The comprehensive guide to emotional control and dysregulation, and how they both can impact our emotional and mental health.
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
***Disclaimer: I am not a mental health professional. This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only
Are you feeling overwhelmed and dealing with various levels of emotions?
Do you feel like your emotional control is slipping through the cracks and making it hard for you to progress toward success?
Understanding how to manage emotions can significantly improve mental health, overall well-being, and reaching goals.
In this blog post, we’ll explore what emotional control means and why it’s essential for people of all ages today. So keep reading if you want to learn more about managing emotions!
What is Emotional Control?
Having control over our emotions is essential to our overall well-being. Emotional control is about regulating our emotions and our emotional reactions.
To have emotional control, we must first acknowledge and accept our emotions without feeling ashamed or judged. It may help to find a safe space and establish healthy boundaries so that we can express ourselves without fear of criticism or judgment.
Understanding yourself is aided greatly by the ability to control your emotions.Every emotion is triggered by a reason, and comprehending that can facilitate self-understanding.
Thinking about where our emotions stem from can help us understand why we feel what we are feeling. Feelings of overwhelming sadness or anger can be hard to manage. Suppressing or expressing our emotions recklessly can result in negative lasting consequences.
Stepping back and observing your emotions can help you see them from a different point of view. We do not always have control over our feelings, but we can control our reactions to what we are feeling. In fact, identifying and regulating our emotional responses allows flexibility and control over spontaneous reactions.
In the long term, emotional control is dealing with your emotions versus ignoring them. Your emotions are important, and what you feel is essential, but you should not allow your emotions to dictate your life.
What is Emotional Dysregulation?
Emotional dysregulation is the inability to control one’s emotions, which is the opposite of emotional control. When emotions are dysregulated, they are feelings beyond one’s control. Mood swings, an unstable mood, or severe fluctuations in mood are considered emotional dysregulation.
Emotional dysregulation in daily life can cause someone to be impolite to a restaurant server if they receive the wrong order or to struggle with insomnia due to distress caused by past events. While others who experience emotional dysregulation can experience it severely, such as using drugs and alcohol to cope with emotions or engaging in reckless behavior.
Understanding the causes of emotional dysregulation and how to manage it is essential. While emotional dysregulation can be caused by various factors, such as trauma, medical conditions, genetics, or even life stressors, there are ways to help regulate emotions.
Emotional dysregulation means having trouble managing or reacting to emotions suitably.
Emotional dysregulation can be a common sign of many mental health disorders. But emotional dysregulation is not the only indicator of a mental health disorder.
Whatever the case, emotional dysregulation can impact your personal life, relationships, self-care, and even your work.When you have an unstable mood, it can create an unstable environment that leads to a chain of problems in your life. If you are suffering from emotional dysregulation, seeking professional help from a doctor or licensed mental health therapist may be a good option.
Simple Ways to Manage Emotions
Anyone can control their emotions with the right help and guidance. How we manage those emotions will be different for everyone. We cannot achieve emotional control overnight; it takes effort, time, and much practice.
Thankfully, there are specific techniques that can be utilized by everyone to aid in managing their emotions effectively.
While we can’t always control our emotions, we always have the choice to control our reactions. Managing our emotions can be difficult, especially if the feelings are overwhelming and highly consuming.
Writing
Writing is an excellent avenue for helping yourself understand and control your emotions. Journaling can help us gain control of our emotions and help us understand our emotions better. Writing down everything we feel, without much thought about what we will say, is one of the best ways to understand how we feel.
Exercise
Getting proper exercise can be beneficial to our mental health and well-being. Exercise can help us manage our emotions healthily and positively. Moving your body helps to release endorphins in the brain, which can help improve mood and increase happiness.
Additionally, exercise can be an effective outlet for releasing built-up emotional energy that may be causing distress or overwhelming feelings.
Connecting with close friends and loved ones
Talking with close friends and family members can provide comfort and understanding that can help foster emotional regulation. Talking through feelings, experiences, and events with someone can help bring clarity and reassurance that can help restore emotional balance.
In addition, having someone listen to you without judgment or criticism can be helpful.
Taking advantage of your support system and practicing self-care can lead to developing a personalized approach to caring for yourself.
The Benefits of Emotional Control
Emotional control has the power to transform your life. Although we can’t control our feelings, we can manage our reactions.
Emotional regulation is essential for everyone since we all obviously experience emotions. Emotions should not be ignored, denied, or repressed. Failing to acknowledge and deal with our emotions can have severe consequences in the long term.
Improving our emotional regulation can have many positive outcomes, such as making intentional decisions and healthy choices, improving communication and relationships, increasing self-confidence, and boosting mood and overall satisfaction.
Through the long-term use of emotional control exercises, we can get a better sense of how we feel. Solid emotional regulation skills can enhance our long-term well-being, extending to other facets of our life like work and personal relationships.`
The benefits of emotional control are numerous and wide-ranging. By regulating our emotions, we can improve our mental health, reduce stress, and enhance relationships with others. We can also increase self-awareness and resiliency to tricky situations and improve problem-solving skills.
To develop emotional control, it’s essential to first recognize your emotions as they arise without judgment or criticism. Acknowledging and accepting the feelings you experience without pushing them away.
Once you better understand your emotions, it’s time to practice techniques that will help you manage them. Developing and maintaining emotional control is an ongoing process that requires effort and dedication.
The Consequences of Emotional Dysregulation
When a person experiences emotional dysregulation, it can significantly impact their quality of life and overall health. Emotional dysregulation can have profound effects on someone’s livelihood and overall well-being. Emotional dysregulation can impact various aspects of your life, like social interactions, close family relationships, work, school, etc.
The body and mind can experience numerous long-term effects from emotional dysregulation. It is often interconnected with stress, and dysregulated emotions can exacerbate it.
Someone with emotional dysregulation can be at risk for self-harm, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, and other damaging behavior. It can also lead to a decreased ability to cope with everyday stressors.
It’s essential to seek help if you are experiencing emotional dysregulation. If you are at risk for these behaviors or feel dysregulated emotions, contacting a licensed mental health professional can be beneficial. It’s always essential to reach out, and you are not alone.
You can call or text 988 for assistance in a mental health emergency
Tip: Save this number on your phone; you never know when you may need it!
Identifying when you or someone you care about is going through a difficult time is crucial.
With the help of trained professionals, it is possible to learn how to better understand your emotions.
By doing so, we can take the necessary steps to manage our emotions and avoid possible negative consequences.
When It May Be Time to See a Doctor or Therapist
Emotional control starts with the daily work–this isn’t something that can be achieved overnight. But sometimes, trying to sift through your emotions can feel overwhelming.
Having difficulty regulating your emotions can indicate that you may need to see a therapist.
Therapy can be a great way to help manage emotional dysregulation. You can develop the skills to better identify and understand your emotions through therapy. A suitable therapy and counselor for your needs can be found through different types of therapy.
But there may be some tell-tale signs that seeing a therapist might be a good idea.
Emotional dysregulation
Regulating our emotions and emotional reactions is what emotional control is about. If we struggle with emotional control, there can be many issues for someone long term. Emotional dysregulation is when someone experiences mood swings, an unstable mood, or severe fluctuations in mood.
Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Drugs, alcohol, and risky behavior can be one of the many unhealthy coping mechanisms that may be present. In fact, any coping mechanism can have the ability to negatively impact your life. Suppose a coping mechanism is negatively impacting your life in some way. In that case, it may be possible that it is an unhealthy coping mechanism.
If you are struggling with emotional dysregulation, it can be beneficial to seek professional help. Your therapist or doctor can help identify the best type of therapy for your needs and guide you. With the right therapist, you can learn how to cope with whatever life throws your way.Â
What Causes Emotional Dysregulation?
Various reasons can lead to emotional dysregulation. The state of being stressed is one of those reasons, and some mental health disorders show emotional dysregulation as a symptom.
It may be easy to judge someone struggling to manage their emotions.
However, it’s essential to understand that emotional dysregulation is more common than you think. There are a vast array of reasons that someone may have emotional dysregulation. Early childhood trauma, child neglect, and traumatic brain injury are all reasons that can cause emotional dysregulation.
Childhood Trauma/Traumatic Events
Early childhood trauma can cause emotional dysregulation from caregiver abuse or not forming a healthy bond with a caregiver. Meaning when a child does not form a strong bond with a caregiver, it may lead to emotional instability later in life.
Traumatic Brain Injury
Managing emotions may be challenging for people who have experienced traumatic brain injuries, regardless of the severity level. This type of experience can cause a person to have difficulty regulating their emotions, primarily if the damage occurs to the part of the brain that controls emotions.
Psychiatric Disorders
Experiencing emotional dysregulation does not necessarily indicate the presence of a mental health disorder. Although, emotional dysregulation can be a symptom of various mood or mental health disorders.
Stress
Stress is a massive factor in terms of emotional control. Emotional dysregulation can present in times of stress and can worsen over time. Stress can throw someone’s entire emotional balance off. When someone is constantly dealing with stress, managing our emotions can be challenging. This can lead to outbursts and impulsive behaviors.
Overall, emotional dysregulation can be caused by a variety of factors. It is essential to seek help if you are struggling with your emotions.
Takeaways
All in all, emotional control and dysregulation can play a significant role in our lives.
It’s essential to take the time to recognize and learn how to manage our emotions in healthy ways so we can reach our goals without getting overwhelmed by the stresses of life.
But when it comes to emotional dysregulation, we should be mindful of its causes and know when it’s time for outside help. In any case, understanding how to read ourselves emotionally helps us lead healthier and happier lives overall.
Further resources are available for anyone seeking more advice on controlling their feelings and managing potential emotional triggers. It’s always possible to take charge of your own emotions!