Emotional Dysregulation
This is a term that has become more well-known in recent years, but let’s define it. Emotional dysregulation is having strong emotional reactions that may be more intense than the situation calls for, and it’s usually difficult to come back down to baseline. You may be getting feedback from people around you that your emotional reactions are “too much,” or you’re starting to avoid anything that might bring on too strong of an emotional experience. You might be beating yourself up about it too because after you finally calm down a bit, you’re frustrated with yourself for having that reaction, but it feels totally out of your control. It feels like your emotions hijack your experience. You feel flooded, like you’re in an emotional storm, and it’s hard to find your way through it.
This might look like:
Feeling overwhelmed with emotions
Having a hard time settling back down after an emotional reaction
Struggling to make sense of your emotions in the moment
What We Do in Sessions:
To start to work with this, it’s important to first understand what is happening. As a way to get to know your nervous system and why it does what it does, I offer tools and exercise to explore your nervous system, which we work through together. I have found this to be an essential part of the work — it’s about understanding your experience, building an awareness of the warning signs that you are starting to get dysregulated, and finding ways to resource and support your nervous system through the emotional waves.
As part of that, we often look at experiences that shaped your nervous system, whether in early development or throughout your life. This may include traumatic experiences or the impact of chronic stress. When it’s a good fit, we may use EMDR to help your nervous system process those experiences, so they don’t carry the same charge today.
We’ll take pauses in session to practice noticing the signals from your mind and body that tell you you’re starting to get emotionally overwhelmed. That way, you leave sessions with an embodied experience of caring for your nervous system, one that translates into your life between sessions. This is key — therapy as a place to teach your nervous system new ways of being, to create new pathways in the mind and body so that they’re more easily accessible to you in your day-to-day.
What Becomes Possible:
With time and practice, you will come to befriend your nervous system. You’ll find that you’re able to identify your emotional experience and the signals coming from your mind and body that tell you when you need to pause, take space, or get support before becoming flooded. You’ll get more comfortable with what previously felt unbearable in your inner experience. You’ll be able to care for yourself.
At some point, loved ones may start to notice a shift in you. Difficult conversations, while still difficult, will become easier to manage or tolerate. You’ll have a sense of knowing yourself and your inner experience. You may have even healed some of what needed healing.
A regulated nervous system is one that is able to feel the emotional experience of the moment and respond accordingly. It doesn’t mean you’re zen all the time, but rather you can ride the emotional waves of life with flexibility and more ease.
CONTACT
reannanlasttherapy@gmail.com
858-224-2250
WORKING HOURS
Tuesday - Friday
mornings only, PST and EST
Reannan Last
Licensed in California & Pennsylvania
CA: LCSW 124925
PA: LCSW CW025673
Licensed for telehealth only in Florida
TLHT provider registration number TPSW6245