Have you ever felt like stress, anxiety, depression, or anger was controlling you? Do you often act impulsively, doing or saying things you know you shouldn’t, only to regret it later? Or do you feel disconnected from your feelings and emotionally numb? These can all be signs that you need to work on building your emotional intelligence.

By learning to keep stress and emotions in check, you’ll not only improve how you communicate with others, but you’ll also be able to get off the “emotional rollercoaster,” even out extremes in mood, and bring your life into balance. This toolkit will show you how.

HelpGuide’s Emotional Intelligence Toolkit is a step-by-step guide that can help you to:

  • Change self-defeating moods and attitudes
  • Quickly manage stress and anxiety
  • Stay connected to what you feel as well as think
  • Follow through on your hopes and dreams

Why emotions matter

The toolkit is based on the recent transformations that have taken place in the field of psychology. Emotion is now at the heart of clinical theory and is seen as the foundation to psychological change. We also now know that all of our thinking benefits greatly from having an emotional component.

As you develop the capacity to better recognize and understand your own emotions, you’ll find it easier to appreciate how others are feeling, improving how you communicate and helping your personal and professional relationships to flourish. And as you bring stress into balance and learn to tolerate even unpleasant emotions, you’ll discover that your capacity for experiencing positive emotions has grown and intensified. You’ll find it easier to play, laugh, and experience joy. No matter how stressed or emotionally out of control you feel now, by drawing on these tools, life can and will get lighter and brighter.

This article was originally posted on helpguide.org, to view it in its entirety, click here.