiority. It is important to learn to accept the worldviews of others, even if they are completely different from your own,” he said.

The fourth thing Jeffrey lists is guilt.

“An emotionally immature person avoids apologizing because apologies usually damage their ego,” Jeffrey explains

“An emotionally mature person will guilt others into manipulating their behavior,” Jeffrey said.

“An example of guilt is someone saying, ‘If you were my real friend, you would do this for me.’

Fifth is the silent treatment.

“This is a manipulative tactic to punish someone who does not behave the way he/she wants,” Jeffrey said.

‘The silent treatment is incredibly immature and damages the other person’s mental health.’

On this last point, many viewers returned to this last point in the comments section.

“However, sometimes a silent treatment is necessary,” one of the top-rated comments read.

“Silent treatment… I’m tired of explaining and debating so do it your way,” echoed a second.

“Silent treatment is fire,” a third agreed.

Many who gave the highest votes to the video seemed to misunderstand the definition of the ‘silent treatment’ when used in a psychologically damaging way

“I don’t think silent treatment is emotionally immature because sometimes you’re just tired of explaining how you feel to someone who doesn’t listen,” another countered.

Admittedly, these commentators appear to have misunderstood the fundamental mechanisms of the “silent treatment” when used in psychologically damaging ways.

An article by Very good, ghost on the subject it says: ‘There are times in relationships when silence is acceptable and even productive. For example, a couple, or even just one partner, can take a thoughtful time-out after a heated argument to cool down or collect their thoughts.

“What sets this silence apart from the silent treatment is that the timeout is mindful and there is an assumption or understanding that they will revisit the topic later.”

The article highlighted: ‘When silence, or more accurately the refusal to engage in conversation, is used as a control tactic to exert power in a relationship, it becomes ‘the silent treatment’, which is toxic, unhealthy and abusive. is. .

“But if silence means simply taking time out to think about things and then bringing up the issue again later, then that’s not the same at all. ‘