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🎯 Self-Regulation
How well do you regulate your emotions?
DERS-16 difficulty in emotion regulation.
Rate how often each applies: 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always).
1I have difficulty making sense of my feelings.
2When I'm upset, I have difficulty controlling my behavior.
3When I'm upset, I believe there is nothing I can do to feel better.
4When I'm upset, I have difficulty focusing on other things.
5When I'm upset, I feel out of control.
6When I'm upset, I feel ashamed of myself for feeling that way.
7When I'm upset, I know I can find a way to eventually feel better.
8When I'm upset, my emotions feel overwhelming.
9I experience emotions that feel intense and change quickly.
10When I'm upset, I say or do things I later regret.
The DERS: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation
This quiz adapts the DERS-16 (Bjureberg et al. 2016), the short form of Gratz & Roemer's (2004) widely-used measure of emotion regulation difficulties.
Score interpretation (higher = more difficulty)
- 10-18: Good regulation — you handle emotions effectively
- 19-28: Average — typical emotional ups and downs
- 29-38: Difficulty — emotions frequently overwhelm your coping ability
- 39-50: Significant difficulty — consider therapy or DBT skills training
Research
- Emotion dysregulation is a transdiagnostic factor — it underlies anxiety, depression, BPD, PTSD, addiction
- DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) was designed specifically to improve emotion regulation
- The ability to regulate emotions is more predictive of life success than IQ (Brackett et al. 2011)
- Emotion regulation peaks in your 60s — older adults manage emotions better (Urry & Gross 2010)
Sources: Gratz & Roemer (2004, DERS), Bjureberg et al. (2016, DERS-16), Gross (2015, emotion regulation model), Linehan (1993, DBT).