I found something interesting. Emotional dysregulation... Google it if you don't already know what it is.

[Montana136]

Okay so this is going to be a long one guys,I have been reading and researching clinical research papers that they publish in scientific journals. Very hard to understand but I do understand some medical terminology so I got through it. Very dull and drab mostly a lot of words you don't recognize. Fascinating I looked up emotions and how they're connected to the central nervous system, the centers of your brain that process emotion the amygdala and there are others that I can't remember at the moment. The information is so incredibly important to mental Health issues. I found a lot of information on the internet and I wanted to share a list of skills that I am trying to practice to help bring myself out of an emotionally unbalanced moment or day. These are some of the skills I have been practicing while I'm trying to recover from a severe episode of depression, anxiety and PTSD symptoms. Long term symptoms.. It has helped me I hope it may help you.

Emotional Dysregulation Fixes

Number one.. notice what you feel - physical reactions ( stomach upset, heart racing, tension in the neck or shoulders, etc) inquiring into this allows distraction relieving intensity.

Number two

create space - pause, take a breath, slow down take a moment between trigger and response. Pause is the key word here.

Number three

Naming what you feel - name it to control what's happening ( what would you call this emotion.. fear, anger, sadness, resentment, shame) what else?? What other emotions am I feeling? Dig deeper, if angry, sad who and what about?

Number four

accepting the emotion - don't beat yourself up, emotional reactions are VALID. Try to practice self compassion, give yourself Grace, be a good friend to yourself. You guys this one is critical be your own best friend, encourage yourself, remember and acknowledge your successes in anything. Compassion towards yourself goes up very long way once it becomes a habit.

Number five

Practice mindfulness- live in the moment even if it is only one moment ( use your five senses to notice what's happening around you) touch.. are you sitting do you feel the pressure on your legs? are you standing do you feel the Earth under your feet? what does it feel like? same thing with smell what do you smell? notice all five senses touch something, is it warm is it cold is it wood plastic, is it your skin. what are you sensing?

That is being mindful, in the present, noticing what's going on around you observing, touching, smelling, hearing and then thinking about those thoughts for a moment. If you're writing how does it feel in your wrist what does the pencil feel like in your fingertips. Is the lead sharp and pointed or dull? Kind of simple actually if you think about it.. the hard part is trying to keep it up !! Trust me I'm working on it still.

These skills help you stay calm and avoid engaging in negative thought patterns when you are in the midst of emotional pain.

Those are skills I'm currently trying to learn to remember, ingrain in my brain.. mostly because I need it to be habit for me to be able to use it in the moment. But right now I'm reading it from a list. Baby steps.. I hope someone finds this helpful information I highly recommend googling emotional dysregulation and adverse childhood experiences. I find the information very useful. Enlightening sometimes relieving. I feel a little validated (regarding mental illness) in reading things like these. I must remember each day that mental illness may be something I cannot completely control some of it I cannot control at all.

The nervous system the brain the amygdala, it's all connected. Forgive me I'm excited about when I am learning.

This is only a suggestion. try it out see if you like it.

Let me know what happens I would be very interested in hearing others ideas opinions encouragement. I wish you all the best in whatever you wish to achieve. Be well

Montana

[Montana136]

Oh you have no idea! I believe if we could Master some of those skills. even just some, It would make us progress faster. I'm convinced! Thank you for your response. I encourage you to Google it one day when you find yourself bored or don't know what else to do. Very interesting indeed..Take care and be well.

Montana 👍😊🌻

[Luvmyboston]

This was really good. I’ve been trying to work on my emotional regulation too. It’s true, baby steps! I used to spend a lot of time getting mad at myself for how I felt and feeling wrong. I know now that we have to except what we’re feeling and not beat ourselves up about it. Right now I’m feeling a little bit down and I wish I didn’t but I do. Feeling kind of tired and wishing I had a lot more energy at the moment. I’m going to except where I’m at right now and try to just tune in to discover what’s going on under the surface, be curious, not condemning. Thanks for sharing this.

[Montana136 in reply to Luvmyboston]

Hi Luvmyboston, Last time you wrote you were feeling a little tired and down but you were going to accept where you were at and not beat yourself up. That is very tantamountly positively absolutely the right thing to do for yourself! Self-compassion is not being selfish! I think so many confuse those two things.

The days I felt like you were describing, I remember vividly in my own experience. Lethargic, uninterested in anything, completely down.

I'm wondering how you're feeling now?

I truly hope you are feeling better.

Here's to baby steps!

Montana

[Hidden]

I missed this when you posted a month ago. Really good and thank you!

[Hidden]

Hi again Montana. How are you getting on since you did this research?

[Montana136 in reply to Hidden]

Hi waitingame7, thank you for the response and sorry for the delay. I check in and out, but I'm not always consistent as you could probably understand or relate to.I actually became overwhelmed with all the tasks besides the research that I was trying to accomplish for myself now. When I become overwhelmed I've actually realized it's kind of dangerous for me, that is when I most likely to slip into more depressive symptoms. Okay so after 30 years I'm just now making that connection probably has something to do with the research I read about and previous research. I do not retain stuff very well so I write a lot of lists posts it's and notes. I try to leave them in strategic locations around my room sometimes in the house to remind me. I accumulate so many notes that that actual exercise sometimes overwhelms me. There is a lot of good competent information out there. My problem besides negative self-esteem is trying to completely overachieve and expect myself to do something that could very well be beyond my limitations..

Sorry, to answer your question yes I have been practicing my emotional regulation techniques but not as regularly as I really should. Because I have a problem with memory or maybe because trauma and depression symptoms can be intense in the moment. Right?

I have to make it a habit to remember the skills in the time of escalated emotional reactions, so it becomes muscle memory and that is very hard that takes extreme consistency. But I will do it.

I see a pattern. I run run run for the finish line with to fast a pace, I become exhausted and I can't quite reach the finish line. That's why my motto is in has been for a very long time.. baby steps!

I fall down I get back up. Sometimes it just takes longer.

Have you attempted any of the skills or techniques in emotional regulation? No pressure no judgment just curious. How are things for you what is on your mind lately? If you want to share of course. In the meantime take care and be well

Montana ✌️😊

[Hidden in reply to Montana136]

Thanks for this Montana and it's great to read how you are applying your research findings. I'm trying to work on this as well, checking in on myself at various times during the day. haha most of the time I feel fine! But occasionally I get triggered and suffer from what Pete Walker refers to as an emotional flashback, His description is very accurate for what I experience. I lose my bearings completely and it's really hard to get a grip and try and remember all the techniques you have listed above at the time. These are all good things to practice to bring me back. Like you I have started to jot reminders a bit like preparing an emotional first aid box. keep up the good work and thanks for this post.

[Downinil]

Hi Montana, I read your post on the research you’ve done on emotional dysregulation and I am interested in studying it as well. I noticed that you would welcome a message from us. I hope you’re feeling and doing well.

[Montana136 in reply to Downinil]

Hi Downinil,Thank you for your responses and so sorry for the delay. There have been moments where I am still finding it difficult to attend to all my research, exercises, and things that make me feel good in general. This is my battle I read I research I find things that I can do to make myself feel better. I do them for a while I feel empowered. But then I take a break maybe it's called checking out? Something usually happens maybe stressful maybe traumatic maybe confrontational with somebody else. when I'm experiencing those negative emotions to the max, I completely forget my strategies. And sometimes it takes a while to come back but I do. And I can tell you that the times that I take a break over the last 30 years have become shorter and shorter. Used to be years and years of a break easily. Now it's just months, sometimes weeks common more rarely days. . So in that I feel like I am getting better. I hope that makes some kind of sense.

Have you tried any of these tactics? No pressure no judgment.. just wondering. I found the subjects of emotional regulation, amygdala, body connection, etc. I found them very enlightening very validating very powerful information. I will get back to research when it's the right time for me right now I just have to find the paper the list I wrote it on, which is in my drawer and staple it to my forehead. LOL

Tell me or ask me anything you would like to. I may not be timely but I always come around. Take care and be well

Montana

[Downinil in reply to Montana136]

Good to see your message, Montana. It’s good that you cope by learning. That’s a positive coping skill to have. I do the same, always researching this or that. Reading articles written by the professionals in their field on any topic I want to understand better. I’ve heard that personality quality called intellectual curiosity.

[Downinil]

Oops! I typed the message to you in the wrong area. I just want to tell you that the topic of emotional dysregulation is intriguing to me. Hope you are well.

[Montana136]

Hi TakeTen,You are absolutely correct. I can hear the voices negative voices of my caregivers parents sisters and I do find myself repeating some of the statements I recognize I heard as a child. Plus of course I've added my own as well. So yeah almost my whole life my mind has been repeating negative barbed things so it would be quite obvious it will take years of positive force to repair. Seems like it takes for freaking ever!

I'm very interested in what you know about emotional regulation mind body connection nervous system whatever you have learned. I would totally love you to enlighten me with some of what you know. If you want to. Thank you so much for your response camaraderie support. Everybody needs that!! 😀✌️🌞

[Montana136]

Hi TakeTen, I am interested in your experience of dialectical behavior therapy. My therapist has talked about it but I don't think I quite grasp the subject entirely. Can you tell me about it a little bit? I would most appreciate it. I am sensitive to light and noise myself. my roommate is deaf so her TV is always very loud and drives me crazy and she turns on lot of lights in the middle of the night. Also drives me crazy but there's always give and take so I deal with it. I hope you're doing well, take care, respond when you have time thank you

Montana