Emotion Process


The process of emotion regulation is based on the model of emotion which suggests that the emotion generation process occurs in flowing sequence:

1. Situation: the sequence begins with an emotional relevant situation.

2. Attention: attention is directed towards the emotional situation.

3. Appraisal: the emotional situation is evaluated and interpreted.

4. Response: an emotional response is generated, making changes in experiential, behavioral, and physiological response systems.

Because an emotional response can cause changes to a situation which involves a feedback loop from response to situation. This feedback loop suggests that the emotion generation process can occur recursively, is ongoing, and dynamic. The process model contends that each of these four points in the emotion generation process can be subjected to regulation. From this conceptualization, the process model posits five different families of emotion regulation that correspond to the regulation of a particular point in the emotion generation process. They occur in the following order:

1. Situation selection

2. Situation modification

3. Attentional deployment

4. Cognitive change

5. Response modulation.


Work-Life Stress


The human costs of unmanaged work related stress is extensive. Feeling unhappy about the amount of time you spend at work and neglecting other aspects of life because of work may increase your vulnerability to stress. Increased levels of stress can, if not addressed early enough, lead to burn-out or more severe mental health problems. Mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, are thought to be the leading cause of work absences, accounting for up to 40% of sickness leave. 20 In 2008, mental health accounted for 442,000 cases of work-related illnesses and has had an estimated cost of 13.5 million.21 As a result, mental ill health now accounts for a significant proportion of long-term sickness and early retirement, cited as the leading cause of illness for 20% of NHS employees.22

Smell & Emotion


The sense of smell is closely linked with memory, probably more so than any of our other senses. Those with full olfactory function may be able to think of smells that evoke particular memories; the scent of an orchard in blossom conjuring up recollections of a childhood picnic, for example. In addition to being the sense most closely linked to memory, smell is also highly emotive. The perfume industry is built around this connection, with perfumers developing fragrances that seek to convey a vast array of emotions and feelings; from desire to power, vitality to relaxation. An experiment by [1]Weber and Heuberger (2008) exposed the effects of smells impacted on the cognitive states. The experimental participants smelled different plants and then rated the pleasantness of smell, their mood, calmness, and alertness on a scale. Compared to a controlled group, participants smelling the plants evaluated themselves more positively in mood, alertness, and calmness. However, there was a follow-up experiment that found artificial smells did not improve emotional functioning as natural effects.


Attention & Emotion


The most powerful tool parents have in influencing behavior is attention, said Dr. Giller, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute. Attentions means understanding, empathy, patience. Attention and understanding towards children can relax the anxiety and make them feel security. Emotions regulations and management can be adopted over time with enough patience.(Havighurst, S.S., Wilson, K.R., Harley, A.E., 2013) Compared with parents failing to control emotion, parents success in emotion regulation were observed to use more emotion labels because children can build emotion regulation by noticing and labelling feelings in the earlier stage before acting out.