Analysis: The foundation to being prepared to manage an array of emotional experiences is that we can identify and understand the emotion that we are experiencing.
Mike Tyson biting a chunk out of Evander Holyfield's ear in the boxing ring and Roy Keane’s ill-famed tackle on Alf-Inge Håland on the football pitch clearly do not spring to mind as leading examples of successfully managing an emotional situation.
Renowned for their sporting prowess, Tyson and Keane, were not usually heralded for their emotional management abilities during their career. However, there is something to be learned from them in the area of emotion management that goes beyond using the above as examples of how not to manage a highly emotive situation in our day-to-day lives.
Emotion management refers to the way by which we can control and benefit from emotion and includes being open to both pleasant and unpleasant feelings, as well as being able to engage, prolong or detach from an emotional state.
Even if it is not in front of thousands of spectators in the confines of a boxing ring or football pitch, we all experience different emotions throughout our day-to-day life. Each situation is a unique experience that depends on many factors that impact our emotional state. This means it can be quite difficult to constantly adapt and select an appropriate way of managing emotion in each situation.
This is where Keane and Tyson can offer sage advice that can be applied to the arena of emotion management.
When Keane declared "fail to prepare, prepare to fail" he was referencing the Irish football team's preparation in Saipan for the 2002 World Cup and not emotion management.
Likewise, Tyson was not referencing emotion management with the famous maxim that is often ascribed to him "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." Yet, when applied to emotion management both sportsmen’s somewhat philosophical outlooks make valid points.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ 2FM's Dave Fanning show Dave speaks to Olivia Hurley (Sport Psychologist) who has worked with the Irish Rugby team. They chat about Joe Schmidt leaving, players' roles on the field and referees being the unsung heroes of matches.
To first look at Keane, he speaks to the importance of being prepared to deal with the diverse emotional experiences that come our way and as such, we need to have developed a rounded toolbox of emotional management strategies. In order to be prepared, it is necessary to put the foundations in place and to regularly practice using these strategies.
The foundation to being prepared to manage an array of emotional experiences is that we can identify and understand the emotion that we are experiencing. In essence, this means that we can label the emotion as well as evaluate its potential causes and impact on us. Then we can use this to inform us on what to do next and as a guide to how we can manage or regulate the emotion and the situation.
There are numerous different ways of managing emotions some of which we actively engage in at a conscious level while others we may engage in at an unconscious level. For instance, we may consciously choose to perform a particular breathing technique when faced with an overwhelming emotion.
At the unconscious level, an example would be trying to manage a specific emotion by avoiding it, perhaps through the use of a distraction such as scrolling on your phone.
Meanwhile, Tyson’s view emphasises how regardless of the preparation we have put in place we still need to be flexible and adaptable to the situation that is in front of us. This means that we need to try to select the most appropriate strategy from our toolbox at that moment based on the unique circumstances. Therefore, when something unforeseen happens in the real world that causes a strong emotional reaction we can manage it.
Some emotion management strategies may be more adaptive than others in different circumstances. For instance, suppression, which is done by repressing ongoing emotion-expressive behaviour, is not ideal in the long-term, nor are avoidance nor distractions constantly appropriate. But even these have their place in certain circumstances, for example, suppressing the joy of holding a winning hand in poker.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ Radio One's The Ray D'Arcy Show Olympic US gold medallist Simone Biles has pulled out of the women's gymnastics team final to focus on her mental health. To tell us more about this Ray is joined by Dr Olivia Hurley, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Sport Psychology at IADT and Accredited Sport Psychologist with Sport Ireland.
Reappraisal, which entails reframing a situation that could cause a trigger of emotion in a way that changes its emotional impact can be a useful emotion management strategy.
Research suggests reappraisal is associated with experiencing and expressing greater positive emotion and lesser negative emotion, better interpersonal functioning and relates positively to well-being in comparison with using suppression. Again reappraisal is no magic pill applicable in all situations and can have its drawbacks.
Therefore, the toolbox of emotion management strategies must be paired with awareness regarding the strategy that we are implementing and the reasons behind it. This means we can assess the pros and cons of the strategy in the given circumstance.
Ultimately, both Tyson and Keane are correct. The preparation piece of emotion management is important as we need to have the foundations of emotion management in place as well as an array of strategies in our toolbox for different scenarios.
We must practice and develop this toolbox so that we have the ability to be flexible in how we use them. Then when we are faced with times in our life when we are emotionally "punched in the mouth", we can react appropriately by pulling out a strategy to manage the emotion.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
