Introduction 5
- Anxiety disorders (specific phobias, social
anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia,
and generalized anxiety disorder) - Obsessive- compulsive and related disorders
- Trauma- and stressor- related disorders
A word of caution: Although these disorders may sound
straightforward, we encourage you not to diagnose yourself.
Instead, seek advice from a mental health professional about
how to best diagnose and address your anxiety.
W hat Is Emotion Regulation?
Have you ever been so anxious that you started shaking or
trembling? Have you ever hyperventilated or burst into tears
when you didn’t feel up to performing a specific task? Have
you ever angrily ranted about something that made you
anxious? These types of experiences are usually a sign that
your emotions are— at least temporarily— not well regu-
lated. In psychology, emotion regulation describes the mental
and behavioral processes by which people inf luence their
own and others’ feelings. Essentially, emotion regulation
refers to how you try to inf luence what you feel, when you
feel it, and how you experience and express it (Gross 2008).
Current scientific theories on emotions and how people
regulate them emphasize that emotions can be both helpful
and hurtful. On one hand, your emotions can facilitate your
relationships and interpersonal interactions, heighten your
memory of important events, or even help you behave in a
certain way; on the other hand, your emotions can occur at
the wrong time of day, come on too strongly, or be