Emotional regulation is the capacity to consciously influence which emotions one has, when they occur, and how they are experienced and expressed. It is not suppressing or controlling emotions: it is flexibility to modulate their intensity, duration, and expression depending on context. People with trauma frequently have this capacity compromised.
Concept origin
James Gross (1998) developed the Process Model of Emotional Regulation, identifying antecedent strategies (before the emotion, such as cognitive reappraisal) and response strategies (after, such as suppression). Cognitive reappraisal has solid effectiveness evidence; suppression, though it reduces expression, increases physiological activation.
Therapeutic approach
DBT (Linehan) provides the most structured skills set: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. Cognitive reappraisal, opposite action (doing the opposite of what the emotion drives), and grounding techniques are the central instruments.
Related concepts
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