The BEST Way to Glow Up in 2024 is *To Get Better at Emotional Regulation* [Episode 8]
Jan 28, 2024
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In this episode, the podcast host discusses emotional regulation strategies. They explore popular strategies that don't work and share life-changing techniques. The importance of avoiding unhelpful internet advice is highlighted. The podcast offers practical tips for personal growth through emotional regulation. A strategy of cultivating curiosity and playfulness towards emotions is discussed, along with steps to implement the ideas shared.
Unhelpful advice like venting and scream therapy can worsen emotional dysregulation and increase anger levels over time.
Widening options and reframing situations can be powerful tools for emotional regulation, allowing us to alter our emotional responses and change how we feel.
Deep dives
Unhelpful Advice on Emotional Regulation
There is a lot of unhelpful advice about emotional regulation on the internet, such as scream therapy and venting. Research shows that these strategies can actually make emotional dysregulation worse and increase anger levels over time. The popular 'name it to tame it' theory, which suggests labeling emotions to decrease their intensity, may also hinder emotional regulation by diminishing the ability to reinterpret situations and use acceptance strategies. Diving into feelings and catharsis can be counterproductive, as it keeps us stuck in negative emotions. Instead, we can use strategies like widening our options, reframing situations, and managing our attention to regulate our emotions effectively.
Widening Options and Reframing
One effective emotional regulation strategy is widening our options by considering alternative explanations for situations. Instead of jumping to negative conclusions, we can write down multiple possibilities, allowing us to reframe the situation and change how we feel. Reframing can also involve looking at situations from different perspectives, like imagining how a best friend or favorite TV character would see it. By challenging our initial interpretations, we can alter our emotional responses. These practices of widening options and reframing can be powerful tools for emotional regulation.
Curiosity and Attention Management
Managing our attention and approaching emotions with curiosity are useful emotional regulation strategies. By paying attention to the physical sensations of emotions, like anxiety, and describing them in detail, we can change our relationship with those emotions. Instead of dwelling or judging, we can follow our emotions with curiosity, noting their shape, color, and location in our bodies. This playful exploration helps us accept and regulate our emotions without getting stuck in them. Additionally, separating ourselves from our thoughts and emotions, and recognizing that we are not defined by them, allows us to regulate our emotions more effectively.
Some super popular emotional regulation strategies that straight up don't work
Some emotional regulation strategies that I've found *life-changing*
RECCS OF THE WEEK
✨ Unwinding Anxiety - https://amzn.to/3SgfYpR
✨ Learned Optimism - https://amzn.to/3vSDDVQ
REFERENCES
Facilitating adaptive emotional analysis: distinguishing distanced-analysis of depressive experiences from immersed-analysis and distraction - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18469151/