Emotional Regulation

Cards · 52

Cognitive Reappraisal

An antecedent-focused strategy that alters how one construes a situation to decrease its emotional impact before emotional responses fully activate.

Expressive Suppression

A response-focused strategy of actively inhibiting outward displays of emotion; it reduces emotional expression but increases physiological arousal.

Window of Tolerance

The optimal zone of physiological arousal where an individual can effectively process experiences and manage emotions without dysregulation.

Hyperarousal

A state above the window of tolerance characterized by fight-or-flight reactivity, extreme anxiety, panic, and sensory overload.

Hypoarousal

A state below the window of tolerance marked by emotional numbing, dissociation, lethargy, and neurovegetative shutdown.

Emotional Granularity

The ability to construct differentiated emotional experiences using precise labels, which aids in choosing appropriate coping responses.

Affect Labeling

Putting feelings into explicit words, which diminishes amygdala activation and dampens emotional reactivity via prefrontal engagement.

Physiological Sigh

A breathing pattern of two rapid inhalations followed by an extended exhalation that activates the parasympathetic system to rapidly lower heart rate.

Box Breathing

A method of inhaling, holding, exhaling, and pausing for equal counts of four; it balances the autonomic nervous system during acute stress.

4-7-8 Breathing

Inhaling for 4 counts, holding for 7, and exhaling for 8; the prolonged exhale stimulates the vagus nerve and downregulates nervous system arousal.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

Systematically tensing and releasing muscle groups to relieve somatic tension, providing neurofeedback that safety has returned.

5-4-3-2-1 Sensory Grounding

Engaging the five senses to orient attention toward immediate surroundings, halting intrusive rumination and dissociative states.

Opposite Action

A DBT technique where one acts directly contrary to an unjustified emotional urge to change the underlying emotional state.

TIPP Skills

DBT crisis strategies using Temperature, Intense exercise, Paced breathing, and Paired muscle relaxation to rapidly alter physiology.

Dive Reflex Activation

Submerging the face in cold water while holding breath, triggering parasympathetic deceleration of heart rate via the vagus nerve.

STOP Skill

A DBT sequence meaning Stop, Take a step back, Observe, and Proceed mindfully to prevent impulsive, emotion-driven behavior.

Radical Acceptance

Completely accepting reality without judgment, transforming non-functional suffering and resistance into manageable pain.

Mindful Breathing

Maintaining nonjudgmental awareness on the physical breath sensations, which strengthens top-down attentional control over distress.

Urge Surfing

Visualizing cravings or impulses as ocean waves that peak and subside, allowing them to pass without acting on them.

Body Scan

Systematically scanning physical sensations from head to toe to cultivate interoceptive awareness and identify held tension early.

Decentering

Viewing internal thoughts and emotions as transient mental events rather than objective truths or permanent aspects of oneself.

Cognitive Defusion

An ACT technique that separates the self from distressing thoughts, reducing their literal truth and behavioral dominance.

Self-Distancing

Adopting an external, third-person perspective on personal distress, reducing emotional reactivity and improving reasoning.

Vagal Toning

Practices like humming, gargling, or cold exposure that stimulate the vagus nerve, enhancing the heart's adaptability to stress.

Attentional Deployment

Directing focal attention toward or away from emotional cues to modulate the intensity of an emotional experience.

Situation Selection

Choosing to enter or avoid specific environments, people, or contexts to preemptively shape emotional exposure.

Situation Modification

Actively altering physical or social features of an existing situation to reduce its emotional load.

Self-Compassion Break

Acknowledging personal suffering, recognizing common humanity, and offering self-directed kindness to lower shame and cortisol.

Behavioral Activation

Scheduling value-aligned and rewarding activities to break cycles of avoidance, anhedonia, and depressive inertia.

HALT Check

Assessing if acute emotional distress stems from being Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired before reacting impulsively.

Interoception

The internal perception of bodily sensations like heart rate and gut tension, essential for early emotional awareness.

Thought Challenging

A CBT method of testing distressing automatic thoughts for cognitive distortions and evidence to reduce emotional intensity.

Worry Time

Scheduling a fixed, brief daily period for anxiety-related thinking, preventing chronic rumination throughout the day.

Somatic Tracking

Observing physical emotional sensations with neutral curiosity, teaching the nervous system that sensations are not dangerous.

Co-Regulation

The reciprocal soothing of physiological states through safe interpersonal interactions, vocal tone, and eye contact.

Bilateral Stimulation

Alternating sensory inputs across both brain hemispheres to aid memory processing and diminish acute emotional charge.

Distraction

Temporarily shifting focal attention away from an intense stressor to prevent emotional flooding until baseline returns.

Values Clarification

Identifying core personal principles to anchor decision-making, helping one tolerate short-term emotional discomfort.

Gratitude Journaling

Deliberately recording positive occurrences to counter evolutionary negativity bias and broaden psychological resilience.

Reframing

Identifying alternative, constructive interpretations of a challenging event to decrease perceived threat and helplessness.

Emotional Awareness

The conscious identification and monitoring of affective states as they arise, preventing unexamined emotional reactivity.

Expressive Writing

Writing continuously about deep emotional experiences to organize traumatic memories and lower autonomic arousal.

Catastrophizing Decatastrophizing

Evaluating worst-case scenarios and creating pragmatic response plans to reduce anticipatory dread and helplessness.

Anchoring

Pairing a physical gesture with a calm, resourceful mental state to rapidly trigger physiological safety on demand.

PLEASE Skills

DBT self-care rules targeting physical illness, eating, sleep, and exercise to reduce overall baseline emotional vulnerability.

Diaphragmatic Breathing

Deep belly breathing that expands the abdomen, triggering mechanoreceptors that send calming signals up the vagus nerve.

Compassionate Mind Training

Cultivating warmth toward oneself through imagery and intention to deactivate the neurological threat system.

Emotional Exposure

Remaining in the presence of uncomfortable emotions without escaping, allowing natural physiological extinction to occur.

Wise Mind

A DBT concept describing the synthesis of the emotional mind and rational mind to achieve intuitive, balanced decisions.

Positive Memory Retrieval

Deliberately recollecting vivid, joyful memories to stimulate dopamine pathways and counter anhedonic states.

Neuroception

The subconscious neural appraisal of environmental safety or threat, governing automatic autonomic state shifts.

Somatic Pendulation

Alternating attention between bodily regions of tension and areas of neutral comfort to discharge traumatic distress.