Emotional self-regulation is the ability of a person to manage their emotions, thoughts and, consequently, actions. Although it is true that the mastery that each one has over it will depend on multiple factors, it is a skill that can be learned. In fact, doing so will be essential to adapt to the social environment and to be able to build healthy interpersonal relationships, as well as to have mental well-being. Developing this ability can be accomplished through a number of techniques.
People who are not capable of performing adequate emotional self-regulation have a tendency to certain negative and even self-destructive behaviors. Such as the development of emotional disorders or behaviors of an impulsive and even aggressive nature. To improve self-regulation, a process of reflection, self-knowledge and self-observation is required.
Life challenges people constantly, presenting them with all kinds of situations that will generate a wide variety of emotions that need to be managed. Anger, frustration, impatience, fear, despair. But it is possible to learn to do it successfully through a series of techniques. One of the main ones is cognitive reappraisal. This refers to the need to analyze the thought patterns that characterize a person. That is, the stimuli that cause a certain negative reaction, which could be disproportionate, in order to change the response.
Another strategy is cognitive distancing. This method consists of adopting a neutral position in the face of certain situations or problems that generate emotional discomfort. In this way, the impact it entails on the person’s feelings will be reduced and it will be easier to control.
Something similar happens with the suppression of thoughts. Often, people’s minds are overwhelmed by all kinds of ideas that cause discomfort, usually the result of fear, insecurity and even low self-esteem. When those thoughts do appear, the response will be to suppress them directly and focus on the present moment. This way they will not alter the emotional state.
Learning to control emotional self-regulation is highly beneficial, since you can enjoy a more optimistic and positive vision of life and day to day. Changing this thought helps make it easier to adapt to different situations, with a flexible mindset and more tolerant of frustration. In turn, this will make learning more efficient and strengthen the ability to resolve conflicts.
And another very beneficial aspect will be that of interpersonal relationships, since the change of thoughts and behaviors will have a positive influence when it comes to building new ones or caring for existing ones. Something especially important in work environments.
