I am just really mad!!!

Did you know that emotional regulation is impacted by ADHD? What is emotional regulation anyways?? It refers to our ability to control and respond to emotions … and this isn’t always easy with ADHD. 

ADHD brains have more difficulty regulating emotions. Emotions can hit harder, last longer, and you may be more reactive to the emotion than someone who is neurotypical.

• That means a person with ADHD may:
• Have an emotional reaction that seems out-of-sync with its cause. (This can be great if you are showing high enthusiasm for a friend who shares good news …. But not so great if you get really upset over a situation that, upon reflection, was not a big deal.)
• Struggle to calm down once an emotion has taken hold.
• Have difficulty self-soothing after experiencing an emotion.

Did you know that Emotional Regulation is part of our executive functioning system and is related to our ability to control impulses and use our working memory? This helps us to think through past experiences, imagine future consequences, and make the best choice to work towards our goals. Easy right? Nope … This can be hard work when you are in the middle of a situation! 

If you have difficulty with emotional regulation, you may find that you impulsively react, rather than thoughtfully and intentionally responding. Once the emotion subsides, there can be feelings of shame or regret that creep in about how you reacted - especially if your reaction was not in line with your values. 

So …. What can you do to help improve your emotional regulation:

• First of all, give yourself some grace and recognize that ADHD can make it difficult to manage emotions.
• Practice mindfulness with an ADHD friendly approach. This helps to build in a pause so you can respond, rather than react.
• Work with a counsellor to help learn how to better label, process and manage your emotions.
• Learn DBT (dialectical behavioural therapy) and CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) strategies as they can be very helpful in managing emotions.

If emotional regulation is hard for you, we hope you can give yourself some compassion, focus on learning some regulation strategies, build in a pause, and work on responding in a way that aligns with your values!