10 Emotional Regulation Practices — Which Coping Skills Work Best For You?

Emotional coping skills are the topic of today’s post and important tools individuals learn on the path of health and wellness. Emotional wellness is central to most evidence-based practices and psychological models including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Stages of Change’s Emotional Arousal / Dramatic Relief Process of Change, defense mechanisms, relapse triggers, warning signs, and so on, and so on. Most of the R1 topics intersect with emotions and feelings in some way. Emotional wellness is also one of the 8 Dimensions of Wellness as stated by the Unities States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ( SAMHSA) which is part of Health and Human Services (HHS). A topic soon to be part of the R1 Learning System. .

Emotional Regulation Practices are coping strategies when emotions (anger, fear, pain, shame, guilt, joy, strength, or love) are physiologically activated by either thoughts or environmental triggers such as people, places, things or situations. Emotional Regulation Practices act to deflect, deescalate, and calm the intensity of ones emotions through cognitive (thoughts) and behavioral processes. These strategies enable individuals to employ healthy coping skills to regulate emotions until they subside.

In developing the R1 content for Emotions & Feelings, specifically our Emotional Regulation Practices, we’ve built from the evidence-based literature referenced extensively in our Emotions & Feelings Facilitator Guide. Our goal in this post is to highlight a broad set of Emotional Regulation Practices, with a few coping skill examples for each, to inspire you to observe your own coping strategies and identify which ones you use in both stressful and not so stressful situations. When emotions such as anger, fear, pain, shame, or guilt get activated, joy, strength, an love too, by either environmental triggers or thoughts, individuals require practical and actionable strategies to help them cope effectively with their emotions until they subside. To maximize your experience with this post, we suggest that you do the following:

Previously on the R1 Blog

Steps for Maximizing this Post

  1. Play the Emotions & Feelings Video for background (3-minutes)

  2. Review the Emotional Regulation Practices and coping skills examples below

  3. Experience Emotional Regulation Practices through the Reflection Activity

  4. Answer the Questions to Explore

 

10 Emotional Regulation Practices — Coping Skills Toolkit

The Discovery Cards and R1 Discover App include ten (10) Emotional Regulation Practices with up to twelve (12) coping skill examples for each practice. (See Acceptance and Mindfulness examples below). There are over 100 coping skill examples to choose from that help individuals build or enhance their coping skills toolkit.

Reflection Activity: Examine a situation in your life today

Let’s get started. Take a moment and identify a triggering person, place, thing or situation (or thought) that has activated your emotions and feelings more recently. Now review the Emotions & Feelings card below to identify which emotions are activated when this triggers shows up? How fast do they come and go? How intense are your emotions? How long do they last? Now take a moment to think about what Emotional Regulation Practices are most helpful for you to use when your emotions surface. Scan the 10 Emotional Regulation Practices above and then answer the Questions To Explore below.

Step 1: What’s my trigger?

Step 2: What gets activated?

Step 3: What do I do to address them?

R1 Facilitator Guide Activity — Below highlights an R1 situational learning activities that build the skills for change.

Questions to Explore

Answer the questions below for yourself or as part of a group experience:

  1. What trigger did you select that sparks your emotions?

  2. Which emotions and feelings get activated in conjunction with these people, places, things, or situations? How intense are they?

  3. Which of the Emotional Regulation Practices did you pick? What specific coping skills do you find most helpful for you? Explain.

  4. How have you used these in the past? How have they served you?

  5. What is the benefit for you when you use these practices and coping skills?

  6. Does anyone support you with each of these Emotional Regulation Practices? Who?

  7. What is one practice that you have not used in the past that you think will be helpful for you in the future? How will you use it? Explain.

Thank you for reading this post and participating in this activity. Contact us if you would like to learn more about Emotions & Feelings or the R1 Learning System. We look forward to hearing from you.

References:

Emotions Theory

Lazarus RS. “Cognition and Motivation in Emotion.” American Psychologist 46:352–367, 1991

Scherer KR. “What Are Emotions? And How Can They Be Measured?” Social Science Information 44:693–727, 2005

Acceptance:

Blackledge JT, Hayes SC. "Emotion Regulation in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy." Journal of Clinical Psychology 57:243–255, 2001

Hayes SC, Luoma JB, Bond FW, Masuda A, Lillis J. "Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Model, Processes and Outcomes." Behaviour Research and Therapy 44:1–25, 2006

Lee EB, An W, Levin ME, Twohig MP. "An Initial Meta-Analysis of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Treating Substance Use Disorders. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 155:1–7, 2015

Mindfulness:

Chambers R, Gullone E, Allen NB. "Mindful Emotion Regulation: An Integrative Review." Clinical Psychology Review 29:560–572, 2009

Hofmann SG, Asmundson GJ. "Acceptance and Mindfulness-Based Therapy: New Wave or Old Hat?" Clinical Psychology Review 28:1–16, 2008

Teper R, Segal ZV, Inzlicht M. "Inside the Mindful Mind: How Mindfulness Enhances Emotion Regulation Through Improvements in Executive Control." Current Directions in Psychological Science 22:449–454, 2013

Note: References for each of the Emotional Regulation Practices are located in the R1 Emotions & Feelings Facilitator Guide.

Copyright 2023 R1 Publishing LLC / All Rights Reserved. Use of this article for any purpose is prohibited without permission.

R1 Learning Tools and Resources

The R1 Discover App and the Discovery Cards are interactive and engaging tools for exploring these topics with individuals or groups. Integrating these tools into your in-person or virtual settings will allow individuals to build their own vocabulary, think about these concepts concretely, and put their choices into action. Visit the R1 Store to learn more about this topic and more.

Here are a few ideas to help you learn more about R1 and engage others on this topic:

  1. Share this blog post with others. (Thank you!)   

  2. Start a conversation with your team. Bring this information to your next team meeting or share it with your supervisor. Change starts in conversations. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.   

  3. Visit www.R1LEARNING.com to learn more about R1, the Discovery Cards, and how we’re creating engaging learning experiences through self-discovery.  

 
Tom Karl