122 Don’t Let A nxiety Run Your Life
it seems tedious or boring. A nd what does present- moment aware-
ness help with? Emotional flexibility! By forgoing the urge to
remove yourself to a future filled with worry, you will be in a better
position to gauge what emotions are most appropriate in your sur-
rounding environment.
•••So far, we have presented the fundamentals of f lexible and
inf lexible emotion regulation. As we have seen, inf lexible
response styles are rigid and unhelpful; they give rise to
emotions that are inappropriate because the situation
doesn’t call for them. Furthermore, we have learned how
these on- the- go mindfulness techniques will help you culti-
vate f lexibility by being more aware of the present moment.
Next, we will take these concepts and skills one step further
by exploring specific facets of inf lexibility and specific tech-
niques that will enable you to overcome them.
Specific Strategies for Flexibly
Regulating Your Emotions
In the first part of this chapter, we explained how to respond
to and manage your anxious emotions by using a f lexible
approach. We will now review specific types of emotion reg-
ulation strategies that teach you what to do (and what not to
do!) to modify the intensity and magnitude of your emo-
tional experiences. By combining these approaches to man-
aging your emotions, you will be better equipped to f lexibly
and adaptively implement strategies that correspond to both
the demands of your environment and your internal mood
state.