Therapy Techniques  

As we learn more and more on mental health & well-being, it becomes important to be aware of certain tools and techniques that can be used in our daily life to take care of oneself. Since mental health includes our emotional & behavioural, social and cognitive well-being, it affects how we think, feel and act. While making healthy choices is something we always hear about a lot, it is helpful to be aware of what steps can be taken that can actually be beneficial for our well-being. While therapy is a professional space and is conducted by a trained person, knowing a few basic techniques that we can apply in our lives can surely be helpful.  iDare aims to create awareness on this.  

CONTROLLING EMOTIONS??  

How many times do we hear the phrase “control your emotions”? It is heard constantly, everywhere. But alas! Emotions cannot be controlled, they can be distracted from, suppressed or repressed, numbed but they cannot be controlled. What we can rather endeavor to do is to regulate them and essentially, that is probably what a lot of people mean too when they use the word “control”.  

Emotional regulation is vastly different from trying to control one’s emotions. It provides a person with the tools and the skills to feel their emotions, process and express accordingly, healthily. When people try to control their emotions, all they end up doing is bury them deep within only for them to be expressed later rather harshly and that isn’t conducive to anyone. 

Most times, people believe if they just suppress, numb or distract themselves from their emotions, then they will not have to face or feel them. They couldn’t be further from the truth. These emotions only pile up within us with time. There is no way to elude our emotions and rightfully so, as it is these emotions that make us feel alive. Now again, a lot of people do not mind feeling what they call “positive emotions” like joy, happiness, excitement, love, compassion, pride, hope etcetera.  

But how realistic is it that we feel only those emotions that feel good and try to evade all the others. These emotions that we often label as negative are the most important ones for they are how we learn and grow. To evade them is to evade growth and be stuck in life. It is also understandable how intense these emotions can be and can be extremely overwhelming at times. Do you not believe it better to learn how to regulate these emotions healthily so that we are able to benefit fully from them instead of spending the better part of our lives running away from the very same emotions and by extension, life itself? 

STOPP 

This is a technique that will help when intense emotions arise. This technique essentially helps in bringing ourselves back to being mindful without escaping feeling the emotions and does not take long. It can also be used no matter your surroundings. You can walk away from an overwhelming situation momentarily to practice this. 

STOPP stands for  

• S – Stop: Take a pause 
• T – Take a breath: Pay attention to your breathing by following the pattern of inhalation and exhalation. Do this for as long as you need 
• O – Observe: Check with yourself 
• What is it that I’m feeling right now? 
• What am I reacting to?  
• What are my physical sensations right now? 
• Where do I feel them in my body?  

And continue to pay attention to these sensations for as long as you can. 

• P – Pull back: Put things in a perspective 
• Is this a thought or a fact? 

• What is the most reasonable explanation right now? 
• How important is this to me now? 
• How important will it be 6 months later? 
• What are my options? 
• What would I advise a dear friend in the exact same situation? 

 

• P – Practice what works best 

 

• What is the best thing to do right now? For me and for others involved? 
• What option aligns most with my belief system & values? 
• Do I need more time to think and react? 

 

This method helps learn to pause in between an emotional reaction and ensure you are first feeling your emotions and ensuing a healthy expression and action. It can also sometimes be hard to do this while going through a lot of emotions at once and it is only human to have a slip up at times but consistency is key.  

 

Apart from regulation techniques, any movement that allows you to get into your body can help emotional regulation considerably. It can be yoga, walks or runs, exercise of any sort, any physical sport, dancing, cycling, skating and the list goes on but you get the gist. The surest way of feeling our emotions and regulating them healthily is to get out of our minds and get into our bodies, to stay and make space for our physical sensations, to allow ourselves to feel them and to let them fade away.  

Sometimes, the people we are surrounded with may also be uncomfortable with their own emotions and as an extension, others emotions too and may sometimes behave in ways that can be provoking. This in no way means we should not work on regulating our emotions rather by doing so, we may either help the other person by showing them the healthy way of dealing with this or it may act as a boundary we place with them.  

Now there are multiple emotional regulation techniques that can be used and you may also find another more information under “Feel your feelings” amongst our Therapy Techniques but this may not help everyone. Sometimes, our past wounds and experiences run too deep and may require additional support while we work through them. While these techniques can be practiced, it is imperative, in such instances, to seek out for more help. 

Please remember, these techniques are in no way a substitute to an actual therapy session. We would like to emphasize that if someone is struggling with their mental health and if it is affecting day to day life, it is imperative to consult a trained professional.  

 

If you or somebody you know needs any help to understand therapy techniques in depth or is stressed with issues related to mental health, consider reaching our ‘Support’ and ‘Engage’ verticals for affordable and inclusive help!     

 

Like our content? Please show us some support by sharing and up-voting!   

 Image Credits: Pexels.com