What Do You Do When Your Emotions Take Over?

When you notice that your emotions take over, you need to stop and take a deep breath. We have all experienced that feeling in the middle of an argument or when anxiety takes control. The emotional kidnappings are devastating. However, we always have tools at our disposal to help us control ourselves.

It is possible that we know this type of situation all too well. Some people are more prone to emotional overload. Others, on the other hand, rely on their strong self-control. They control their self-control by dealing with each of these “emotional threats”. In general, neither of these two strategies gives the best results.

Overwhelming emotions

The imprint of these complex emotional universes will remain there, on the surface, depriving us of our peace and balance. Therefore, we always see that patients who blame their shortcomings come to consultations. They say things like “the problem is my terrible anxiety”, “I do not know what to do with my mind” or “I have problems with my emotions. I do not know what to do to live a normal life. ”

Statements like this show us that there is a bias in our society regarding these issues. We continue to believe that emotions are bad, that there is no point in feeling fear. We believe that life without the shadow of fear would be a life of greater significance. However, we tend to forget that these feelings always have a clear purpose for our survival and adaptation.

Knowing, accepting and managing your emotions much better will help you avoid the remaining emotional floods.

Look to the horizon when your emotions take over

If your emotions start to overflow at any moment, look to the horizon and stay there for a moment. Let the world go through its movements, let every discussion go its course. Allow all the frightening stimuli to be frozen in time, trapped in a harmless dimension. Focus your gaze on the imaginary line of peace. Do this to give your mind and body a few seconds to regulate your breathing, heart rate and whatever tension you are experiencing.

The best thing to do when chaos is raining down on your life is to stay calm. When we as humans experience emotional floods, panic takes over our brains. This makes sense since it is the most instinctive part of our brain. In these moments, everything is chaotic, messy and intense. In these situations, the prefrontal cortex, where our analytical capacity is orchestrated together with decision-making and logical reasoning, is “disconnected”. Let’s look at how this complex process works.

The amygdala and the direct journey to fear and anger

When your emotions begin to take over, you can go from peace to panic, anger or fear in just five seconds. How can that happen? What mechanism inside us is capable of taking control so quickly? We have all asked ourselves this question at some point in our lives. The answer is as fascinating as it is disturbing: the amygdala is responsible for all this.

A study conducted at Emory University in Atlanta and published in the Journal of Biological Psychiatry revealed that the amygdala modulates all of our fear, stress, or aggression-related behaviors. For example, the study showed that this small structure is the one responsible for collecting information from our environment related to threats around us. The amygdala causes us to respond with a special purpose: to survive.

Unregulated emotions that flow over

People who develop emotional disorders are mainly characterized by something very specific: they can not or are unable to regulate their emotions properly. This situation creates more anxiety for them over time. They begin to feel helpless and everything around them is out of their control. Therefore, we must be clear: the emotions we do not regulate today will overwhelm us tomorrow. If this situation becomes chronic, conditions such as generalized anxiety and depression can occur.

You should also consider that it is useless to suppress your emotions or block thoughts in these situations. The classic idea of ​​”I just should not think about it”, does not help us at all. In fact, it can generate more blockages and problems in both the short and long term.

What to do when emotions take over

What strategy should we use when emotions take over? In psychological contexts, we often use the term “emotional control”. Instead of “control”, it would be more accurate for us to use the term “regulation” because of the flexibility and dynamics that this word gives us.

Somehow control is the main player here. Think of strength and dominance. In this case and in the emotional sphere, we should put resistance behind us. We must choose acceptance, leadership, flexibility, transformation and movement.

Let’s take a look at what strategies we should use in these situations:

• A study published in the journal  Frontiers in Psychology  noted that emotional regulation is not a size that suits everyone. This means that there is not a single strategy that works for every situation and circumstance. Anxiety about meeting a test, a discussion, or accepting a breakup or loss will cause us to start implementing coping strategies.
• On the other hand, emotions are always there for a purpose, and we must ask ourselves what they want from us. What is their purpose? Raising our gaze to the horizon is always a useful strategy against the state of alarm. This will allow us to enter our mental palace and find ourselves. When we are there, we should ask ourselves what is happening and why it is happening.

• We need to point out another relevant factor. The cerebral amygdala is the guard that decides to mobilize fear or anger before we think about it consciously in most cases. It responds by instinct rather than logic. When it does, it takes control of our body and triggers all the symptoms we are so familiar with, such as tachycardia, dizziness and sweating.

Deep breaths

When emotions take over, it does not help to tell ourselves “calm down, nothing is going to happen”, because something is happening in our brain in reality. Therefore, in these moments, it is most appropriate to calm our body with deep breaths. Breathing deeply and slowly helps us to regulate heartbeat and relieve muscle tension. Only when the body is balanced can we cope with our thoughts and take a closer look at how and why we feel that way.