Emotional Regulation

This is the ability to maintain a good state; basically, be calm and present, or whatever state is appropriate for the situations we happen to be in. We don’t always notice when we do this well, but we certainly notice its absence.

Think: Mood Swings. Emotional Outbursts. Temper Tantrums. Losing our Cool.

And when we find all these things happening, it might seem impossible to control, as you’ll know if you’ve ever tried to reason with somebody who’s about to blow their top, whether that’s an overworked, stressed adult, a hormonal teenager or anyone with sensory overload.

You need a plan!

The trick is to notice what’s causing Emotional Dysregulation. EVERYTHING. All the little things that disrupt our sense of peace and happiness. Most of this will probably seem insignificant, but it all

adds up and we then find we’ve gone past the point of being able to stop an eruption.

These things might include:

- Worrying about things that might go wrong

- Being overworked

- Conflict with other people

- Unhealthy diet including high sugar / additives / fast food

- Lack of exercise

- Too much screen time

- Insufficient / Poor quality sleep

These are just some of the things that ‘add to our load’ and can contribute to or worsen the effects of any condition we are trying to manage, whether it’s anxiety, ADHD, chronic fatigue, IBS, insomnia, headaches, pain or stress.

When we learn to manage Emotional Regulation, our hormones balance out, our body functions better, then we can concentrate easier, have more energy,

do more, sleep better. Our relationships, jobs and lives get easier and we can feel and function so much better.

If you need help with Emotional Regulation, please get in touch.

Jo Sawkins – Fatigue, Pain and Stress specialist at Wings Wellbeing.

wingswellbeing.co.uk