Many people initially think of addiction and dual diagnosis treatment as a punishment. In reality, it’s a beneficial opportunity for growth and progressive development. For example, learning about the concept of emotional regulation and applying certain practices to your life reinforces stability and resilience.
What’s Emotional Dysregulation?
Before learning about the concept, it’s helpful to understand the opposite. According to the Cleveland Clinic, emotional dysregulation (ED) occurs when certain brain regions have difficulty communicating, leading to intense, often uncontrollable emotional reactions. This can manifest in symptoms such as rapid mood swings, impulsive behavior, and difficulties in managing stress.
People who struggle with mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, or PTSD, may experience ED, making it harder to maintain stable relationships and make clear-headed decisions. For individuals in recovery, ED can also contribute to relapse by heightening emotional reactivity in stressful situations.
Common signs of ED include:
- Being easily overwhelmed by emotions
- Difficulty controlling your feelings or responses
- Intense reactions to minor events
- Self-destructive behaviors like excessive substance use or self-harm
Fortunately, emotional regulation is a skill that can be developed over time with practice and guidance.
Understanding Emotional Regulation
At its core, emotional regulation (ER) is about managing how you feel and how you respond to those feelings. Neuroscience and Behavioral Reviews defines ER as “a process by which individuals modify the duration or intensity of their emotions to best respond to environmental challenges.” This means that the process isn’t about suppressing emotions but about becoming more aware of them and choosing healthy ways to respond.
Adopting emotional regulation techniques helps you take control of your thoughts and feelings, especially when faced with triggers, cravings, or stress. According to some studies, the general consensus among mental health experts is that “assessing and encouraging steps to improve emotional regulation and helping clients to increase awareness of and tolerance for emotional reactivity can be extremely beneficial to improving both quality of life and decreasing the risk of symptoms reaching clinical levels.” The goal isn’t to avoid feeling, but rather to respond with care rather than reactivity.
Why Emotional Regulation Helps Your Recovery
Whether you’re battling cravings or coping with various mental health symptoms, how you deal with these emotions can either support your progress or lead to relapse. For example, during treatment, you probably learned to recognize your state of being through H.A.L.T., which stands for the stressors hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. This method helps you address triggers or ride out cravings without reacting to them.
ER builds upon this and other behavior modification techniques by encouraging you to understand your emotions in the moment and take moderated action to manage them. Here’s what ER helps you accomplish:
- Mindful awareness. You develop the ability to notice and assess your feelings before acting on them. It’s like taking a step back to ask, “Why do I feel this way, and what’s the best way to respond?”
- Healthier responses. To that point, you become more active and less reactive, whether by using a coping strategy instead of turning to substances or finding more effective ways to calm yourself in high-stress situations.
- Sustained progress. Recovery is a long-term commitment, and emotional regulation supports continuous growth. As you master these skills, you build resilience, making it easier to navigate life’s challenges without resorting to old, harmful patterns.
Handling Common Emotional Responses With ER Skills
We experience a lot of different ups and downs in our quest to achieve better health, but certain emotions might arise more frequently, such as:
- Anger. Often triggered by frustration, unmet expectations, or past wounds.
- Discouragement. Experiencing self-doubt or frustration with slow progress.
- Insecurity. Doubts about your worth, capabilities, or your future without substances.
- Overwhelm. Feeling stressed by the weight of responsibilities, cravings, or unresolved issues.
- Rejection. Facing feelings of abandonment or being misunderstood.
Through ER, you can address these feelings mindfully and respond in ways that promote healing. For example, Breathe4Change offers mindful ways to self-regulate when you’re feeling the above, which we provide verbatim:
- Angry. “Pause and take a deep breath to calm your thoughts, creating space to respond thoughtfully rather than reacting impulsively.”
- Discouraged. “Show yourself kindness and reconnect with your ‘why,’ using it as fuel to keep moving forward.”
- Insecure. “Remind yourself of your worth and embrace your imperfections, knowing you’re more than enough.”
- Overwhelmed. “Create a simple to-do list, prioritizing one task at a time to regain focus and reduce stress.”
- Rejected. “Acknowledge the discomfort, knowing rejection is redirection, and an opportunity to grow stronger.”
Relying on these and other ER techniques and exercises isn’t just about feeling better in the moment—they help you create lasting habits to improve your well-being. Remember, emotional regulation doesn’t mean you’ll never feel anger, sadness, or frustration—it means you’ll have the tools to understand and manage these emotions in a way that supports your recovery and growth.
Discover Your Best Self at Great Oaks
It’s important to recognize that dysregulation is common, especially for individuals with a history of trauma, mental health disorders, or addiction. However, by practicing emotional regulation techniques, you can begin to move beyond impulse-driven reactions and into a more peaceful, balanced state of mind.
As a premier addiction rehabilitation and dual diagnosis treatment center, Great Oaks Recovery Center outside of Houston, Texas, follows a clear philosophy. Our board-certified medical professionals introduce various wellness techniques to help you build and maintain a healthy, focused life in recovery. Trust that we’ll work together to develop a continuum of care plan that enables you to thrive. Talk to a member of our admissions team today to learn more.
