Can’t Control Emotions? Try This Trick to Gain Control When Overwhelmed
Can’t control emotions? There’s nothing worse than feeling like your emotions are driving your behaviour. The first step to regaining control over overwhelming emotions is to name them. It may sound too easy to be true, but neuroscience explains this practice. Watch the video to learn more.
Our emotions come from our brains’ limbic system. The limbic system allows us to feel different emotions in response to experiences and memories.
But the limbic system doesn’t control how intensely we feel our emotions.
Emotions can easily get out of control when we simply feel them.
But, when you identify your emotions by name, such as:
- I feel affectionate.
- I feel impatient.
- I feel envious.
- I feel hurt.
- I feel insecure.
- I feel awed.
- I feel proud.
- I feel peaceful.
- I feel embarrassed.
you activate the brain’s prefrontal cortex, the brain region that allows us to analyse, reason, and think things through.
And gradually, instead of feeling overwhelmed, our emotions feel more in control and orderly.
—
Read more:
- Can Emotions Be Controlled? (Mitsu)
- Why Is It So Difficult to Talk About Feelings? (Mitsu)
- What Does It Mean to Feel Overwhelmed? (VeryWell Mind)
- 6 Reasons Why You May Not Know What You’re Feeling (Psychology Today)
—
The information in this video has been vetted by:
Vidula V Sawant (M.A., M.Phil., CRR No. A80980) is a clinical psychologist with 4+ years of experience and a passion for understanding the complexities of our minds and behaviours.
Share