Can people with PTSD control their emotions?

If you have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chances are you sometimes have problems with managing emotions, which may sometimes feel very strong and hard to keep under control. What can you do? First, it’s helpful to know you aren’t alone. Many people with PTSD feel emotionally out of control at times.

How can I control my emotions with PTSD?

Using Distraction to Cope With Strong Emotions 2 Sometimes focusing on a strong emotion can make it feel even stronger and more out of control. Therefore by temporarily distracting yourself you may give the emotion some time to decrease in intensity, making the emotion easier to manage.

How do I stop my emotions being intense?

Here are some pointers to get you started.

1. Take a look at the impact of your emotions. Intense emotions aren’t all bad.
2. Aim for regulation, not repression.
3. Identify what you’re feeling.
4. Accept your emotions — all of them.
5. Keep a mood journal.
6. Take a deep breath.
7. Know when to express yourself.
8. Give yourself some space.

How does PTSD affect a person’s emotions?

If you have PTSD, you may experience very strong feelings of anxiety, sadness, anger, guilt, or shame, to name only a few. 1 When you feel several of these PTSD emotions in quick succession, it can be very hard to know what you’re feeling at any given moment.

Does PTSD cause mood swings?

These are both common symptoms of PTSD and can be interrelated. Mood swings are very apparent and easy to notice. Usually, when it comes to PTSD and the soldier begins to experience problems with mood swings, it will almost always appear as aggressive or violent.

How can I Manage my PTSD emotions?

For example, if you’re experiencing an emotion that causes increased heart rate and muscle tension, you may want to try a coping strategy to bring those physical sensations down, such as progressive muscle relaxation or deep breathing . Now that you’ve learned how to identify your PTSD emotions, hopefully you’re feeling better about managing them.

How does PTSD affect emotional well-being?

When people have PTSD, they are likely going to experience very intense negative emotions but finding healthy ways of managing these intense emotions can be a very difficult thing to do. As a result, intense emotions often result in a wide range of unhealthy and impulsive behaviors, such as substance use, binge eating, and deliberate self-harm.

Is being irritable a symptom of PTSD?

In fact, irritability is considered a symptom of PTSD . Anger can be a very hard emotion to control. But there are healthy ways of managing this intense emotion. Here’s an article that describes one such technique: taking a personal timeout to give your anger time to subside. If you have PTSD, you may often feel strong, uncomfortable emotions.

Can PTSD cause anger out of control?

It’s important to know that the anger of people with PTSD can become so intense that it feels out of control. When that happens, you may become aggressive toward others or even harm yourself.