Do You Have Trouble Managing Your Big Emotions?
Do your friends and family tell you that you OVER REACT to situations? Are you told you are TOO SENSITIVE? Can you STAY ANGRY for a long time? Are you IMPULSIVE and act on your emotions? Do your MOODS get in the way of living?
If you answer YES you may be EMOTIONALLY VULNERABLE at times. This means that emotions affect you differently than they do other people. You are more sensitive, easily overwhelmed by emotions and likely have trouble controlling your behaviour that is linked to your mood.
The BIOSOCIAL theory explains this by saying it is a result of both biological factors and environmental factors. Biological influences come from genetics, and disease or difficulty during development in pregnancy or post birth. The sociological influences come from your experiences during your development: how emotions were managed in the environments where you were raised.
The INVALIDATING ENVIRONMENT is one where expression of emotion is not tolerated. Perhaps due to cultural norms, certain emotions may be seen as a character weakness, or be labeled as wrong or bad. Emotions are not acknowledged as normal responses, and may be ignored by others.
The INEFFECTIVE ENVIRONMENT is one where the support systems (i.e., friends, family, caregivers, etc.) are emotionally vulnerable. Often, they are overstressed, dealing with an illness or disorder, overly critically or perfectionists, unfamiliar with setting boundaries, and/or unable to control their own emotions.
The importance of managing your emotions is to gain the ability to control your emotions, as opposed to letting your emotions control you.
If you have trouble managing your BIG EMOTIONS and are looking to make change, we can help! You can learn about emotions, what triggers them, and how to channel them into controlled behaviour. You will become a calmer person with more emotional stability.