What do Habits Have to do With Emotion Dysregulation and Resilience?

Your emotions result from the choices you make about them. You can wake up unhappy, but choose to be happy.

‍Emotion dysregulation is a word that represents the concept that the way we think (or act) in response to negative thoughts we have, actually make things worse for us in our mind. We generally have a passive response to emotions - someone frustrates us, we get angry; someone hurts us, we get sad.If we become less passive and more active with our emotions, we learn that a bad thought or action doesn’t have to be followed by negative emotions. For instance, if someone frustrates us, we can acknowledge that frustration, but move forward and continue to be positive and productive, even in the wake of that frustration.One way to accomplish this is to become more aware of your thought patterns and HABITS.

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Thought Patterns

‍When you have a negative thought, acknowledge it. Now, make the choice to carry on in a positive manner, with positive thoughts. By making this conscious choice, the unconscious mind learns that positive thinking is normal and right. This sets into motion a change in mindset habits that ultimately will make you a happier, more positive, and productive person.

‍Habits

‍Have you noticed that some people just seem to be more successful than others? Why is this? Well it is not because they were born with a streak of luck, it is because they know how to form good habits. Research has shown that individuals who bounce back quickly from an adversity have a routine they focus on to keep them mentally fit.Whether its exercise, attending regular club meetings, playing a musical instrument, reading a book before going to bed, journaling or just being present at what they do best. This is not to be confused with one-time activites like - watching TV or baking, to take the focus away from the adveristy. This is about creating routines and habits that help you step into a victor mindset and find solutions.

‍Watch this short video (1:37 minutes) where I use an analogy of lifting weights. Our habits/routines are like your leg muscles - they support you when lifting a weight (adversity/challenge).