Intense emotions will inevitably come up in our lives. Be it through difficult life events, or maybe even the most positive ones, sometimes the emotions that come along with them can be overwhelming.
So, how do we deal with this?
Although we may not be able to avoid feeling intense emotions, we can certainly learn how to best react to them.
We can experience emotion regulation when we learn to deal with our emotions in a balanced way, not interfering with our daily functioning. We can experience emotion dysregulation when we fail to restore a balanced emotional state, relying on dysfunctional mechanisms to feel better.
While emotion regulation can be understood as a physiological process in the brain, we can also gain valuable insight from our attitudes and behaviors.
Learning about ourselves in this way is important because it allows us to understand better which areas related to our emotions we need to work on, it promotes emotional intelligence, can help improve our relationships with ourselves and others, and we can better understand others’ emotional processes when certain situations arise.
If you’d like to learn more about emotion regulation, feel free to check out the following topics on our website:
Introduction to Emotion Regulation
Development of Emotion Regulation in Children
Emotion Regulation in Relationships (coming soon)
Emotion Regulation in Breakups (coming soon)
Emotion Regulation in the Workplace (coming soon)
The quiz featured on our website can help you identify where you experience the greatest difficulties with emotion regulation.
Perhaps you find that you lack emotional clarity, are not always able to understand how you or others feel, or don’t allow yourself to feel or express emotions as you feel guilty or weak when you do. All of these factors can affect your emotion regulation, hindering you from restoring emotional balance.
Lack of Emotional Clarity
Impulse Control Difficulties
Difficulties Engaging in Goal-Directed Behavior
Limited Access to Effective Emotion Regulation Strategies
Non-Acceptance of Emotional Responses