To Be Able To Regulate The Emotions As A Health Worker

It is important to be able to regulate emotions as a healthcare professional. In everyday life, they (doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, etc.) face challenges that affect their mental health. It is not difficult to get carried away by the emotions and the professional burden that comes with the job of being so closely associated with patients with so many illnesses.

Being able to regulate emotions as a healthcare professional helps them understand the value of the transient nature of emotions. In addition, it helps them to control the influence of their thoughts and make sure that they do not get too deeply involved in them.

In general, it means that you can regulate your emotions yourself, that you have the ability to recognize, control and control your emotions. Psychology defines it as a basic process of emotional intelligence, which is necessary to develop communicative skills necessary to be able to work with patients.

But in order to practice regulating emotions when working in healthcare, you must first understand what the process entails. Practicing to regulate one’s emotions is “the ability to be open to both good and unpleasant emotions” (Fernandez, 2010).

Hervas´model for regulation of emotions (2011) divides this process into several tasks or stages, which one must complete in order to arrive at the mentioned regulation:

• Openness. To identify, live out and express your own feelings.
• Attention to emotions. Even to recognize your own feelings and pay attention to them.
• Be able to name them or identify them.
• Accept or embrace the emotions you are experiencing.
• Analyze. To reflect and understand the meaning and consequence of these feelings.
• To regulate the emotions.

The relationship between thought and emotion: Regulating emotions as a healthcare professional

There is a two-way relationship between emotions and thoughts. Both complement each other, and if one fails, one can also risk the other doing so. Thus, there is a constant negative thought that you can not shut down. In the same way, there will be negative emotions that do not reflect reality, which will affect your thoughts.

A common example of this among healthcare professionals is that they will never be able to treat a patient due to time pressure. This dissatisfaction leads to a feeling of frustration, stress and helplessness. At the same time, these thoughts pour gasoline on the fire for the thoughts that make the situations worse.

One solution to this problem would be to change the situation by acting on it. But it is sometimes impossible, especially because healthcare professionals have to take care of patients who are not getting better, or patients with terminal illnesses or limited resources at all.

Therefore, it is necessary to have some mechanisms that can help control the emotions. It is the only way in which you as a healthcare professional can give patients a qualified treatment.

To regulate emotions as a healthcare professional to avoid stress

Numerous studies indicate that there is a negative relationship between emotional intelligence and professional stress. Furthermore, research shows that more training in emotional intelligence leads to less stress and prevents burnout (Bajo Gallego and Gonzales Hervias, 2014).

The benefits of mindfulness in patients

Mindfulness means awareness, which consists of focusing on the present and making oneself available here and now. But it is important that you do:

• Without being judgmental.
• Without expectations.
• By opening your mind and everything around you.

• From a starting point of learning something and looking at it as a start .
• With compassion.

It has been shown that mindfulness can increase the regulation of emotions. In addition, it can also improve the relationship between healthcare professional and patient. More specifically, mindfulness will:

• Improve overall well-being and reduce the dysfunctional emotions and physical symptoms of a chronic disorder.
• Prevent more confusion in patients with Alzheimer’s.
• It benefits patients suffering from stress, anxiety and depression.
• Counteracts the negative effects in patients with cancer and chronic stress.
• Improves physical function, body pain, general condition, social function and mental health in patients with fibromyalgia.

The purpose of mindfulness is not to get rid of your thoughts, but to accept them and your emotions to keep them at a distance from yourself.

Mindfulness helps you understand that you are going through changeable emotional states that do not define who you are. Therefore, if you regularly exercise mindfulness, you will become an expert in being able to regulate your own emotions.