What is Emotional Regulation and Why Is It Important?
Recently I have been chatting with a number of people about emotional regulation. Subsequently, today I wanted to put some thoughts in writing.
What is Emotional Regulation?
Emotional regulation continues to evolve. Subsequently, there are a number of definitions on emotional regulation, including –
- “as extrinsic and intrinsic processes responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and modifying emotional reactions” ~ Ross Thompson, 1994,
- “the ability of an individual to modulate an emotion or set of emotions” ~ APA Dictionary,
- “referring to the understanding, acceptance, and modulation of emotional responses, is a process that children and adolescents carry out in order to adapt to their psychosocial environment, orienting themselves toward the achievement of their evolutionary goals and favouring their mental health.” ~ Van Lissa et al 2019, and
- “…is a process by which individuals modify the duration or intensity of their emotions to best respond to environmental challenges” ~ Aldao and Plate, 2018
- “refers to the processes by which individuals influence which emotions they have, when they have them, and how they experience and express these emotions.” ~ Gross, 1998
After reading the above, how do you define emotional regulation for yourself?
What Are the Benefits of Emotional Regulation?
This skill is useful for your own self-management as well as building relationships with others. Some benefits include –
- managing stress more effectively,
- identify and express your own needs,
- not taking things personally,
- responding rather than reacting,
- growing compassion in self and others,
- living with greater harmony and peace,
- making intentional choices, and
- greater self-trust and confidence.
Over to You…
I hope this post has helped support your understanding of emotional regulation and why it is important. If you have any questions, please leave them below.
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