Take a minute and remember a specific event or imagine yourself in a typical scenario that really bothers or overwhelms you. Think of what type of situation tends to set you off and what you feel like physically, what you think and what you do when you get emotionally upset. Run it through your mind like a movie scene and then answer these three questions:

1. What is the main physical feeling that accompanies being really upset in your scene?

2. What thought is running through your head in the scene?

3. What are you actually doing or saying that shows you are overwhelmed?

This is your “before” scenario. Before you picture an “after” version, return to your three questions and imagine an antidote to each. For instance, if your breathing quickens when you’re upset, maybe a deep breathing exercise would be a good antidote. If you’re thinking, “What a total jerk” about someone, maybe your thought could be counteracted with a more detached stance, like “So-and-so can misinterpret me sometimes, but I’ll be able to explain myself better at another time.” And, if the answer to the third question is that you are screaming your bad thoughts at the top of your lungs, you could imagine being very quiet and simply exiting the scene.

Write your ideas for antidotes below:

1. A better physical experience:

2. Calmer thoughts:

3. Behavioral reaction that is ultimately more beneficial to me:

Now replay your imagined movie with the three antidote ideas you just described. Try to see yourself reversing some of the emotional reactions that are painful or counterproductive to you. This is your “after” vision, and if you can imagine where you’d like to be, “Writing for Emotional Balance” can give you steps to get there. When you read more about emotion management skills, you may even revise some of your answers to the questions above. You won’t end up always experiencing the ideal version of your situation, but thinking it through gives you something to aim for.