Tap into Your Emotions After Brain InjuryEffective Treatment Is in Development
Because people with alexithymia often struggle with mental health challenges, like anxiety and depression, they may wind up in psychotherapy. But people with alexithymia are less likely to benefit from what we think of as talk therapy. This is because the very act of turning to others for emotional support is often uncomfortable for people with alexithymia. To properly engage in and benefit from talk therapy, you need to learn to be aware of your emotions and what emotions you’re feeling.
Let’s listen to Dr. Neumann describe this frustrating cycle and the research-based treatment she developed to interrupt it.
The intervention Dr. Neumann describes can be very effective. Shelbi Williams was able to attend couples therapy that incorporated these principles and get help with her emotional challenges after brain injury.
Lt. Diamond said that before Dr. Neumann’s alexithymia intervention, he viewed therapy as a “check-the-box” exercise. But the structured approach changed his perspective.
The biggest help the … program provided me was tapping into emotional intelligence and understanding the impact emotions had on external responses. Too often my instinctive response was anger. I didn’t realize the buildup of compounding emotions. After completing the program, I can now quantify and apply a name to the emotion I’m feeling and triage my response. It also allows me to communicate to others where I am emotionally.
He added that the program gave him tools he will carry into civilian life:
It allowed me to identify my emotions and coordinate my response rather than just be angry. It also provided me with the time and space to ‘checklist’ emotions and use mitigating steps to prevent outbursts.
4 Practical Tips: Elements of Dr. Neumann’s Intervention That You Can Try on Your Own
Dr. Neumann’s program for training emotional awareness is still being studied; therefore, it is not widely available. In the meantime, there are elements that you can try on your own.
We’ve got 4 practical tips for you to try:
- Pay attention to body cues.
- Wake up your emotions using your 5 senses.
- Explore your thoughts.
- Take a closer look at anger.
If you’re eager for help, you might read through them all right away. It’s okay also to take them slow. Read one a day or even one a week and try it out in your daily life.
If you’re able to have a family member or friend help you practice these exercises, you may make even more progress.