Using Mindfulness to Increase Emotional Regulation
How to Recognize Physical Symptoms of Strong Emotions
Mindfulness is traditionally introduced to naturally improve self-love, healthcare, compassion, kindness, open-mindedness, and compassion. It is a safe practice for people of all ages.
What is Mindfulness?
To become mindful means intentionally experiencing a state of awareness about your feelings, thoughts, bodily sensations, and the surrounding situations in each present moment. Mindfulness has healing effects on overall health.
Importance of Recognizing Physical Symptoms of Emotions
Our emotions manifest themselves in physical changes within our bodies. One of the ways we can learn to understand our emotions is by mindfully connecting to our bodies to check in and see how our bodies may be responding to feelings and emotions we may be experiencing. The physical symptoms of emotions can have many forms: pain, shaking, shortness of breath, chest tightness, muscle pain, etc. Experiencing these symptoms may lead to long-term changes in functioning and the overall health of your body. Learning about them cues about the mind as well. With mindfulness, noticing bodily symptoms is easier. For example, paying attention to how your muscles feel when you are under stress or anger, such as clenching your jaw muscles and tightening your arms.
Benefits of Practicing Mindfulness in Daily Life
The evidence-based advantages of practicing mindfulness are:
Quality sleep
It has been verified from several studies that mindfulness enhances the quality of sleep. Mindfulness has developed to treat insomnia and many other distressing conditions in which intense emotions are involved.
Better focus and memory
During mindfulness practice, individuals concentrate on a certain point, whether their own emotions, body muscles, or environmental stimuli. This results in better focus and memory outcomes.
Increase in knowledge, confidence, and academic performance
Mindfulness opens learning opportunities and boosts attention while reading, writing, or classroom participation. It gives self-trust to perform better.
The Connection Between Emotions and Physical Sensations
Emotions are the internal state. However, if we tune in, we can also see how our emotions affect how our body feels. What a person experiences has a relationship with observable physical sensations.
Examples of common physical symptoms associated with different emotions:
Anger
Ringing in the ears
Joy
Hyperactivity
Sadness
Cold hands and feet with nervousness
Jealousy
Clenched teeth and grinding
Impact of Unaddressed Emotions on Physical Health and Well-being
When left unaddressed, emotions may influence poor cognitive skills, emotion dysregulation, and overall decline of health and energy due to high cortisol levels. Chronic stress, resulting from unprocessed emotions, can weaken the immune system, making the body more susceptible to infections and illnesses. Additionally, there is a significant correlation between emotional suppression and the development of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and heart attacks. Persistent negative emotions can also contribute to gastrointestinal problems, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and chronic indigestion. Furthermore, the constant strain of unaddressed emotions often manifests in musculoskeletal issues, such as tension headaches and chronic back pain. Over time, the cumulative impact of these physical health problems can severely diminish an individual's quality of life and overall well-being.
Practicing Mindfulness to Notice Physical Symptoms
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the practice heals the body and mind from anxiety and tension. Everyone's experiences with symptoms and practice are different, so you may notice yourself.
Breath Awareness Exercise: Bringing Attention to the Breath and Bodily Sensations
In this simple exercise, follow these steps:
Loosen your body
In a resting position, place your one hand on the chest and right on the belly
Inhale air as much as possible from your nose while counting three seconds
Pause for three seconds
Exhale air from mouth while counting three seconds
Feel the chest and belly moment, and continue the process till relaxation
Body Scan Meditation: Method for systematically observing physical sensations throughout the body
Follow these instructions:
Find a comfortable position and focus on any one part of your body
Start with your head, and while placing your hands on your head, feel the sensations
Is there any pain, pressure, or something else?
Take a deep breath and imagine that the part of your body is happy and deeply relaxed
Continue the process with all parts and muscles of your body!
Emotion Check-Ins: Regularly pausing to tune into your body and identify any physical cues of emotions
The steps are as follows:
Find a quiet place and put down in the journal about the emotional experience that you have
Feel free to focus on the physical symptoms whenever your emotions are intense
As you concentrate, you will be aware of the intensity of your emotions
Try to smile as you are pleased
Then find out how it affects your body
Continue whenever you are emotional, and there are physical indicators such as tiredness
Read our previous blog for more information on Emotional Regulation.
Conclusion
Mindfulness is similar to an efficient, quick, and easy-to-apply tool in daily life. Practice focusing on the present moment and involve all five senses to note your physical sensations and symptoms. Take hold of your emotions and shift your life with your emotions under control so they do not control you. Therapy geared towards emotional regulation can help you learn strategies to take control of your emotions. To learn more about our therapist, who specializes in emotional regulation, please check out our About Me Page.
