This exercise helps to clearly recognize and classify internal reactions in demanding situations, and to make reflective decisions based on them.
It can be carried out in writing or mentally and is particularly helpful in moments when automatic patterns (such as withdrawal, distraction, or overreaction) occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Goal:<\/strong> Cognitive self-clarification and maintaining the ability to regulate oneself 1. Observe<\/strong> Guiding questions:<\/em> Goal of this step:<\/strong> Perceive without immediately evaluating or reacting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Identify<\/strong> Guiding questions:<\/em> Goal of this step:<\/strong> Clarify the connection without jumping to conclusions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Clarify<\/strong> Guiding questions:<\/em> Goal of this step:<\/strong> Create structure to separate reaction from interpretation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Take distance<\/strong> Instructions:<\/em> Goal of this step:<\/strong> Increase response flexibility and interrupt automatic behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Derive (optional)<\/strong> Guiding questions:<\/em> Goal of this step:<\/strong> Regain the ability to act \u2013 not through control, but through perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This exercise can be used regularly \u2013 before, during, or after stressful situations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This exercise helps to clearly recognize and classify internal reactions in demanding situations, and to make reflective decisions based on them.It can be carried out in writing or mentally and is particularly helpful in moments when automatic patterns (such as withdrawal, distraction, or overreaction) occur. Goal: Cognitive self-clarification and maintaining the ability to regulate oneselfDuration: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7333,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[92,89,91,93],"tags":[],"mhp_client_category":[],"class_list":["post-7335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-emotion-regulation","category-exercises","category-self-care","category-weekly-challenge"],"acf":[],"image_feature":"https:\/\/mental.mindvise.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/uebung-emotionen.jpg","author_name":"Mindvise Mental","pure_taxonomies":{"categories":[{"term_id":92,"name":"Emotion regulation","slug":"emotion-regulation","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":92,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":13,"filter":"raw","image":""},{"term_id":89,"name":"Exercises","slug":"exercises","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":89,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":58,"filter":"raw","image":""},{"term_id":91,"name":"Self-care","slug":"self-care","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":91,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":64,"filter":"raw","image":""},{"term_id":93,"name":"Weekly challenge","slug":"weekly-challenge","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":93,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":80,"filter":"raw","image":""}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mental.mindvise.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mental.mindvise.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mental.mindvise.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mental.mindvise.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mental.mindvise.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mental.mindvise.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mental.mindvise.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mental.mindvise.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mental.mindvise.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mental.mindvise.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7335"},{"taxonomy":"mhp_client_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mental.mindvise.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mhp_client_category?post=7335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Duration:<\/strong> 5\u201310 minutes
Application:<\/strong> In professional or private contexts; can be done alone<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first step is to objectively assess your current internal state. The focus here is not on interpretation, but on pure observation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 What physical sensations do I notice? (e.g., breathing patterns, tension, urge to move)
\u2013 Are there mental signals? (e.g., increased restlessness, reduced concentration, recurring thoughts)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second step, examine whether there is a recognizable connection between your inner state and a specific trigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 In what context did this state arise?
\u2013 Was there a situation, a statement, or a stimulus that contributed to it?
\u2013 What automatic thoughts or judgments are present?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This step is about objective classification: What actually happened \u2013 as opposed to what was merely thought or assumed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 What are the observable facts of the situation?
\u2013 What goal, rule, or expectation may not have been fulfilled?
\u2013 Is the reaction understandable in light of the event?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now consciously endure your inner state for a moment, without immediately reacting or forcing a solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Observe your state consciously for 1\u20132 minutes.
\u2013 Allow yourself to do nothing. No action, no distraction, no judgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If enough clarity has been achieved, an appropriate course of action can be identified. This is not about finding a quick fix, but about making a clear, rational decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Is any action required? If so, what kind?
\u2013 What would help with stabilization or clarification right now?
\u2013 What can be intentionally left open?<\/p>\n\n\n\n