The Importance of Emotional Skills#

What are “Emotions”?#

• a signal to consider your situation
• a reason to check the facts
• an influence to how we present, how people respond to us, or how we respond to others
• Emotions tell us that we have an unmet need that requires attention
• Emotions give us motivation, energy (or lack thereof), and the ability to reflect and learn.

It’s possible that your primary emotion (e.g. guilt) can set off secondary emotions (e.g. anger, sadness or fear). It’s important to identify & tackle the source of the primary emotion & stop the ‘domino effect’ from occurring.

Emotional regulation skills are the building blocks. They create a foundation to cope with distressing primary & secondary emotions in a healthier way. They give an alternative to destructive habits, meaning you can more effectively cope with feelings of anxiety or guilt.

Managing emotional skills helps you to take back control.

It becomes a problem when we assume that our emotions are a factual reflection of the world, our actions, or the actions of others. For example:

• “if I am afraid there must be a threat.”
• “I love this person, so they must be good for me”
• “I feel guilty or ashamed so I must have done something wrong”

Emotions are signals in your body that let you know what could be happening.#