Tips on How to Control Your Emotions

Feelings and the emotional world make up a sort of sophisticated mechanism that directly connects to our thoughts and behavior. It is very useful to understand these processes. If you can manage and control your emotions, you can use them in your favor. It will help you shape your life to be how you want it. Not only that, but you will feel surer of yourself.

Emotional control techniques

Every decision, every thought, every step that you take in your day-to-day life is imbued with some type of emotion. Nothing human is innocuous. Everything has a reason, or reminds us of something. There are always ulterior motives or hidden fears. You can find the origin of all of this in a brain structure that is as amazing as it is complex. We are talking about the limbic system.

This region of your brain is responsible for a large part of who you are and what you do. Nevertheless, you don’t always let it bring out the best in you. Sometimes your emotions cloud your focus and your thoughts. You act or react unreasonably. You get in your own way or feel like everything is spiraling out of control.

To avoid or reduce these types of situations, there’s nothing better than appropriate emotional control techniques;

1. Control your thoughts

Cognitive-behavioral psychology usually has great suggestions for emotional control strategies. One thing that can be very helpful is to remember this simple tip:

• You can’t radically change your emotions. However, if you improve your mental focus, you can regulate them.
• If you find yourself controlled by fear, anxiety, or worry, you have to stop the flow of thoughts that feed negativity. You have to say “that’s enough.” Then, direct your thoughts to something more constructive and useful.

2. Widen your focus

People tend to see the world with tunnel vision. We focus on one point and concentrate all our thoughts and emotions there. We forget how healthy it is to take a step back and see the world with greater perspective. Here we can air out ideas, distance ourselves from damaging people, situations, and habits.

So, every time you feel stuck, stressed, and uninspired, get some distance. Lift up your gaze and look at life with a wider perspective. The world, after all, is full of possibilities.

3. Deep breathing

Breathing is a simple and effective way to regulate and control your emotions. You can use it anytime you feel stuck or overwhelmed. To do it, all you need is to go to a calm and relaxed space. Then, follow these steps:

• Sit up straight.
• Inhale through your nose for 5 seconds. Try to send all the air to the abdominal area. The goal is to practice breathing with your diaphragm.
• Hold your breath for 6 seconds.
• Then, exhale through your mouth for 7 seconds.

4. Visualization and mental trials

Another effective and useful technique for emotional control is visualization. You’ve certainly done this at some point. You anticipate all the possible things that could go wrong – failures, awkward encounters, neglect, etc. Your mind is an expert at imagining catastrophic situations. However, you don’t usually imagine how to resolve them if they were to happen. Your visualizations end up being a kind of continuous worry.

• This is your responsibility. That’s why visualization is so useful. Visualize what you would do if your worst nightmare actually happened.

5. Change and positive expectations

Life has cycles. Sometimes you have to renew certain dimensions of yourself. Especially that complex psychological hard drive that every human being has. Something that you have to remember is that you will have uninspiring phases. Moments when apathy and negative emotions stick to you like some strange, invisible rust.

When this happens, remember that it is normal. Motivation, desire, and positivity are dynamic and they need new inspiration in order not to get stuck. So, every time you feel negative and stuck, tell yourself that it’s time for a change.

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Culled from: Exploring your mind.