"My mood dropped again."
Kaito held his head.
Leo asked. "Since when?"
"I was fine until just now. Suddenly."
Sora observed. "Your mood swings have been intense lately."
"I can't control it myself," Kaito said painfully.
Leo drew a diagram in his notebook. "Emotional waves."
"Waves?"
"Going up and down," Sora explained. "That itself is natural."
"But the amplitude is too large."
Leo nodded. "Might be an emotion regulation problem."
"Emotion regulation?"
Sora began explaining. "The ability to manage emotions appropriately."
"I can't manage them?"
"Not suppressing, but handling properly," Leo corrected. "In dialectical behavior therapy, it's an important skill."
Kaito asked. "How?"
Sora showed a list. "There are several steps."
"First, notice the emotion. Recognize 'I'm irritated now.'"
"Then?"
"Name the emotion," Leo continued. "Anger, sadness, anxiety. Be specific."
Kaito tried. "Now it's... impatience and helplessness."
"Good," Sora acknowledged. "Next, observe that emotion without judgment."
"Without judgment?"
"Don't criticize like 'I shouldn't have this emotion,'" Leo explained. "Just acknowledge it exists."
Kaito thought. "That's hard. I always think 'I'm weak.'"
"That's the problem," Sora pointed out. "You see emotions as enemies."
"Aren't they?"
"Emotions are information," Leo answered. "Signals from the body. Something's wrong or something's needed."
Sora continued. "Anxiety alerts to danger. Sadness processes loss. Anger indicates boundary violation."
"They have roles."
"Yes. So you don't need to erase them."
Kaito was surprised. "I don't need to erase them?"
"Controlling and erasing are different," Sora distinguished.
Leo gave an example. "You control a car's speed. But you don't erase the car."
"Same with emotions."
Kaito asked. "So how do I control them?"
Sora explained. "There's a technique called mindfulness."
"Mindfulness?"
"Paying attention to the present moment without judgment."
Leo prompted practice. "Let's try. Close your eyes and focus on breathing."
Kaito closed his eyes.
"Breathe in. Breathe out. Just observe that."
Silence continued for a while.
"How is it?" Sora asked.
"A little calmer," Kaito answered.
"That's mindfulness's effect," Leo explained. "By distancing from thoughts, you stop being swallowed by emotions."
Sora continued. "In ACT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, this is called cognitive defusion."
"Difficult word," Kaito laughed.
"Simply, separating thoughts from yourself," Sora explained easily.
Leo added. "'I am anxious' versus 'I am feeling anxiety.'"
"Subtle difference."
"But big impact," Sora emphasized. "The former makes anxiety yourself. The latter makes anxiety a temporary state."
Kaito understood. "Emotions come and go."
"Correct."
Leo explained the next step. "And you can choose actions even with emotions."
"I don't have to follow emotions?"
"Emotions and actions are separate," Sora answered. "You can feel anger without shouting. Feel sad without withdrawing."
"I can choose."
"Exactly," Leo acknowledged. "It's called psychological flexibility. Ability to choose appropriate actions according to situations."
Kaito asked. "How do I choose?"
Sora asked. "What are your values?"
"Values?"
"Things you want to cherish. Friendship, growth, honesty, etc."
Kaito thought. "I want to cherish companions."
"Good," Leo said. "Choose actions aligned with that value."
"Even when irritated, don't hurt companions."
"Yes. Act based on values even with emotions."
Sora added. "This is called values-based action."
Kaito took a deep breath. "Not controlling emotions, but controlling actions."
"Exactly."
Leo warned. "It's difficult at first. You'll be swept by emotions."
"What do I do?"
"Practice," Sora answered. "Keep a diary. Record emotions and actions, find patterns."
Kaito took out his notebook. "I'll start today."
"Wonderful."
Sora said finally. "Unstable feelings might not disappear."
"But you can learn how to deal with them," Leo continued.
Kaito nodded. "Not swallowed by waves, but riding them."
"Good metaphor," Sora smiled.
Leo added. "Surfers don't stop waves. But they ride them well."
"I'll become an emotion surfer too."
The three laughed.
Kaito stood up. "Thank you. I see some hope."
"Step by step," Sora encouraged.
"You don't have to be perfect," Leo said. "Just progress."
After Kaito left, Sora looked at Leo.
"Emotion regulation is a lifelong challenge."
"True," Leo agreed. "But it's also a learnable skill."
"That's the hope."
The two looked out the window. Learning how to deal with unstable feelings is living itself. Teaching that was their mission, they understood.