Emotional Regulation

Emotional Regulation aids us in balancing our emotional responses to challenging situations.  Dysregulation can occur when we become overwhelmed by intense emotions, contributing to us having extreme reactions and causing various negative impacts.

Practice
With practice we can regulate ourselves by using skills that help to calm our body and mind.
We can try out different things until we find which methods, techniques or self-help ideas work for us.

How?
Firstly, stop fighting your emotions.  Remind yourself that you are not trying to get rid of them, even if they are scary or uncomfortable.
Start to move through them in a healthy way by acknowledging what you feel, with compassion and acceptance (yes, even if they are scary, confusing or overwhelming).

What else?
Try to ride the wave of your emotions.  You can do this in various ways.  For example, you could try shouting into a pillow, rocking your body from side to side, breathing deeply and counting down from 5, panting out aloud, running on the spot, jumping up and down or splashing water on your face.
Why, because we need to move with the wave. 
Use your tried and tested skills to increase your ability to tolerate and move through intense and uncomfortable feelings.  Notice how your behaviour changes as you practice these skills.

Remind yourself, it is possible, with practice, to become aware of your triggers and body signals and that you can respond in helpful ways that start to bring your emotions to a place of calm and control.  

If you happen to be experiencing a panic attack and, in that moment, you manage to hug yourself or pace it out, then that is what you do.   Over time, with more awareness, acceptance of all emotions, you will learn about yourself and discover your triggers and ways to release the intensity of these emotions.  With increased awareness and acceptance, you will start to gain more control over your emotions in a way that enables you to embrace them and set them free from your body and your mind.  

I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them. – Oscar Wilde