When a powerful emotion overcomes us, our first response may be to run away from the experience through numbing, shutting down, looking for distractions, or becoming angry. However, calming emotions can be achieved by the process of identifying and naming the emotion which can stimulate the left-brain, right-brain circuits and help us to stop overreacting and start feeling in control.

Today we’re sharing an excerpt from the audiobook Stop Overreacting: Effective Strategies for Calming Your Emotions, written by marriage and family therapist Dr. Judith Siegel. This audiobook helps you identify your emotional triggers, discover a new way of processing impulsive thoughts and feelings, and understand how your emotions can undermine your ability to think rationally in moments of crisis and stress. You’ll learn how to neutralize overwhelming emotions and choose healthy responses instead of flying off the handle.

In this excerpt, Dr. Siegel discusses an important first step in calming emotions: developing emotional awareness by learning to precisely identify your feelings.

Judith P. Siegel, PhD, LCSW, is associate professor at Silver School of Social Work at New York University. She has published extensively in the field of family therapy and has presented throughout the United States. She has also appeared on the Today Show and Good Morning America.

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In this audiobook, I explain how beliefs, emotions, and physiological responses combine to create over-reactions. I examine envy, rejection, criticism, and control—everyday dynamics that frequently trigger overreactions, as well as ways to help you restore calm so that you can access responses that are thoughtful and appropriate. I also suggest ways to challenge beliefs and make peace with the past so that you will be less likely to react to situations that have triggered overreactions in the past.

Stop Overreacting

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