Reducing Extreme Emotions Quickly
Quick, easy and effective ways to reduce those extreme emotions -by Sara Arter
Have a child who you can’t get to stop destroying things when they are angry? Maybe, as an adult you deal with extreme stress or anger and need some help coping. Try this quick and effective way to reduce those extreme emotions.
These techniques are helpful to have handy during a crisis – using it when your emotions are high and you’re feeling that physical response going on in your body.
Tip The Temperature: In order to calm down quickly, try holding your breath and putting your face in a bowl of cold water or holding a cold pack on your eyes and cheeks for at least 30 seconds. According to HomeBase.org, this will cue your mammalian diving reflex which is a natural reflex that occurs in all mammals and is triggered in humans when our faces are submerged in cold water. The reflex causes our body chemistry to change—heart rate drops down immediately and the parasympathetic nervous system is activated to prompt a relaxation response.
Intense Exercise: Try to engage in intensive exercise, even if it’s only for a short amount of time to get your heart rate going. Exercising intensely will help your body get rid of negative energy that can sometimes be stored from strong emotions. Can you stop and do 20 jumping jacks? Maybe you can go outside and do some sprints. Maybe just clenching, unclenching, your fist, whatever it may be for you to bring that heart rate up. The idea is you want to expend some of that stored up energy that happens when we’re in a crisis.
Paired Breathing and Muscle Relaxation: It can help if you add muscle relaxation to paced breathing. We know that when we’re in our crisis or when our stress response is really high, we tend to carry tension in all parts of our bodies. When you breathe in, you’re going to clench your fists really tight, hold them, notice what that tension feels like in your body, and as you breathe out, you can release the muscle tension. While breathing deeply and slowly, deeply tense each of your body muscles one by one. Notice this tension and then breathe out and let go of the tension by completely relaxing your muscles. Pay attention to the difference in your body as you tense and let go of each muscle group. This cues the parasympathetic nervous system, which drives the fight or flight response as well as helping the body relax. (1)
The TIPP skills may not work immediately, but with practice they can help to build up your ability to regulate strong emotions, manage difficult situations, and generally feel better. It can take some practice and in many cases it helps to work with a therapist to ensure that you are engaging in the skills correctly.
Reference:
(1) (2020, May 1). TIPP Skill - Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Tools. Home Base Program. https://homebase.org/news/tipp-skill-dialectical-behavior-therapy-dbt-tools