We are living in an uncertain world where unexpected changes can occur anytime and this can cause us to have emotional reactions. This might bring more stress, anxiety, and even depression and can also result in physical health issues, mental illness, and relationship issues[1]. This is why it is important to have emotional regulation as an adult.
Those who are emotionally regulated can accept and handle extreme situations and challenging phases in their lives in a balanced way. They are resilient and prepared with a proactive perspective to overcome obstacles with courage and tenacity.”[1]
If you are tired of being fragile while facing any critical situations, it is time to learn about emotional regulation as an adult. This can help you manage all unfavorable conditions that break you down and give you stress. Your life will be much easier, healthier, and happier.
Explore the significance of emotional regulation in adulthood as you read on, along with helpful advice on how to regulate your emotions and live a happier, healthier, and stress-free life.
What is Emotional Regulation as an Adult?
Emotional regulation as an adult can be defined as the ability to control one’s emotions, especially in intricate situations[2]. In our everyday lives, we have various stressors and to name a few are workplace stress, family stress, personal stress, and so on. The way we feel about these stresses and the way we react and behave in such circumstances proves if we are emotionally regulated as an adult or not.
People whose emotions are regulated can control their reactions and behavior and will respond in a much-balanced way to all the problems. They are emotionally intelligent as they know how to manage their emotions appropriately. Self-awareness, recognizing personal emotional cues, and learning healthy ways of responding are important parts of the process of emotional regulation in adulthood.
Did you know that most adults have issues managing their emotions, which impact their overall health? The way they deal with such emotions affects their well-being, mental health, and life in general. This is why it is important to regulate our emotions as adults.
How do Healthy People Self-Regulate Emotions?
Healthy People here means naturally functioning people, who do not avoid, deny, or inhibit the self feelings. They regulate emotions by recognizing them and then reacting to them in calm and balanced ways. They emphasize the protection of their needs and choose to think positively and weigh their feelings before responding. Take one example of how healthy people will act in a given situation; a senior at the workplace humiliates them and their work in front of other employees. When the senior snaps at them and gets loud, healthy people whose emotions are regulated will tell what they are looking for is constructive criticism and not argument. This will end the scene without affecting their peace of mind.
Emotional Dysregulation
Failure to manage emotions makes you develop complications such as temper tantrums, anxiety as well as depression. In such a state, adults may be easily angered over small issues and get easily irritable or nervous over problems that are not even important. The inability to regulate or modulate intense emotional responses is often termed adult emotional dysregulation.
This is an observable sign that shows how difficult it is for such individuals to calm down after becoming annoyed or angry. When they struggle with emotional regulation, they often have unpredictable feelings and can easily get angry or stressed.
5 Strategies For Emotional Regulation
Emotional regulation isn’t about ignoring feelings or situations, but rather learning how to appropriately deal with one’s emotions. The ability to control emotions is crucial to prevent the over-expression of feelings. Adults have opportunities to learn how to regulate their emotions, to attain better and healthy living.
Here are the 5 emotional regulation strategies[3]:
Situation Selection: Refusing to engage in activities that would elicit unpleasant feelings.
Situation Modification: Asserting control over diverse elements to minimize feelings of emotional distress.
Attentional Deployment: Redirecting attention from negative ideas or experiences.
Cognitive Change: Redirection – changing the course of one’s thinking about something.
Response Modulation: Regulating emotional responses by trying to reduce the intensity of emotions one feels.
Let’s understand these 5 strategies well through an example to get more clarity on how to use implement these practically.
Situation Selection: Let’s say you work with a coworker whose constant bad attitude makes you stressed out. Avoid having talks with them will make you feel more stressed. Therefore, choose to concentrate on developing good relationships with more encouraging coworkers.
Situation Modification: You can reorganize your work schedule if you’re feeling overburdened by the number of chores you have. Sort jobs according to urgency and divide bigger projects into smaller, easier-to-manage components. This will lessen the sensation of being overburdened.
Attentional Deployment: During a heated meeting where you feel your frustration is rising, shift your focus to the aspects of the discussion that you can control or influence rather than dwelling on what is making you upset.
Cognitive Shift: Reframe negative criticism as a chance for personal development rather than as a personal assault. Shift your viewpoint so that criticism is perceived as a tool for growth and not as a challenge to your abilities.
Response Modulation: After a difficult client contact, if you’re feeling extremely frustrated, try deep breathing techniques or go for a quick walk to decompress before answering. This will enable you to tackle the matter with more emotional equilibrium and mental clarity.
When you use these strategies, you will neither overwhelm nor act irrationally in an emotionally charged situation.
Emotional Regulation Techniques
Next to practical strategies, there are emotional regulation techniques like deep breathing, writing journals, meditation, practicing gratitude, etc. Most of these contain a sequence of exercises that help to enhance the ability to manage emotions[2]. Some of the exercises include following:
- Mindfulness Meditation aids in being mindful and aware of feelings without having to analyze or label them.
- Cognitive-Behavioral Strategies assist in recognizing improper ways of thinking and eradicating them by replacing them with proper ways of thinking.
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation helps to relieve stress and anxiety due to physical training. Thus, through the use of these practices, adults can learn how to regulate their emotions.
Many practices and techniques from relevant sources can be found online. To get the list, try searching with these keywords – ’emotional regulation techniques PDF’ Emotional Regulation Skills for Adults PDF.’ There are many books about emotional regulation available online for free download. They include relatable articles, activities, and tips to assist you in identifying your feelings and exercising better emotional regulation.
Emotional Regulation Worksheets for Adults
Emotional regulation worksheets provide a framework to follow for emotional regulation and help enhance one’s ability to handle feelings effectively. These worksheets can be used to figure out what triggers a person’s emotions by analyzing past emotions and learning more effective ways to manage these feelings. They are available online in PDF format and can be downloaded for free.
Final Takeaways
Managing one’s own emotions as an adult helps to improve psychological well-being, and lead a happy life. Therefore, by recognizing the value of emotional management, and employing numerous methods using emotional regulation worksheets, and PDFs, people can learn how to regulate emotions.
References:
[1] Madhuleena Roy Chowdhury, BA. Emotional Regulation Scientifically reviewed by William Smith, Ph.D.
[2] Arlin Cuncic, MA. How to Develop and Practice Self-Regulation Reviewed by Rachael Goldman, Ph.D. FTOS
[3] Canadian Mental Health Association. 5 strategies for managing your emotions using emotional regulation , Published Date: 26th April 2021
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