Recognizing the repetitive emotional circuit: a key to overcoming distress

In contexts of persistent sadness, anxiety, or depressive symptoms, it is common for people to experience intense emotional swings.

Far from being a sign of instability, this phenomenon responds to cyclical patterns that become established without the person noticing. Detecting them early can make all the difference in the recovery process.

The hidden emotional cycle

When mood declines, there is often a gradual descent into discouragement or emotional disconnection.

However, before this state stabilizes, another intense emotion emerges: for example, sudden impatience, a sense of injustice, or persistent irritation.

This secondary emotional response can be triggered by small events such as mild criticism, a misinterpreted comment, or even an attempt at consolation by another person. This emotional leap is not random: it responds to the nervous system's need to vary emotional states.

Maintaining a single emotion for long periods, such as sadness or hopelessness, is physiologically unsustainable. Therefore, the emergence of another emotion acts as a kind of momentary escape that prevents the person from becoming completely paralyzed.

The function of emerging emotion

This sudden change is often confused with an attempt to improve, but in reality it does not represent progress, but rather a deviation.

Anger or frustration do not resolve the underlying discomfort, but rather temporarily mask it. After this emotional peak, there is usually a relapse into the same previous depressive state, creating a repetitive cycle: despondency -» irritation -» despondency.

This is known as a “closed emotional loop,” in which emotions act as complementary opposites that reinforce each other. The longer this cycle continues, the more automatic the emotional response becomes, making it difficult to choose a different reaction.

The breaking point: time to intervene

The best opportunity to break the cycle is right at the transition point between the two emotions. That moment, however brief, allows for an act of awareness: noticing what is happening and choosing a different action. It is not about repressing what you feel, but about changing your focus so that the emotion does not dictate the entire experience.

Strategies for breaking the cycle

Gratitude exercise: Detenerse a identificar al menos un aspecto valioso del presente —como una conversación que trajo calma, un recuerdo grato o un pequeño logro del día— puede ayudar a interrumpir el patrón emocional.

Gratitude acts as an anchor that connects you to what is present, even if the context is difficult.

Práctica de aceptación: Acceptance does not mean giving up, but recognizing that there are situations beyond your control.

Accepting your limitations, losses, or unexpected changes allows you to release some of the emotional tension and open yourself up to a different way of dealing with pain.

Represent the cycle to make it visible

A useful technique is to create a visual outline. Draw a table with two columns: in one, write down the primary emotion (e.g., sadness or emptiness) and in the other, the secondary emotion (e.g., anger or irritation).

This exercise helps to make the pattern conscious and interrupt the automatic reaction.

Understanding this emotional swing is not only a step toward stability, but also a key tool for building new, healthier, and more sustainable internal responses.