Are you having difficulty managing your emotions? Strategies exist to avoid being drawn into impulsive behavior. Psychiatrist Dr Claire Lewandoswki gives us some keys to controlling these impulses.
- It is our prefrontal cortex in the brain that is responsible for our ability to control our impulses and emotions.
- It is possible to work on our ability to manage our emotions, in particular by setting up new habits.
Knowing how to control our emotions and our behavior differentiates us from animals. By being able to set limits, we are able to achieve our long-term goals.
Emotions: what makes us master ourselves?
Our prefrontal cortex, one of the most recent parts in the development of our brain, is responsible for our ability to control our impulses, our emotions and therefore our behavior. However, with all the stimuli that exist in our environment (advertising, social networks, etc.), no matter how much we try to control ourselves, sometimes that is not enough and leads us to decisions that we may regret.
The explanation lies in the fact that we are emotional beings, dominated by our impulses, which lead us to behaviors that are not always reasoned.
Self-control: using the pre-commitment strategy
By developing our ability to commit ourselves to achieve the goals that seem important to us, we have the ability to work on our self-control and avoid the immediate benefits that make us plunge back into our impulses. To do this, you can, for example, use cash rather than your credit card, put time limits on the use of your mobile applications, or even put your sports sessions in your agenda as a priority.
It is by relying on new habits, sometimes with tools that limit impulsiveness, that you will be able to achieve your long-term goals and derive the desired benefits.
Schwartz J et al. Healthier by precommitment. Psychol Sci. 2014 Feb;25(2):538-46. Epub 2014 Jan 3.
