Coaching practices for What to Do When You Are Overwhelmed with Emotions
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For What to Do When You Are Overwhelmed with Emotions, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- When a big feeling crashes over me it’s like I become it
- When I’m upset I’m completely fused with the story
- When a wave of anger or panic hits, it feels like it’ll swallow me whole if I don’t do something right now
- Something just set me off and I can feel it surging right now
- I feel the jealousy or the hurt and then immediately pile on a second layer of "I shouldn’t feel this, a mature person wouldn’t"
Practices that may help
- Mindfulness of the current emotion
Observe the emotion as a wave passing through — without judging it, feeding it, or running from it.
DBT Emotion Regulation Skills, Made Practical - O — Observe: Notice What Is Actually Happening
After the stop, observe the situation, your emotions, and your urges — without judgment and without acting on them.
The STOP Skill: A DBT Technique for Crisis Moments - Riding the emotion wave with anicca awareness
When a strong emotion hits, track it through its full arc — notice it peak and fall without fleeing or amplifying.
Anicca: Working Practically with Impermanence - Observe the emotion without feeding it
When a strong emotion hits, watch it without adding the story that keeps it going.
The 90-Second Rule, Made Practical - Give yourself permission to feel
Drop the judgment about whether you should or shouldn’t feel a certain way — the emotion is already there.
Radical Honesty About Emotions, Made Practical - Mindful awareness of suffering
Hold painful feelings in balanced awareness — neither suppressing them nor being swept away by them.
Self-Compassion, Made Practical - ACCEPTS — structured distraction from crisis
Use Activities, Contributing, Comparisons, Emotions, Pushing away, Thoughts, and Sensations to redirect attention during a crisis.
Distress Tolerance Skills, Made Practical - N — Nurture with self-compassion
Offer the part that is suffering what it most needs — care, acknowledgment, reassurance — as you would a dear friend.
RAIN Meditation: Tara Brach’s Four-Step Practice - Recover and recharge after intense emotion
After an emotional peak, deliberately allow recovery time — intense arousal depletes resources.
The 90-Second Rule, Made Practical - TIPP: Rapid Physiological De-escalation for Intense Distress
Use Temperature, Intense exercise, Paced breathing, and Paired muscle relaxation to bring crisis-level emotion down quickly.
The STOP Skill: A DBT Technique for Crisis Moments
Related concerns
- How To Deal With Emotions During Period
When a strong emotion hits, track it through its full arc — notice it peak and fall without fleeing or amplifying.
Riding the emotion wave with anicca awareness
- How To Cope With Overwhelming Emotions
Observe the emotion as a wave passing through — without judging it, feeding it, or running from it.
Mindfulness of the current emotion
- How To Deal With Overwhelming Emotions
Observe the emotion as a wave passing through — without judging it, feeding it, or running from it.
- How To Deal With Your Emotions Alone
Offer the part that is suffering what it most needs — care, acknowledgment, reassurance — as you would a dear friend.
N — Nurture with self-compassion
- What To Do When Emotions Are Overwhelming
Use Activities, Contributing, Comparisons, Emotions, Pushing away, Thoughts, and Sensations to redirect attention during a crisis.
ACCEPTS — structured distraction from crisis
- How To Cope With Overwhelm Emotions And Be Okay
Observe the emotion as a wave passing through — without judging it, feeding it, or running from it.
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