Importance of Regulation

What is regulation?

Regulation is one’s ability to maintain control over our behaviors and emotions, which are interconnected. When we see individuals in public unable to control their bodies (i.e. behavior), the comments that they make, and are visibly shaken, this is the opposite of regulation. We all experience dysregulation. Often we are triggered to an earlier memory by an experience in the here and now and make no connection to the early experience, but our brains and our bodies do remember, which causes a response not often understood. Regulation is achieved by obtaining homeostasis including eating the foods our bodies need, obtaining adequate sleep, being in a healthy physical state, and thru movement. Regulation is also accomplished by processing thru previous emotional trauma as even with all of the physical requirements, emotional homeostasis is equally as important. This is why therapy is so important. We cannot achieve emotional homeostasis without self-reflection and processing of previous traumatic events, and henceforth we cannot be the best version of ourselves without regulation.