Emotions are a natural and essential part of life, guiding our actions and connections. However, when feelings become unpredictable or difficult to manage, they can feel like they are controlling you rather than the other way around.
Emotion regulation is the ability to understand and respond to these experiences constructively. It is a skill that can be learned.
We work with you to build a toolkit for tolerating distress, identifying triggers, and soothing your nervous system, allowing you to move from reactive outbursts to grounded confidence.
Waves of Emotions
Emotions are a natural and essential part of being human — they inform us, connect us to others, and help guide our actions.
However, when emotions become overwhelming, unpredictable, or difficult to manage, they can interfere with daily life, strain relationships, and contribute to mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, or impulsivity.
What Is Emotion Regulation?
Emotion regulation refers to the ability to understand, manage, and respond to emotional experiences in ways that are effective and constructive. This doesn’t mean suppressing emotions or avoiding them — it means learning how to experience emotions without becoming consumed or controlled by them.
Effective emotion regulation includes skills such as:
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Identifying and labelling emotions accurately
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Tolerating distress without reacting impulsively
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Shifting unhelpful thought patterns that intensify emotional distress
Using healthy coping strategies to calm the nervous system
Expressing emotions in ways that support, rather than harm, relationships
For many people, difficulty with emotion regulation can stem from early life experiences, trauma, high levels of stress, or simply not having learned these skills. Without tools to manage strong emotions, people may find themselves feeling out of control, shutting down emotionally, or engaging in reactive behaviours they later regret.
How Therapy Can Help
Our psychologists work with individuals to build greater emotional awareness, increase distress tolerance, and develop personalised strategies for staying grounded and balanced — even in emotionally charged situations.
Drawing from evidence-based approaches such as Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and mindfulness-based techniques, therapy can support: