Emotional Regulation and ADHD | Psychology of Today

this month Execution function The focus skill is Feelings Regulation. As a reminder, executive functional skills are brain-based skills that help individuals get things done. For many Neurodivergent individuals, some executive functional skills are excellent strengths, while others are more challenging. Emotional regulation is a complex executive functional skill that plays an important role that helps us make progress, achieve our goals and engage in thoughtfulness. decision making (Dawson & Guare, 2016).

Issues in Regulating Emotions for Neurodivergent People

For many of us, emotional regulation doesn’t always come naturally. If you are nervous, do you pass? ADHD, autismor other forms of neuroproducing can face additional challenges. For example, according to Ari Tuckman (2012), many ADHDs often struggle.

• Discontinue others, or impulsively say yes to many things
• Losing the big picture and someone else’s perspective
• Saying something you regret can damage your relationship
• Leave work or commitment, or abandon projects on a whim
• When you are overwhelmed by strong emotions, you behave in unexpected ways

If any of these sounds are familiar, you are not alone. I personally struggled with many of these same issues when I was overwhelmed by emotions. ADHD, autism, and Sensitive to rejection Discomfort (RSD) shapes my personal experience. I’ll experience too anxietyanti-minating thoughts, and co-occurring depressioncomplicates my ability to regulate and maintain my emotions motivation. These struggles are not uncommon among people with ADHD or autism.

Misunderstanding: Emotion management and management

One common misconception about emotional regulation is that it’s all about controlling or suppressing your emotions. When many of us grew up, people may have encouraged us to “keep together” and encouraged us to share only positive or neutral feelings. However, this kind of emotional restraint is not regulation. Pushing our emotions aside is a form maskingin the short term, we can make us better, but practicing too long can cause a serious blow to our mental and emotional health.

actual, Emotional regulation It’s not about suppressing emotions. It’s about understanding them, acknowledging them, and working with them. For me, this change in perspective was revolutionary. While being taught to manage my feelings, I learned that managing them means learning to feel them perfectly, reflect them, and use them as a guide for better decisions. It can be difficult, especially for people who have little strategy to process or clarify emotions. Learning to feel emotions rather than suppressing or avoiding them is essential for emotional regulation. Doing so will help you increase your self-awareness, improve relationships, and make better decisions.

Development of emotional regulatory skills takes time, especially if there is no solid foundation for coping strategies. However, as many of us have discovered, it is possible to build these skills over time. We can become more proficient in recognizing and understanding our emotions Treatmentreading, practicing. One useful tool is the emotional wheel, which provides emotional options to identify what we feel when we are overwhelmed. Such simple tools can help us identify multiple emotions that we may be experiencing at the same time. This is a concept I learned from Daniel Tiger (yes, a kids show!). For example, you may feel both happy and nervous at the same time, but that is completely normal.

It’s okay to take the time to go at your own pace, learning to fully understand your emotions.

Practical strategies for managing stress and emotions

Now, if you feel you’re not ready to dive into a deep emotional exploration, it’s completely understandable. Emotional regulation is a skill that can take time and you may be looking for a more immediate tool to manage your daily emotions. In that case, there are some strategies that Ari Tuckman recommends in his 2012 book. Understand your brain and achieve more.

1. I’ll manage you stress

Tuckman recommends working to stabilize your emotions through stress management Strategies such as scheduling adequate sleep, exercise, and self-care time, avoiding excessive commitment, and treating joint anxiety and depression.

2. If you feel the stronger the emotions you feel, it will be easier to control them

To make your emotions easy to control, keep them in a manageable zone by taking breaks, understanding the triggers, and managing overwhelming situations with large doses.

3. I own it according to your reaction

If you are struggling to respond impulsively, explain what comes afterwards and improve your skills in providing a true apology. A preventative strategy is to teach people not to read your initial reactions too much if you are struggling to react in the way you want when caught off guard.

Conclusion

If you are struggling to regulate your emotions, you are not alone. Many NeuroDivergent people struggle with emotional management. If you want to work on this skill, you can go at your own pace and choose your approach. Let’s say you like to explore and dig deeper emotionally. In that case, you may start working on the emotional wheel, journaling, or reflect certain emotions in the experience. Alternatively, you can tackle emotional regulation by developing coping skills, such as stress management, keeping your emotions in a manageable state, and practicing possessing your response before or after facts.