Written by
Millie Health Team
Published on
January 19, 2023
An integral part of our emotional intelligence, emotion regulation, is the ability to manage and respond to an emotional experience effectively. Emotion regulation has immense relevance to our mental health, interpersonal relationships, and overall quality of life. Understanding it is key to building resilience and fostering mental well-being.
Emotion regulation involves identifying, understanding, and modifying emotional reactions (Gross & Thompson, 2007). It allows us to navigate the ebb and flow of our emotional states, respond appropriately to life's challenges, and sustain positive interactions with others. Emotion regulation is not about ignoring or suppressing our feelings but rather about managing them in a way that is both healthful and adaptive.
Deficits in emotion regulation are associated with a myriad of mental health disorders. Difficulty in managing emotions has been linked with depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and borderline personality disorder (Aldao et al., 2010). Conversely, effective emotion regulation can act as a protective factor, reducing the risk of these disorders and promoting recovery.
Improving emotion regulation involves a multi-step approach, often honed through psychotherapy. Self-awareness, the first step, involves recognising and accurately identifying emotions as they occur. The next step, self-reflection, requires an understanding of the causes and effects of these emotions (Koole, 2009). Finally, we can then choose to engage in a variety of strategies to manage our emotional response, such as cognitive reappraisal, mindfulness, problem-solving, or seeking social support (Aldao et al., 2010).
Emotion regulation is a skill, and like any other skill, it can be developed and improved with practice. Techniques such as mindfulness-based therapy, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can help improve emotion regulation abilities (Gratz & Roemer, 2004). Mindfulness-based approaches, for instance, help individuals to non-judgmentally accept their emotional state, reducing the intensity and duration of emotional responses.
It's important to remember that all emotions, even those perceived as negative, have a purpose and provide valuable information about our inner and outer environment. The goal of emotion regulation is not to suppress or avoid emotions, but to understand, experience, and manage them in a way that supports our well-being and life goals.
Emotion regulation is a pivotal aspect of our emotional health. Cultivating this skill can enhance our ability to navigate life's challenges, foster healthier relationships, and contribute to overall mental wellness.
Sources:
1. Gross, J. J., & Thompson, R. A. (2007). Emotion regulation: Conceptual foundations. Handbook of Emotion Regulation, 3, 24.
2. Koole, S. L. (2009). The psychology of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Cognition and Emotion, 23(4), 4-41.
3. Aldao, A., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Schweizer, S. (2010). Emotion-regulation strategies across psychopathology: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(2), 217-237.
4. Gratz, K. L., & Roemer, L. (2004). Multidimensional assessment of emotion regulation and dysregulation: Development, factor structure, and initial validation of the difficulties in emotion regulation scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 26(1), 41-54.
