A practical, engaging resource that offers a clearer understanding of the science of emotion and a helpful path forward in regulating your emotions. Rates of anxiety and depression are high and continue to rise. Substance use and associated overdose deaths constitute a public health emergency, and many people suffer consequences from exposure to traumatic events. All these are, at their root, problems with emotions. People can get help navigating their emotions via therapy, but stigma toward mental illness and reticence to seek therapy continues to make it difficult for people to get the help they need. An understanding of how emotions work and empirically supported strategies for flexibly regulating emotions is relevant to virtually all of the problems that bring people to psychotherapy, including relationship problems discussed in couples and family therapy. A broad understanding of emotional functioning also has the benefit of helping people cultivate more compassion for those who might experience emotions differently than they do. This reader-friendly book illustrates that emotions are messages; they provide information, like an email, a physical postcard, a letter from a pen-pal, or even a medical bill. Information isn't inherently good or bad, and narrowly aiming to minimize unpleasant emotions and maximize pleasant ones ignores the research-based fact that the unpleasant emotions can have value too. This book teaches you about the science of emotion and the best research-based practices for coping and regulating emotion. It shows you how this understanding can then be applied toward solving a variety of problems, including self-realization and self-compassion, as well loving others in a deeper way. This is an essential guide for anyone seeking to improve their overall emotional health.
Jennifer C. Veilleux, PhD is a professor in the Department of Psychological Science at the University of Arkansas and a licensed clinical psychologist who focuses on helping people navigate their emotional lives with greater skill and flexibility. Dr. Veilleux's research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the American Psychological Foundation, and the John Templeton Foundation. Her work focuses on applying the basic science of emotion and self-regulation to people suffering from mental health concerns and emphasizes understanding contextual and dynamic features underlying the emotion, coping, and self-control decisions people make in their daily lives.
Introduction: Mail, or Junk Mail? Chapter 1: Emotional Sensitivity Chapter 2: Emotional Awareness Chapter 3: Clarify Your Values Chapter 4: Emotional Labeling Chapter 5: Coping Ahead Chapter 6: Opening the Envelope Chapter 7: Actively Regulating Emotions Chapter 8: Expressing Chapter 9: Putting All the Pieces Together Flexibly Afterward References Glossary of Key Terms About the Author
