Every day one goes through constant internal talk. Telling ourselves things about our daily events, about ourselves and others, life, developing beliefs about what we go through by giving values to them like good, bad, pleasurable not pleasurable etc. and so much more. All these things have some sort of feeling or emotion associated with them. Based on our feelings/emotions and our thoughts we take actions, behave, or otherwise display our values in the ways we do things. Our Emotions-Thoughts/Beliefs are the drivers that regulate the actions we take or don’t take in our lives.
There are times though, when we find ourselves getting overwhelmed by our feelings or stuck in endless loops of thought both positive and negative. At such times we become prone to acting in ways we would not normally. It feels as though we behave against our will. It seems as though we have lost control over ourselves. We try to control our emotions in the ways we have learnt from childhood. Some might try to change their thinking, some try to distract themselves, some try numbing with drugs or alcohol or other activities that work in the short term but do not address the issue. These ways themselves become entrenched ways of dealing with high emotions and situations generating them. To the extent that one believes there can’t be other ways to see, feel or act. Why does this seeming inability to control ones feelings arise? This is the blindness that most of the world stays in. Only those who rise above become free.
All feelings & thoughts are a result of neural activity when faced with some sensory input from the environment. All such activity leads to activation of various areas in our brain. It is the brain that regulates the intensity of the reactions. Such regulation is healthy and leads to normal behavior. Yet sometimes the brain is unable to prevent the rise of the neural responses as they are far stronger than usual. When the brain uses the same patterns for reducing intensity that it uses normally such spikes of emotion are not controlled properly. This leads to what the world calls unreasonable behavior, These could include harming oneself, drug/Alcohohol abuse, process addictions like gambling,over eating or sex, We use avoidance, Anger, Blaming as strategies to stay as we are without taking responsibility to do something about our selves.All this leads to disorders of the mind or addicted behavior.Until we train our brains to respond in more different and effective ways it will always be unsuccessful. This is where techniques like CBT, meditation, One on One counseling in a rehab in Mumbai like Zorbawellness helps.
Research over years has identified some causes of the emotional swings that we humans can go through:
• ImproperNeural responses: Some people seem unable to tone down their emotional responses. They seem to experience all feeling especially the negative ones intensely. Their beliefs in those situations provide the fuel for high emotional states.
• Ineffective coping mechanisms: When one has a negative world view and sees situations through mental filters, the coping skill developed may not work all the time. So the brain sets in a way that the ubnormal responses become the coping mechanism.
• Short term strategies : Most people develop coping strategies to regulate their feelings and thoughts that may be maladaptive and lead to cocooning of the self.
The research findings say that a combination of factors like brain physiology, psychological and environmental factors is what contributes to the disorders, and their maintenance.
Disorders of Mood:
Mood swings can be described as an emotional response that is poorly regulated and does not fall within the traditionally accepted range of emotional reaction. When someone is experiencing emotional swings, they may have angry outbursts, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and other self-damaging behaviors. Over time, this condition may interfere with your quality of life, social interactions, and relationships at home, work, or school. Some of the signs of unstable emotions and moods are :
• Severe depression
• Anxiety
• High levels of shame and anger
• Self-harm
• Excessive substance use
• High-risk sexual behaviors
• Extreme perfectionism
• Conflict in interpersonal relationships
• Eating disorder
• Suicidal thoughts or attempts
Causes of Emotional Instability:
Here are a few different reasons why someone may develop emotional dysfunction:
• Early childhood trauma. These are traumatic events experienced during the early years of a person’s life. This is deemed the most critical developmental period in human life.
• Child neglect. A form of abuse from caregivers that results in a deprivation of a child’s basic needs, including the failure to provide adequate supervision, health care, clothing, or housing as well as other physical, emotional, social, educational, and safety needs.
• Traumatic brain injury. A brain dysfunction caused by an outside force, usually a violent blow to the head.
• Chronic low levels of invalidation. This occurs when a person’s thoughts and feelings are rejected, ignored, or judged.
Research is pointing towards a neurological/cognitive/behavioural inability to put ‘brakes’ on ones emotions due to problems in some brain neurotransmitters. This causes one to stay in prolonged flight or fight mode which causes the human body to lose its logical functioning.
Considering the above it is at Zorbawellness the best rehab in Mumbai, Pune India, in the luxury category where these behaviors are addressed in a loving, respectful and nonjudgmental manner. Here at Zorbawellness destination rehab in India, we employ different forms of therapy that make the addict/ alcoholic take responsibility, lose self centered attitudes and change mindset. They learn to regulate their emotions, change their thoughts and reenter society.