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Emotional regulation is the ability to respond in a tolerable and socially acceptable manner by delaying the spontaneous response. It enables people to focus on a required task by suppressing or ignoring inappropriate behavior.
On the contrary, emotional dysregulation
is an inability to control emotional arousal according to psychological and
social demands.
Neural basis of emotional dysregulation
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have indicated that the pattern of activation of the prefrontal cortex affects emotional regulation. Moreover, the anterior cingulate cortex and amygdala also play a significant role in controlling emotions so, aberrations in these brain regions lead to dysregulation of emotional balance (1).
Effects of emotional dysregulation
Emotional deregulated people are
highly vulnerable to stress, depression, and anxiety after traumatic events. It
has been observed that children who feel difficulty managing their emotions
react in a more aggressive way when hurt or bully in school. Their reaction
comes in the form of beating and lashing others due to which they bear severe
consequences. If this process continues there is a train of emotionally
dysregulated events and these children grow into emotionally disturbed adults
(2). Therefore, it is essential to find ways to emotional regulation.
Strategies to manage emotional
dysregulation
Emotions can be regulated at
different stages of the emotion generation process.
1. Situation selection
2. Situation modification
3. Attention deployment
4. Cognitive change
5. Response modulation
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1. Situation selection
It is wise to disengage from an emotionally
relevant situation. People usually do this to avoid unwanted emotional responses
such as to avoid a social gathering that makes them feel low or keep their
children away from the kids that use offensive language and bully each other (3).
Situation selection is not always
under control however, it could be managed to avoid unpleasant events.
2. Situation modification
If the situation is unavoidable then try to change it. It is possible to modify the external environment such as if you notice that someone is wasting food at a party and it emotionally disturbs you then ask that person politely and if he is not listening then change your place and go away from that person (4).
3. Attention deployment
It means turning your attention
toward or away from an emotional event.
There are different possible ways
of attention deployment such as distraction, rumination, worry, and thought
suppression.
a. Distraction
The best way to lower the
intensity of painful emotional experiences is to find distractions. Pay
attention to the things that make you feel happy and it will help to decrease emotional
distress (5).
b. Rumination
It involves continuously focusing
on a situation and trying to find out the causes and consequences of emotional
distress. It could be beneficial in some cases however, it may increase the
emotional response. Therefore, too much rumination should be avoided (6).
c. Worry
This type of attention deployment
focuses on the negative consequences of your emotional response such as if you
misbehaved with your senior in the office or your teacher in a school then you
will definitely worry about the consequences and as a result will apologize and
try to refrain from such behavior in the future. However, excessive worry may
result in unwanted outcomes because it is a symptom of anxiety-related
disorders (7).
d. Thought suppression
It provides some relief and
directs your attention away from unpleasant situations. However, it is
considered maladaptive and may cause an accumulation of negative thoughts (7).
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4. Cognitive modification
It involves reappraisal,
distancing, and humor.
a. Reappraisal
Reappraisal means looking at the
situation from a different angle such as finding the positive side of the
stimulus or expanding our thoughts to imagine the bigger picture. If your
father scolded you for bad grades, then reappraisal will help you identify the
reasons behind this behavior. You will also identify that he did this because
he cares for your future and wants me to become a successful person (8).
b. Distancing
Distancing means analyzing the
whole emotional situation from a different perspective like a third person. It
is a modified form of self-reflection and helps to reduce cardiovascular and
emotional reactions to negative stimuli (9).
c. Humor
Positive and uplifting humor
helps to effectively regulate emotions whereas negative and critical humor
elevates negative emotions (10).
5. Response modulation
Response to the emotional event
is modulated via emotional suppression, drug usage, exercise, or sleep.
a. Emotional suppression
It somehow reduces the intensity
of emotional response however, is considered maladaptive as it is not good for
mental well-being (11).
b. Use of drugs
People use certain drugs or alcohol
to regulate their emotional responses and reduce anxiety. However, this
strategy is not recommended because it provides temporary relief and can be
harmful in long run (12).
c. Exercise
Physical activity positively
modulates the emotional response and exerts greater emotional control.
d. Sleep
Quality sleep is a positive
regulator of emotional response. It reduces the reactivity of the emotional
center in the brain. Conversely, sleep deprivation leads to over-reactivity of the
amygdala and also increases the negative response to a trigger (13).
Conclusion
Emotional dysregulation is a
serious condition that could make a person socially unacceptable and it also leads
to physical and mental distress therefore, it is essential to adopt healthy
coping strategies.
References
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Aldao, Amelia; Nolen-Hoeksema,
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