124 Don’t Let A nxiety Run Your Life
W hen managed correctly, emotions will work in your favor
and lead to adaptive and healthy responses, especially in
anxiety- provoking situations. Conversely, when emotions
are managed poorly (or not at all), they can lead to maladap-
tive behaviors that foster anxiety and even depression.
Practice What cues do you receive from various emotions? For
example, what actions might joy and happiness lead to in your every-
day life? Perhaps you would be more open to meeting new people
or engaging in new experiences. How about anger? For some, anger
might create a sense of control through assertive communication
or problem solving; for others, it might signal a need to be alone
and ref lect on the problem at hand. Consider the cues you receive
from happiness, anger, anxiety, contentment, desire, disgust, fear,
sadness, surprise, and other emotions.
Adaptive and Maladaptive Emotion
Regulation StrategiesEmotion regulation refers to both what you do to modu-
late your emotions in response to your environment and
how. By employing various emotion regulation strategies,
you can modify any of the following:
- Situations that elicit emotions
- The type of emotion you experience
- The intensity and magnitude of your emotional
response
For example, imagine that while you are riding in an eleva-
tor, the elevator suddenly stops, the lights go out, and the