"It is a choice. No matter how frustrating or boring or constraining or painful or oppressive our experience, we can always choose how we respond"- By Edith Eger.
Introduction
Emotional Regulation is also known as self-regulation as it is regulated by us. Emotional Regulation can be understood as our ability to manage our emotional responses. This involves rethinking a challenging situation to reduce fear or anxiety by reducing sadness and more actively thinking of situations that give us more happiness and bring peace in our lives. It is we who have to bring change in our lives through the way we react to situations by regulating our emotional responses to the events in our daily lives.
Significance
Emotional Regulation plays a major role in our lives as we are always surrounded by our emotions which affect our decision-making. Thoughts about others as most of the time we make decisions solely based on our emotions. It is one thing which is very common to every single individual in this world, but the only difference is how we react to the situations based on our emotions, whether we are overpowered by our emotions or regulate them to make the right decision based on our thinking rather than guided by our emotions. For instance- an anxious person may try to cope by distracting himself/herself from the thoughts that are causing the anxiety. Maintenance of emotional regulation is crucial because it can aid in:
1. Problem-solving,
2. Improve individuals' performance at work
3. Help maintain healthy relationships with other people.
One of the key importance of emotional regulation is that it can act as a protective barrier against depression or anxiety symptoms.
Emotional Regulation is key to a healthy life. One who understands its importance tends to cope better with daily life stressors which can be physical, biological, chemical, or environmental. Some people become resilient; their ability to bounce back from a crisis is quick as compared to others.
Benefits
People who can regulate their emotions tend to have better-thinking abilities.
Impulse control, and problem-solving skills.
A person becomes more confident, successful, and capable of handling difficult situations in the right manner.
Individuals who regulate emotions tend to cope better with life stressors.
Become more resilient to stress.
Their ability to bounce back from crisis or stress is quick and efficient.
Have the ability to control emotions in different situations.
Use their logic to solve problems rather than thinking emotionally.
Are more flexible in thinking.
Better focused and Alert.
Increased Self-confidence.
Improves personal relationships with others.
Improves the overall well-being of a person.
Increase happiness.
Regulation helps people to avoid negative circumstances and tend to focus on the positive ones.
Tend to have fewer mood swings.
Optimistic.
On the other hand, people who lack emotional regulation tend to become more prone to challenges or difficulties in life. They may become isolated from others or introverted, face difficulty accepting their own emotions and usually live in denial that everything will be fine soon without any help. These people usually suppress their own real emotions and try to experience life through others by accompanying in their emotions such as happiness.
Treatment
If someone fails to regulate their emotions then the person should seek help to prevent the situation from getting worse and it includes a variety of options such as:
Counseling
It is one of the most important sessions between a counselor and client which allows them to have a formal discussion on the topic to find meaningful ways to reduce its effects on the client.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
CBT helps to challenge unhelpful ways of thinking by allowing a person to evaluate their thoughts which are more negative than positive, and seeks to explain how thinking affects the mind. For example- If a person fails to regulate their emotions, they need to understand what is stopping them from regulating their emotions, what factors contribute to this? How they can prevent them by evaluating their thought pattern.
Conclusion
Therefore, a person should take all necessary measures to regulate their emotions as emotional regulation talks about how one can control their behavior by logically taking correct decisions rather than going with the flow of emotions, emotions are part of life, they help us experience the world around us which can make us happy, sad, anxious or sorrowful. The key to a successful life is emotional regulation. It can make one lead a happy life or a sad life. The decision lies in other hands, it us to decide that at what time one emotion is right and the is wrong, the will of a happy life is in our hands. One should think of emotions as being a flavor of our life and our responsibility to regulate them as kind of being a chef. Flavors can be mild or intense, just like our emotions. No one wants the flavor to overpower their dish, so a person should moderate it, which creates a much better experience overall.
References
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