Emotional Self-Regulation

Key Attributes of a Well Regulated Emotional Domain

• Emotional Literacy • Modulation of Strong Emotions • Emotional Resiliency or ability to recover

from adversity/disappointment and challenging emotional states

• Courage to learn new things, take risks • Desire to achieve goals • Healthy and realistic sense of self

Emotional Regulation Developmental Model by Shanker and Greenspan

Child's emotions are formed over time through repeated interactive experiences through dual coding: sensations get bound up with emotional associations Same sound is pleasant for one child and piercing for another Hug feels tight and secure or slack and unsettling; father's voice sounds deep and comforting or harsh and alarming

Emotional Regulation Developmental Model by Shanker and Greenspan

Secure development in ER is dependent upon the emotional availability of caregivers

Regression happens for all under stress

Co-regulation and self-regulation strategies are needed

The child must be able to experience the emotion in context of a calm co-regulating teacher to support child's brain to switch from survival to learning brain while processing the emotion.

- explain emotion will end- down-regulate with reassuring tone and language- model words to express the emotion and give appropriate options

for discharging energy

Denying Emotions and the Arousal Cycle (Shanker and Greenspan )

• Today we still believe that the more effort a child puts into controlling their emotions the better

• Suppression of emotions is seen as best e.g. drugs, coercion

• External punitive approaches often create negative emotions like, fear, anger, frustration and shame which consume energy and ultimately impair concentration and attention

• Arousal cycle (physical, emotional, cognitive and then social and back again--best to break it at the precognitive level(physiological level)

• Biological=low energy, high tension; emotional=fear, anxiety and anger; cognitive=worry/fixation/distortion and social is social anxiety and interpersonal problems

Emotional Literacy• Recognize, understand, express and label range of emotions

in self and others including facial expression (read intentions of others)

• Assists with modulation - if name, then can tame • Being supported to experience, express, and understand

emotions results in restoration and lasting emotional growth • Up-regulate positive emotions and down-regulate negative

emotions • Recognize impact of one's emotions and influence on behavior

Explicit Teaching Tools

• Basic human emotions are innate, universal and automatic and are also seen in non-human primate

• Most common emotions are: anger, fear, happiness, sadness, surprise and disgust

• Emotion charts, Zones of Regulation and How Does Your Engine Run promote both emotion and physiological literacy

“… all people start off with the same “hard-wired” facial expressions for seven basic emotions (Ekman, 2003).”

“You have shown that every single person on this planet has the same basic emotions, regardless of their cultural background or education.” “How did you prove this scientifically and why is it a big discovery?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h19PzyqOxxo

p.35

Explicit Teaching• Bibliotherapy: Moody Cow, Peaceful Piggy, How are you Peeling,

Pete the Cat, ABC Look at Me • Morning check-ins by using both emotional and body words • Multiple “check ins” — recess, and transitions & challenges —

e.g., start of day, after project work, before a test. It sends the students a message that their emotions matter — and, by giving them an chance to express themselves, helps them navigate their emotions

• Modeling Affect regulation and teaching nonverbal communication, tone of voice, use of cross arms, facial expression etc.

Increasing Self-AwarenessIncrease awareness of different bodily and emotional states that co-exist in the body

Not merely a meta-cognitive exercise of learning emotional words - even reading a story doesn't mean it is internalized

Encourage writing about emotions - stories, reflective journal

Conversations, books or movies emphasize that others have similar and different experiences with emotions and that conflicting emotions can exist

Emotional Modulation and Flexibility

Any intense emotions (anger, fear, frustration, sadness, anxiety, excitement) make if difficult to establish and maintain optimal regulation

• Learn to modulate/manage emotions skillfully:Use a regulation scale – feeling thermometer, zones of regulation, 5 point scale.

• Develop a dimmer switch so we can go beyond black and white thinking and recognize graduation of emotions (anger, annoyance and frustration)

• Match our affect to situations (Big Problem, Little Problem)

• Getting "unstuck" from a specific emotion (Superflex and Rock Brain)

• Evaluate, and modify the intensity of one's response; and when and how to express emotions

• Teach that moods will pass as well as reset tools

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Daily check in. Mood Meter

1-10 Feeling Thermometer

Connection between thoughts and feeling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2zRA5zCA6M

Explicitly Teach

• Emotions affect how and what children learn, attention, memory; Reason can control emotions or give in to it; teenage brain=emotional brain

• Harness emotions and gives choices (don't have to obey feeling--but ask what is this emotion telling us)

• NUTS (Lupien)

• SNAP (CBT)-Stop, Now and Plan

• MINDUP program of brain and mindfulness lessons

Emotional ResiliencyReduce the amount of energy going into emotional regulation; not be overwhelmed Tools: • Learn to monitor-know triggers and tools for reset • Ride the wave of emotions (moods pass) • Up-regulate positive and down-regulate negative

emotions • Self-sooth

Emotional Resiliency

• Whatever we feed - pain or love grows--moods pass

• Teach positive self-talk (Pete the Cat)

• Instructions for a bad day--smile when you are having a good dayhttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cnFAGgKB-wA

Websiteshttp://greatergood.berkeley.edu/education

http://www.morningsidecenter.org/

http://jillkuzma.wordpress.com/

yukonwellness.ca

edutopia.org

6seconds.org