Do you know what emotional triggers are? It is possible that in some situations you have an automatic and quick response that does not even give you the time and space to analyze what you are feeling and how that response should be. You may be facing an emotional accelerator or trigger.
Even if you believe that most of the decisions we make every day are conscious, many of them are made automatically in response to such accelerators and generate emotions such as joy, anxiety, excitement, enthusiasm, discouragement, and motivation, among others.
As you can see, accelerators can be both positive and negative, some can be fundamental to ensure your survival, but they can also have repercussions on your mental health and the way you relate to people.
To avoid being caught off guard by the emotions triggered by these accelerators, it is important to learn to recognize what they are and how you can act to maintain control of your emotions.
How do you identify emotional accelerators?
Small actions can help you recognize those factors that trigger your emotions. Here are some tips to help you identify emotional accelerators. Keep an emotional diary. This way you can identify your emotional responses to certain situations. Identify the situations that make you lose control. Knowing the situations that make you lose control will help you to be more aware of the energy you are moving. Take time before reacting. If you manage to set aside some time to analyze the emotion that is invading you, you will surely be able to act in a more measured and coherent way. If you make these simple actions part of your life, you will surely have greater control of your emotions and you will prevent them from controlling you.How to control emotional accelerators?
Once you are able to identify emotional accelerators and know when they occur and what triggers them, it is important that you take action to break patterns of behavior that can be avoided if you identify in a timely manner what you are feeling and what it is connected to. Keep in mind the following tips. Be aware. When you know that your reaction is a response to an emotional trigger, you may be able to have greater control of that response when you begin to detect that it will occur. Don’t justify your reaction. Justifying your reaction to a certain stimulus will not help you. The important thing is that you do not allow emotions to control you. Avoid blaming others. Learn to recognize and accept your responsibility for your actions. Other people, even if they have intervened in some way in a conflictive situation, for example, are not to blame for your reaction. Express what you feel. Sharing your emotions with someone you trust, with your therapist or externalizing them through writing can help you manage them in a better way. Identify your needs. It is very likely that behind an emotional accelerator, there is an unmet need. Being able to recognize that need will allow you to strengthen your emotional intelligence. Controlling those emotions that generate so much affectation is not easy, but you can work every day to strengthen your skills and become a better version of yourself. You may also be interested in:A necessary pause
When you learn to know yourself, you know when a conversation or a certain stimulus has certain effects on your emotions and your body. When you are able to perceive that something is affecting you in that way, it is important to be aware that pauses are necessary. When we are not clear about what we need to say, we are likely to create pain for others. If you take a break and time to reflect better, you can feel at peace and focused on what you want to express. Letting yourself get carried away with frustration can lead you to hurt others. If you want to learn more about emotional accelerators, I invite you to listen to my podcast, where I share with you valuable tools to learn how to better manage your emotions.
