Scroll down or click link to read: 1️⃣ What is Emotional dysregulation? 1️⃣.1️⃣ Emotional Dysregulation Info-graph 2️⃣ Emotional dysregulation changes and behaviours. 3️⃣ More Signs of emotional Dysregulation 4️⃣ How to limit your emotional distress
1️⃣ What is Emotional dysregulation?
When you have an emotional wound that has not healed. More commonly referred to as a trauma or traumatic experience/s. You body switches on emotional healing processes. Which can be uncomfortable and sometimes even painful.
You try to find the source of the pain in your physical body. But because you cannot physically see the wound. When you can’t blame these uncomfortable or painful feelings on a physical malfunction. You have to try to deal with your unpredictable moods. It can often feel as if you are drowning in the storm of emotions and flickering discomfort flickering. Dealing with rapid mood changes can affect your ability to remain calm.
This can cause you to ‘up’ regulate or down regulate your emotions
Emotional Up-Regulation.
▶️ Also known as hyper-arousal, is associated with high levels of stress chemicals
Emotional Down-Regulation.
▶️ Also known as hypo-arousal is associated with low stress chemical levels and low energy emotional responses. Such as freeze.
1️⃣.1️⃣ Emotional Dysregulation Info-graph
2️⃣ Emotional dysregulation changes and behaviours.
These distressing changes can cause you to:
▶️ forget how to safely self-regulate and
▶️ self soothe yourself safely and
▶️ you may begun to feel that you ‘are going crazy’.
Cue, more distress, more discomfort, more fears for your sanity. It becomes exhausting to surf big and rapidly changing emotions.
So you begun to display behaviours that are unusual for you. ▶️ Little things that you would normally shrug off now make you burst into tears.
▶️ Fear, distrust and constantly on guard for danger.
▶️ Reminders of the traumatic events provoke feelings of anger where you may have temper tantrum and smash plates and cups against the wall.
▶️ Or maybe even shout at someone in the street.You are running on empty and you have to keep going.
Something has to give. To counteract this you may be drawn to the ‘false refuge’ of drink, drugs, eating disorders or other activities that will cause you:
▶️ cement your beliefs that your are a failure
▶️ and increase your feelings of shame and disgust about yourself.
3️⃣ More Signs of emotional Dysregulation
▶️ Strained friendships and relationships
▶️ ‘Hair Trigger Temper’
▶️ Thinking the worst about people.
▶️ Trauma Stimulus Distress
▶️ Impulsive and/or risky behavior
4️⃣ How to limit your emotional distress
Sit down and think of all the skills and strategies for managing your emotions you have used in the past. Then write down these down as a reminder that you can cope.
▶️ Learn to sit with your uncomfortable feelings. Remember your emotions are like waves. It can feel like you are going to be overwhelmed as these feelings seem to be coming right at you, getting bigger and taller and scarier. But if you ride the ‘wave’ and breath into the part of your body where the hurt is coming from for a few minutes, these emotions will fade and then die out.
▶️ Be kind to yourself.
▶️ Practice the 4’s. Ask yourself. Will I still be feeling like this in 4 minutes? 4 Hours? 4 days? 4 weeks? Will i even remember this moment in 4 months? in 4 years?
