Think of an example where someone has ‘pushed your buttons’ and you had a strong emotional reaction. Ask yourself: What triggered or caused it? How did you feel? What was the main emotion? What did you physically experience? How did you react? Looking back on it – how would you like to have handled the situation differently?
Take control of your emotions.
Emotional hijacking is about understanding the things that can trigger a particular negative belief and leave us feeling low, anxious, lacking confidence etc. Understanding the things that can make us feel like this provides an opportunity to control these feelings, and to regain a balanced state of mind by recognising the warning signs and reintroducing more positive thoughts.
Instructions.
Step 2.
Now try to think about other situations where you have had a similar feeling or emotional response. Ask yourself the same questions. Is there a pattern or common theme that you can recognise? If you are angry, how do you tend to react? How do you react when you are under pressure or feeling stressed? How do others influence the way you react to certain events?
Step 3.
If you have identified a certain pattern or trigger, then try to explore the different things that you could do so that it doesn’t have the same effect on you in the future. Think about coping mechanisms you could use. What have you tried in the past? Did it work? If not, why do you think this might be? Are there other things that you can do to help build your own resilience – take some time to reflect, or an emotional recharge?
Jot down the ideas that might work best for you and think about how you could practice these over the coming weeks and months.