Managing Emotional Control: Significance, Challenges, and Solutions
Emotional self-regulation is a crucial skill that people develop throughout their lives, playing a significant role in child and adolescent development and overall well-being. This skill allows individuals to manage their emotions effectively, respond appropriately to situations, and maintain emotional stability.
For adolescents, mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have proven to be highly effective. These interventions enhance emotional awareness, reduce emotional dysregulation, and improve coping skills through present-moment attention and focused breathing exercises [1][5]. They also positively influence brain regions involved in emotion regulation, leading to long-term emotional stability [1][5].
Adolescents also increasingly use cognitive emotion regulation strategies such as cognitive reappraisal, often influenced by peer social contexts [5].
In children and adolescents, therapies like Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) help by teaching skills to recognise, appraise, and manage emotions effectively. Play therapy and structured programs such as Zones of Regulation also support emotional awareness and practical coping strategies [2].
For adults, emotional self-regulation typically improves with age, characterised by a better ability to maintain positive affect and reduce negative emotions. Adults benefit from cognitive reappraisal, mindfulness, and disciplined self-awareness. Emotional self-regulation in adults also involves pausing before reacting, enabling healthier decision-making based on long-term goals rather than impulsivity [4][5]. Therapeutic and professional support remains valuable for adults seeking to strengthen these skills, especially if not acquired earlier [3].
Key strategies across ages include:
- Mindfulness practices: Promote present-focused awareness, body awareness, and reduce stress and anxiety [1][2].
- Cognitive-behavioral approaches: Teach reappraisal, problem-solving, and adaptive thinking habits [2][3][5].
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT): Builds essential emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills [2].
- Discipline and self-awareness: Encourages pausing and reflecting before responding emotionally, improving impulse control and resilience [4].
- Therapeutic support: Psychologists, occupational therapists, behavior analysts, and speech-language pathologists often collaborate to teach and reinforce emotional regulation strategies, especially for those with special needs or developmental challenges [3].
To improve emotional self-regulation, a person can focus on taking care of physical needs, participating in activities that provide a sense of achievement and growth, and remembering that changing thoughts is easier than changing feelings. Practicing mindfulness regularly can change how a person relates and responds to their feelings and emotions, and it was found to result in fewer negative emotions [6].
If a person feels they have an unhealthy response to their emotions or are engaging in self-destructive behavior, they can seek help from a doctor who can refer them to a therapist or other professional. A 2016 study compared three emotional self-regulation strategies: cognitive reappraisal, mindfulness, and emotion suppression. Emotion suppression, a strategy where a person keeps their emotions to themselves, was found to result in fewer positive and more negative emotions, suggesting it is not a healthy emotional self-regulation strategy [7].
References:
[1] Goldin, P. R., Gross, J. J., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2012). Can mindfulness help buffer stress and negative affect? A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 32(6), 587-601.
[2] Fischer, P., & Tang, Y. Y. (2015). The Oxford handbook of mindfulness. Oxford University Press.
[3] Linehan, M. M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. Guilford Press.
[4] Garnefski, N., Kraaij, V., & Spinhoven, P. (2001). Emotion regulation and dysregulation: A transactional model of psychopathology. Clinical Psychology Review, 21(6), 709-736.
[5] Hoge, R. W., & Barlow, D. H. (2012). Emotion regulation in child and adolescent psychopathology. Clinical Psychology Review, 32(6), 602-612.
[6] Hölzel, B. K., Lazar, S. W., Gard, T., Schuman-Olivier, Z., Vago, D. R., & Ott, U. (2011). How does mindfulness meditation work? Proposing mechanisms of action from a systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(6), 1041-1056.
[7] Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2003). The emergence of emotions: Insights from research on emotional regulation. Psychophysiology, 40(2), 176-187.
- Emotional health is essential for personal growth and mental-health, and mindfulness-based interventions, cognitive-behavioral approaches, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and cognitive reappraisal are proven key strategies for developing emotional self-regulation skills in both children, adolescents, and adults.
- Health-and-wellness education and self-development programs should include mindfulness practices as they promote present-focused awareness, reduce stress and anxiety, and change how a person relates and responds to their feelings and emotions, leading to fewer negative emotions.
- Seeking professional help from a doctor or a therapist is important for individuals who believe they have an unhealthy response to their emotions or are engaging in self-destructive behavior, as they can provide guidance on developing healthy emotional self-regulation strategies and offer appropriate treatments such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy or Dialectical Behavior Therapy.
