Emotional regulation is about managing and balancing your feelings, so they don’t become overwhelming or out of control. It means recognizing what you’re feeling, understanding why, and finding healthy ways to cope with those emotions. For example, if you’re feeling angry or anxious, emotional regulation might involve taking deep breaths, talking to someone you trust, or using other strategies to calm down and deal with your feelings in a positive way.
Treatment
Tailored interventions will be applied to address your specific needs and help you manage your emotions effectively, preventing them from becoming overwhelming or causing issues. Regardless of whether you are a youth or young adult, you can take control of your emotional responses and make better decisions.
FAQs
What are the symptoms?
- Intense Emotional Reactions: Experiencing emotions more intensely than others might in response to everyday situations
- Frequent Mood Swings: Rapid and unpredictable changes in mood, such as going from calm to extremely upset without clear reasons
- Difficulty Calming Down: Struggling to calm down once upset, leading to prolonged periods of distress or frustration
- Impulsive Behavior: Acting impulsively or making decisions based on strong emotions rather than thoughtful consideration
- Difficulty Handling Stress: Overreacting to stress or becoming easily overwhelmed by everyday challenges
- Trouble with Relationships: Experiencing conflicts or difficulties in relationships due to extreme or unpredictable emotional responses
- Self-Harm or Suicidal Thoughts: Engaging in self-destructive behaviors or having thoughts of self-harm or suicide, as a way to cope with intense emotions
- Chronic Feelings of Anger or Sadness: Persistent feelings of anger, sadness, or emptiness that interfere with daily life
- Avoidance or Withdrawal: Avoiding situations or withdrawing from social interactions to avoid dealing with emotions
- Difficulty with Emotional Expression: Struggling to express emotions appropriately, which can lead to frustration or miscommunication
How can you benefit from being able to regulate your emotions?
- Recognizing Feelings: Learning to notice what emotions you’re experiencing such as feeling happy, angry, stressed or worried
- Understanding Why: Figuring out what’s causing those feelings and why they’re happening
- Managing Reactions: Learning ways to handle these feelings like taking deep breaths or talking to a friend or trusted adult, to avoid overreacting or letting stress build up
- Expressing Feelings: Sharing your feelings in a calm and respectful way to help maintain healthy relationships and manage conflicts
- Problem Solving: Finding solutions to things that upset you like dealing with a disagreement with a friend, or a tough homework assignment
