The term “emotional regulation” refers to your ability to, according to scientists, “modify the duration or intensity of emotions to best respond to environmental challenges.” As you’ve moved through different stages of addiction treatment and recovery, you might have touched on this concept while exploring the root causes of substance use disorder (SUD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD). Here are some additional emotional regulation techniques you may find helpful.
Moving From Dysregulation to Regulation
According to the Cleveland Clinic, “emotional dysregulation is a symptom of many mental health conditions.” Here are some of the organization’s examples, which we provide verbatim:
- Disruptive, impulse control and conduct disorders, especially conduct disorder, disruptive mood dysregulation disorder and oppositional defiant disorder
- Trauma-related disorders, especially post-traumatic stress disorder and complicated grief
- Personality disorders (especially borderline personality disorder)
- Bipolar disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Depressive disorders
- Anxiety disorders
The organization further notes that “the effects of emotional dysregulation are most visible in what you say and how you act.” Again, we provide its examples verbatim:
- Having trouble steering your moods, causing you to feel stuck or unable to make yourself feel better, especially with negative moods and emotions like depression, anxiety, etc
- Becoming easily frustrated by small inconveniences or annoyances
- Mood swings
- Impulsive behavior
- Mania or hypomania
- Trouble with emotions interfering with how you pursue goals and achieve desired outcomes
- Being prone to losing your temper
- Persistent irritability or anger between outbursts
- Self-harm
- Excessive substance use
Fortunately, with the right guidance and emotional regulation (ER) techniques, you can learn to move beyond impulsive behavior and hyper-reactions into a calmer state of awareness and acceptance. The goal is to manage how you feel in healthy and adaptive ways. As you probably learned in addiction rehabilitation treatment, you’re entitled to your emotions, and they’re not “bad.” However, to maintain effective recovery for SUD or AUD and avoid relapse, it’s important to recognize feelings as they arise, assess their intensity, and choose appropriate responses rather than reacting impulsively.
Mental health experts use a variety of therapies to help you progress from dysregulation to regulation, including cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and even neurofeedback. Here’s just a short list of different ER methods you might learn.
7 Tips to Improve Emotional Regulation in Recovery
You may find the following techniques helpful because they either calm your physiological response, shift your mental focus, or provide an outlet for emotional processing.
- Deep Breathing Exercises
- How they work: Slow, deep breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which counters the body’s stress response. Techniques like 4-7-8 breathing (inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, exhale for 8 seconds) reduce anxiety and promote relaxation.
- Why they work: Focused breathing physiologically calms the body, reduces heart rate, and increases oxygen to the brain, making it easier to think clearly and manage emotions.
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
- How it works: Tense and then release each muscle group in your body, starting from your toes and working up to your head. This technique helps free physical tension tied to emotional stress.
- Why it works: By focusing on physical sensations, PMR shifts attention away from distress and fosters a sense of control and calm. Positive Psychology offers these scripts to practice.
- Journaling
- How it works: Write down your feelings, thoughts, and reactions to a situation. This helps you process emotions and identify patterns in your responses.
- Why it works: Externalizing feelings through journaling reduces their intensity and helps clarify the root causes, enabling problem-solving and self-reflection.
- Distraction Techniques
- How they work: Engage in an absorbing activity like reading, taking a walk, watching a show, or working on a hobby to shift focus away from overwhelming emotions.
- Why they work: They give your mind a temporary break, preventing you from ruminating on the issue and allowing emotions to settle.
- Cognitive Reframing (Thought Challenging)
- How it works: Identify negative or unhelpful thoughts, challenge their accuracy, and replace them with balanced perspectives. For example, instead of “I always fail,” you might reframe it as “I’ve succeeded in the past, and I can learn from this.” This approach also helps you build resilience.
- Why it works: It interrupts automatic negative thinking, reducing emotional intensity and promoting constructive problem-solving.
- Grounding Techniques
- How they work: Use sensory input like the 5-4-3-2-1 technique or focus on your immediate surroundings to stay in the present moment. For example, touch a textured object or name the colors you see around you.
- Why they work: Grounding breaks the cycle of racing thoughts and overwhelming emotions by anchoring you to the here and now.
- Expressive Arts (Drawing, Painting, Music, or Dance)
- How they work: Use creative outlets to channel emotions. For example, painting how you feel or listening to calming music can help release tension and soothe your mind.
- Why they work: Art bypasses the logical mind, providing a safe way to process complex feelings and foster emotional relief.
Over time, combining multiple strategies can be even more effective for managing emotions.
You, Only Better, With Help From Willingway
People with strong emotional regulation skills can stay grounded during stress, prevent overwhelming feelings from dictating their behavior, and make decisions aligned with their values and goals. When you choose one of Willingway’s Georgia and Florida addiction rehabilitation locations, we want you to feel confident in the many ways you can manage AUD and SUD successfully for life, which is why we’re progressive with our evidence-based therapeutic applications. Talk to our admissions team to learn more.