I am the Boss of

my Feelings!
(Managing my
Emotions)
PINKY TROCIO-
ROLLORATA,M.A. PSY.
Objectives: Students will be able to:

1) Recognize what escalates their emotions.

2) Demonstrate how to manage their
emotions using de-escalation strategies.
3) Cite reasons for learning to manage their
emotions.
Activity:

1. Think of a time you felt really emotional and said

or did something that you
later regretted.
2. The emotion can be positive (excitement, joy) or
negative
(angry, afraid).
3. What was the situation?
4. How did you feel?
5. How did you react at the time?
6. What did you do after your emotion cooled
down?
What escalates our emotions?
 How can we manage our emotions?
 Why is learning to manage our
emotions important?
 What is happening in our brain when we have a strong emotion?
(The
Limbic System may take over the Prefrontal Lobe and we “flip our
lid.”)
INPUT LESSON
 What can we learn from these experiences?
 https://www.brainfacts.org/thinking-sensing-and-behaving/emotions-stress-and-
anxiety/2018/the-anatomy-of-emotions-090618#:

In the 1970s, anthropologist Paul Ekman proposed that humans experienced six
basic emotions: anger, fear, surprise, disgust, joy, and sadness. Since then,
scientists have disputed the exact number of human emotions — some
researchers maintain there are only four, while others count as many as 27. And,
scientists also debate whether they are universal to all human cultures and
whether we’re born with them or learn them through experience. Even the
definition of emotion is a topic of controversy. One thing is clear though —
emotions arise from activity in distinct regions of the brain.

Role of brain in emotions

The limbic system is a set of structures in the

brain that deal with emotions and memory. It
regulates autonomic or endocrine function in
response to emotional stimuli and also is
involved in reinforcing behavior .
How does the brain work with emotions?

Three brain structures appear most closely linked

with emotions: the amygdala, the insula or
insular cortex, and a structure in the midbrain
called the periaqueductal gray. A paired, almond-
shaped structure deep within the brain, the
amygdala integrates emotions, emotional
behavior, and motivation.
It interprets fear, helps distinguish friends from foes, and identifies
social rewards and how to attain them.
The insula is the source of disgust — a strong negative reaction to an
unpleasant odor, for instance. The experience of disgust may protect
you from ingesting poison or spoiled food. Studies using magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) have found the insula lights up with activity
when someone feels or anticipates pain. Neuroscientists think the
insula receives a status report about the body’s physiological state and
generates subjective feelings about it thus linking internal states,
feelings, and conscious actions.
The periaqueductal gray, located in the brainstem, has also been
implicated in pain perception. It contains receptors for pain-reducing
compounds like morphine and oxycodone, and can help quell activity
in pain-sensing nerves — it might be part of the reason you can
sometimes distract yourself from pain so you don’t feel it as acutely.
The periaqueductal gray is also involved in defensive and reproductive
behaviors, maternal attachment, and anxiety.

While emotions are intangible and hard to describe — even for

scientists — they serve important purposes, helping us learn, initiate
actions, and survive.

Adapted from the 8th edition of Brain Facts by Alexis Wnuk

Deborah Halber
How does the brain work with emotions?

Three brain structures appear most closely linked

with emotions: the amygdala, the insula or
insular cortex, and a structure in the midbrain
called the periaqueductal gray. A paired, almond-
shaped structure deep within the brain, the
amygdala integrates emotions, emotional
behavior, and motivation.
Example: Managing Anxiety
 What prompted Carlos’s anxiety? (Thinking about the exams but not
preparing.)
 How did he fuel his anxiety? (Procrastination, negative self-talk,
drinking
coffee, playing computer games, lack of sleep)
 What could Carlos do to cool his anxiety along the way?
De-Escalating Emotions
These techniques work for most emotions. The ones we choose
to use depends on individual taste, the situation, and the
emotion.

Five step process of de-escalation==

The five keys are: give the person undivided attention; be
nonjudgmental; focus on the person's feelings, not just the
facts; allow silence; and use restatement to clarify messages.

2.4.2. Ask students to voluntarily share how they have used the
strategies,
and share your own experience with using them.
Wrap Up
 Why is learning to manage our emotions
important?
 What strategies might you try out this week?
Reflection/Application
Write about a time when you felt a strong emotion
and were able to soothe it.
How did it change the situation and the outcome?
In the future, when you begin to feel a strong emotion,
use the calming
strategies to de-escalate the emotion, then write
about it.