What emotional regulation really looks like

Regulation - the act or process of regulating

The term emotional regulation gets thrown around a lot these days, but what does that term really mean? Emotional regulation does not mean that you don't ever have emotions that bring dis-ease or make you a bit uncomfortable. Emotional regulation doesn't mean that nothing that happens to or around you bothers you. And emotional regulation definitely doesn't mean that you have things all figured out.

What emotional regulation does mean is that you figure out how to handle the emotions -whatever those emotions are - as they come. You learn strategies that help you to move beyond the way the emotions feel so that you can figure out what the emotions are telling you. Once you understand the message your nervous system is sending you through these emotions, then you can make an informed decision regarding how to respond to that message.

For example, the emotion of anger is a great way of knowing that something has left you feeling unsafe and/or unloved. Once you recognize what the anger that was sparked by a certain situation is telling you, then you can identify how to respond in a way that leaves you empowered and choosing a response that helps your nervous system to find safety and/or love (often from within).

Emotional regulation looks like moving through life taking deep breaths when your nervous system is thrown off kilter so that you can identify the trigger and move from nervous system dysregulation into nervous system reset and rest.

With Gratitude,