ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors include self-regulation because emotional outbursts often accompany inflexibility–whether it is from the inability to share a toy or to accept that a situation is not going to unfold as the child had expected. Shifting and being flexible refer to the ability to change how we think about things and to accept changes when what we are presented with is not what we had expected. Some people are much more comfortable with routine and seem to have difficulty shifting their thought patterns and thinking about alternative solutions. Emotional control refers to the ability to maintain command of our outward expression of emotions as well as our negative inner feelings, like anxiety, guilt, frustration, and disappointment. Emotional control is not just about controlling outbursts and temper tantrums. It is also about managing other negative emotions, like worry, anxiety, or sadness.
