How Mindfulness Improves Our Ability to Regulate Emotions
“Mindfulness improves your ability to observe your internal states while interacting with the outside environment.”
Emotion regulation refers to a person’s ability to effectively deal with emotions or the person's ability to influence what emotions they have and how they express them (Gross, 1998b). We vary widely in our capacity to regulate our emotions, and not just emotions that may be difficult, it can be feel-good emotions too.
Mindfulness and Emotion Regulation
Mindfulness practice is the intentional process of observing, describing and participating in the present moment non-judgmentally. This is opposite to our habitual autopilot way of living and responding. It is a core skill for emotion regulation because it helps us focus on our emotions and understand them better. Mindfulness can be a hard sell, but you can easily get hooked once you realize that mindfulness can be practised anywhere, anytime!
A lot of us who struggle with emotion regulation tend to react to the initial wave of emotions. Mindfulness improves your ability to observe your internal states while interacting with the outside environment. By practising mindfulness and, in turn, emotion regulation, we allow for emotions to subside before responding. In other words, mindfulness improves the quality of self-observation. If we wish to improve our capacity to self-regulate, we can start by observing our emotions.
Through mindful observation of our emotions, we are practising emotional awareness, which is a fundamental skill for cultivating the capacity to regulate emotions.
Practicing Emotional Awareness
You can start by committing to the small first steps of noticing and labelling how you feel—then understanding the function of emotions and what they are trying to communicate. Notice what you feel; what kind of response does it create in you? What event prompted the emotion, what were your thoughts, (what thought triggered your feeling) physical sensations, urges? What were actions associated with emotional expression?
We can foster our emotional awareness through a simple practice of taking a mindful pause to check in. If you’re looking for guidance, you can practice Mindful Check-In with immediacy and consistency – daily or even weekly.
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Gross, J. J. (1998b). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integra- tive review. Review of General Psychology, 2, 271–299.
For an extensive list of references and readings please see Mindful Check-In The Importance of Emotional Awareness.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this post is for general informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for independent or professional advice tailored to your specific needs.