To regulate is to, in essence, control. Without regulation things are not regulated, which means they are not in order and not working the right why. The government has regulations to keep things working in an orderly fashion. We regulate the way that we eat and the certain things that we eat, like sugar. Keeping things “regular” is important for our digestive and excretory systems. Regulation is essential in many areas of our life. Yet, we tend to feel out of sorts. Emotional regulation is important for keeping our mind, thoughts, and feelings in order. Unregulated, we can swing from one emotional extreme to the other, believe in emotional realities that aren’t true, and suffer under a tremendous amount of emotional pain. Self-regulation is the way that we create balance in each system of our being and all of our holistic self in mind, body, and spirit.
Self-regulation is different for mind, body, and spirit. For the mind, self-regulation can include emotional intelligence, organization, and resilience. Making sense of our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and opinions is necessary for maintaining safety and calm in our own minds. When we are constantly reacting instead of responding, over-dramatizing instead of rationalizing, living in fear instead of feeling grounded in the present, we aren’t in self-regulation. Instead, we have let our minds completely take over and lost our sense of self-control. Physically, we can regulate ourselves through the breath. Mindfulness and meditation are two practices that help us become aware of, pay attention to, and notice our breath. Noticing the breath is not something we pay a great deal of attention to. Numerous studies have found that the breath is directly related to mood and how we handle stress. Regulating our breath means directly regulating our mind and our body. Hyperventilating, we are stressed. Barely breathing we are unaware. Mindfully and purposefully taking deep breaths, we calm down our entire system, relieve tension, reduce inflammation, and bring ourselves to a calm state.
Spiritually, self-regulation is the way we maintain hope, faith, and a sense of peace. Each person has a spirituality that is slightly different from the next. Whatever we believe in as our higher power helps us regulate our feelings of optimism and positivity. Staying in high hopes, we can continue moving forward with our recovery.
There is help available. You can have hope.
The Guest House Ocala is a private residential treatment program designed to customize your every need for care. From traumas and addictions to mental health and behavioral issues, our program is focused in healing the story of the past in order to create a new story for the future.
Call us today for information: 1-855-483-7800