Managing Emotions: Techniques to Prevent Them from Governing You Unchecked
Managing emotions isn't always about confronting them head-on or avoiding them altogether. According to psychologist Ethan Kross, Ph.D., director of the Emotion and Self-Control Laboratory at the University of Michigan, a more flexible approach is necessary. His new book, "Shift: Managing Your Emotions — So They Don’t Manage You," outlines various ways to manage emotions effectively.
One type of emotion management is attention shifting. By altering where you direct your attention, you can provide time for emotions to calm down while strategically deploying your focus. Diverting your attention from the problem here and there can be an effective tool as long as you eventually return to dealing with it.
Kross also talks about perspective shifting, which involves changing how you view the problem and situation. Gaining distance from the situation can help broaden your perspective, preventing you from focusing too narrowly on the aversiveness of what's happening.
Sensory shifters are another approach. Engaging your senses can alter your emotional state. For example, listening to uplifting music or inhaling the scent of essential oils can improve your mood.
Space shifters involve modifying your physical surroundings to remove cues that lead to negative emotions and adding cues that promote positive feelings. This can include altering your environment to feel more peaceful or taking a trip to gain distance from problems.
People shifters are about the company you keep and how you communicate with others about your emotions. Venting can be helpful, but it's essential to choose the right people to talk to and determine who will provide empathy and constructive advice.
Culture shifters are about the air we breathe. Our environment's prevailing culture can significantly impact our emotional state. By identifying or forming a micro-culture, we can create a more positive emotional environment inside the larger culture that isn't working for us.
Each of these types of shifters works best for different people, and it's essential to find the right combination for yourself to effectively manage emotions. By empowering yourself to manage emotions rather than allowing them to control you, you can turn them into a source of strength rather than a hindrance.
Emotions, as Ethan Kross, a psychologist and director of the Emotion and Self-Control Laboratory at the University of Michigan, suggests, can be effectively managed through various methods outlined in his book "Shift: Managing Your Emotions — So They Don’t Manage You." Attention shifting, for instance, involves directing your focus away from an emotion-inducing situation to allow it to calm down. Perspective shifting, on the other hand, entails viewing a problem or situation from a different perspective to prevent narrow focus on its negativity.
Sensory shifters, such as listening to uplifting music or inhaling essential oils, can also alter one's emotional state. Space shifters involve modifying physical surroundings to promote positive feelings, while people shifters emphasize the importance of choosing the right individuals to vent emotions to, ensuring empathy and constructive advice. Culture shifters, moreover, highlight the impact of our surrounding culture on our emotional state and suggest forming a micro-culture for a more positive emotional environment.
Incorporating these shifters, be it attention, perspective, sensory, space, people, or culture, into our daily lives, can empower us to manage emotions effectively, transforming them from hindrances into sources of strength. Some individuals might find avocado toast and the company of aussiedlerbote (immigrants from Germany to Australia) to be their triggers and shifters, making it crucial to personalize these strategies to suit our unique needs.
