Emotions are a natural and essential part of life, helping us connect with others, make decisions, and respond to our environment. However, when emotions feel intense, unpredictable, or overwhelming, they can impact relationships, work, and daily wellbeing.
Some people experience difficulty regulating emotions, meaning they may:
Feel emotions more intensely or for longer periods than others
Struggle to identify, express, or manage feelings in a helpful way
Experience rapid emotional shifts (e.g., feeling happy one moment and deeply upset the next)
Engage in impulsive behaviours when distressed (e.g., saying or doing things they later regret)
Feel highly sensitive to rejection or abandonment
Have difficulty maintaining stable relationships due to emotional ups and downs
While everyone struggles with emotions at times, persistent emotional dysregulation can affect self-esteem, interpersonal relationships, and overall mental health. These difficulties are often linked to past experiences, neurobiological factors, or patterns of coping learned over time.
At The Victorian Psychology Clinic we recognise that emotional difficulties require a tailored, evidence-based approach. In line with our values, we aim to work collaboratively with our clients, referrers and other professionals involved in our clients care including general practitioners, other allied health professionals and psychiatrists.
Signs and Impact of Emotional Regulation Difficulties:
People with emotion regulation challenges may experience:
- Frequent mood swings or emotional outbursts
- Feeling easily overwhelmed or unable to “bounce back” from distress
- Difficulty calming down once upset
- Engaging in self-destructive or impulsive behaviours (e.g., risky decisions, self-harm, binge eating, or excessive spending) to cope with distress
- Chronic feelings of emptiness, loneliness, or low self-worth
- Struggles with maintaining stable relationships due to emotional intensity
- High sensitivity to perceived criticism, abandonment, or rejection
Emotional dysregulation is often seen in people who have experienced early-life trauma, invalidation, or chronic stress, but it can also occur without a clear cause. It is sometimes linked to conditions like anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress, making it important to address both emotional regulation skills and any underlying difficulties.
Treatment & Support for Emotional Difficulties
The good news is that emotion regulation can be learned and strengthened with the right support. Therapy can help by:
- Building awareness of emotions and understanding what triggers intense feelings
- Learning skills to tolerate distress without acting impulsively
- Developing healthier ways to express emotions in relationships
- Challenging unhelpful thought patterns that contribute to emotional distress
- Practicing mindfulness and self-compassion to respond to emotions in a balanced way
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Evidence-based therapies for emotion regulation include:
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT): Designed specifically for emotional dysregulation, DBT helps with distress tolerance, emotional awareness, and interpersonal effectiveness can be helpful.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): Helps challenge intense emotional reactions, unhelpful thinking patterns, and impulsive behaviours.
Schema Therapy: Focuses on identifying deep-seated emotional patterns formed in childhood that continue to affect emotions and relationships.
Mindfulness-Based Approaches: Help people develop greater control over emotional responses by improving emotional awareness and self-regulation.
How we can support you
At VPC, we work with individuals experiencing emotion regulation difficulties, relationship challenges, and patterns of distress that feel hard to shift. Our psychologists can help clients:
- Understand and manage emotional intensity
- Develop healthier coping strategies
- Improve relationships and communication
- Strengthen self-worth and emotional resilience
If you often feel emotionally overwhelmed or struggle to manage intense feelings, support is available.
We have a number of clinicians who work with eating disorders. To learn more, please refer to our Psychologists page for clinician details.
If you are currently experiencing eating difficulties or body image concerns and would like to begin your journey to recovery, get in touch with us. We are here to help.