What is emotional control?
An emotion is the alteration of mood, whether intense or transient, sorrowful or pleasant and accompanied by some somatic commotion. Emotions are natural reactions on the part of a person that cause the individual to become alert when situations arise that may involve threat, danger or frustration among many others.
Emotions are mainly composed of physiological reactions, such as muscle tension or increased heart rate or respiration.
In order to understand and control emotions, it is necessary to have or have acquired some skills to manage them, because if this is not achieved, unpleasant states and/or undesirable behaviors can be experienced. We speak then of emotional intelligence, which is the ability to face and adapt to the different situations that the person faces in his daily life and his ability to solve them satisfactorily while generating beneficial motivations for himself.
When a person is faced with this type of situation, there are usually a series of physiological reactions, which are accompanied by specific thoughts that broaden the range of emotions.
When an emotion is produced, four aspects must be taken into account:
- A specific situation
- A set or a series of specific physiological reactions and/or sensations, such as, for example, the acceleration of the pulse, breathing…
- A series of specific and concrete thoughts
- A series of specific responses appropriate to the situation in question.
Why is emotional control performed?
Emotional control is carried out with the objective of understanding and controlling the emotions that a person may be exposed to in their daily life and that generate a response from the body towards them. Emotional control can help the person in the following:
- Emotional control helps to better handle problems
- The emotional control helps to diminish the psychological wear and tear and allows to face the difficulties that appear in the day to day.
- It allows to control the feelings and emotions of the person.
- It generates and boosts self-esteem
- It gives the person a sense of autonomy and security, as well as the perception of control of the situation.
- Stimulates interpersonal relationships
- Improves the person’s performance in different areas, such as work, academic…
Emotional control makes it possible to identify emotions and cope with them.
What does emotional control consist of?
When a person is exposed to a stimulus, an emotion is generated, and this emotion in turn produces physiological reactions, although the type of reaction and its intensity varies according to each person, as some are more sensitive than others. A person who allows himself to be influenced or dominated by his emotions can act impulsively without reflecting or taking into account the consequences of his actions. Anger, hatred, fear, confusion or irritability among many others produce an activity in the body and can interfere in the person’s behavior.
The capacity to feel an emotion is innate in all people, although the way of reacting to them can be learned, modifying the result of the person’s activity.
Thus, to manage emotions, a person must be able to recognize his or her own feelings and identify those of others using emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence consists mainly in knowing both personal and social skills, such as the capacity for self-control or empathy.
It is not a matter of the person repressing his or her emotions, but of identifying and recognizing them, and having the ability to give them a positive meaning.