5 Emotional Control Techniques For Better Living
In our daily life, events that affect us occur and are beyond our control. Our way of reacting to these difficulties will undoubtedly guarantee our quality of life. So a sensational way to deal with these setbacks is to apply emotional control techniques. Thanks to it, we will feel more secure and competent at all times and in all circumstances.
Antonio Damasio, the famous Portuguese doctor and neurologist, reminds us in his books that the world of emotions was well integrated in the twentieth century but nevertheless represented a field of study of little interest for the scientific world. The excellent work of William James already existed, and to many neurologists and behavioral scientists, that seemed sufficient. Damasio therefore opened this path and tried to understand empirically the influence of sensations in our decision-making.
Feelings, as well as the emotional world, configure a very sophisticated type of mechanism that connects directly with our thoughts and behavior. Understanding these processes, managing them and controlling them to turn them in our favor will undoubtedly be of great help to us. It will help us to create the reality we want, to feel more sure of ourselves …
Let’s see how to achieve this.
Emotional control techniques for everyday life
Every decision, every thought, every step we take on a daily basis is imbued with a type of emotion. Nothing in the human being is insignificant, everything to a motivation, an anchored memory, a locked up desire or an embedded fear. The origin of all of this can be found in a brain structure that is as wonderful as it is complex: the limbic system.
This region of our brain orchestrates much of who we are and what we do. On the other hand, it does not always allow us to show the best of ourselves. Sometimes emotions overwhelm us and affect our concentration, our reasoning. We act and react in a disproportionate way, we block ourselves and we come to have the feeling not to control anything any more.
To avoid or limit these types of situations, there is nothing better than to use adequate emotional control techniques. Let’s see some examples.
1. Control your thoughts
Behavioral and cognitive psychology offers us good techniques of emotional control. So, the easiest is not to forget this simple strategy:
- We cannot radically change our emotions, but if we improve our mental approach, we will be able to regulate them.
- When we are in a situation where fear, anxiety, or concern is controlling us, we need to hold our thought flow because it fuels negativity. It is necessary to say “that is enough” and to renew these arguments towards other more constructive and useful aspects.
- For example: tomorrow I will be ridiculous at my exhibition, everything will go wrong => I am sufficiently prepared for my exhibition, I have mastered the subject and I think I will profit by communicating with others about my recent work.
2. Broaden your approach
People have a habit of looking at the world through tunnel vision. We are focusing on a point that monopolizes all of our thoughts and emotions. We forget that it is healthier to take a step back and look at the world from a wider perspective, thus oxygenating our thoughts, putting some distance from certain people, certain situations and certain habits that trap us.
Whenever we feel stuck, devoid of ideas, and overwhelmed by stress, let’s take a step back. Let us look back and look at life with a greater amplitude and a broader perspective.
The world is full of possibilities.
3. Breathe deeply
In our space we have often talked about deep breathing. It is a resource as simple as it is effective for regulating and controlling emotions when they block us or take control. For that, there is nothing but to seek a quiet and relaxing space and to follow these steps:
- Sit with your back straight.
- Take air with your nose for 5 seconds. We will make sure that the air goes to the area of the abdomen in order to promote diaphragmatic breathing.
- Hold air for 6 seconds.
- Exhale through the mouth for 7 seconds.
Repeat the cycle several times. The feeling of calm is immediate.
4. Visualize and mentalize
Another effective and useful emotional control technique is mental study. At one point, we do all this to anticipate a thousand fatalities, failures, oversights, distressing finds and even the most ostentatious oversights. Our mind is an expert in imagining the most catastrophic situations, but seldom gives the solution to resolve them if they really occur. Our mind thus settles in a kind of continuous preoccupation.
- It is our responsibility. So we have to use mental studies: visualize what we would do if our worst nightmare came true.
- For example, we can imagine what we would do if we were fired from our jobs. We can also visualize what we would say to our co-worker if we were having an argument or how we would react if our partner started showing less interest in us.
All of this would provide us with more valid strategies to be prepared and to react fairly should these events occur.
5. Have positive expectations
Life is made of cycles and sometimes we have to renovate certain dimensions of our being and particularly in this special and complex hard drive that characterizes the human being. So we have to remember that there are times when motivation fades, times when apathy and negative emotions cling to us like an invisible and strange oxidant.
This is something normal. Motivation, desires, positivity are dynamic entities that require new impulses in order not to disappear. Whenever we find ourselves immersed in a very tiring state of negativity, it is best to tell ourselves that it is time to initiate the change, to make a fresh start.
What is not renovated rusts and we must therefore seek new challenges on the horizon to change the flow of our emotions. We will do it thanks to a positive expectation, by having confidence in ourselves, by having confidence in the future which will allow us to move forward. It is therefore sometimes necessary to update our motivations, in a new existential leap that is as enriching as it is interesting.
So let’s not hesitate to apply these simple techniques of emotional control to live better.
Our thoughts Emotional management techniques provide us with adequate mechanisms to channel everyday tensions, pressures and stress …
