Emotional Self-regulation - in Agitated States

In Agitated States

There are numerous instances of emotional self-regulation when in an agitated state. This would certainly be true of the 3 year old child who cries when he does not get what he wants. It would also be true of the seven year old who waits patiently to go to the toy section of the department store, while his mother looks at sheets.

The seven year old has learned what the 3 year old has not. He has learned to regulate and control his frustration because he knows that if he does he will be rewarded, this is an example of a learned behavior.

Children who demonstrate knowledge of learned behaviors are more likely to maintain attention and composure when working on difficult tasks. Children who can’t properly regulate their emotions run the risk of becoming social pariahs. Such social ineptitude is caused by continual and sustained absence of proper ER and is accumulative.

How people deal with the emotion of anger is most revealing. People who properly regulate their emotions when they are angry may choose to let their frustration out in healthy ways; like exercising, or writing a letter about how they feel. Poor regulators don’t. Poor regulators tend to not consider such options as good enough and therefore lash out (in sometimes violent manners) because they lack the ability/skills to state how they feel in any other way.