What Are the Zones of Regulation?
This is a framework used to teach people self-regulation by helping people recognize and communicate how they feel. This system also helps people use strategies/tools to regulate themselves. Zones of regulation categorize different emotions into four colored zones.
What is included in each zone?
Blue Zone: Is used to describe low states of alertness like when someone is tired, sick, sad, or bored and one’s brain is moving slowly or sluggishly.
Green Zone: Is a regulated state of alertness, a person in this zone can be described as happy, calm, focused, or content.
Yellow Zone: Is a heightened state of alertness, however, the person has some control, but they may be experiencing frustration, stress, anxiety, excitement, nervousness, silliness, confusion, and may have slightly elevated emotions. Someone in this zone could be noted as wiggly, squirmy, or sensory seeking and it’s when someone is starting to lose control.
Red Zone: Extremely heightened state alertness with very intense feelings, person may experience rage, explosive behavior, anger, panic, terror, or elation. The person is not in control of their body.
Connecting the zones:
This activity compares the zones to a traffic light. In this, green means no work is needed and you can go about your day. Yellow means slow down, maybe use a strategy to help regulate. Red means stop, and work to regain control through strategies. Blue is compared to needing a recharge so you should rest. Always make sure to emphasize that no zone is “bad,” certain strategies are just needed to regulate, however, emphasize that all emotions are normal and should not be judged.
Zones Vocabulary:
Toolbox: A group of calming and alerting strategies for a person to use for self-regulation.
Tools or strategies: Both are used to as calming or alerting techniques to help the person regulate
Expected behaviors: Behavior that is socially acceptable.
Unexpected behaviors: Behaviors that are socially unacceptable.
Trigger: Something that causes the person to become less regulated.
Stop, opt, and Go: A concept to help control impulses.
Inner critic: Self-defeating thoughts
Inner coach: Positive, uplifting thoughts
Superflex thinking: Being able to think of other points of view and be flexible in thought.
Rock Brain Thinking: A person has a hard time considering other’s point of view.
What is the size of the problem? and Is this a Big or Little Problem?: A question to help person identify the type of problem they have.
Big problem: Problems that many people share and has no easy solution.
Medium problem: Some people share this problem, and it can be resolved in an hour up to a few days.
Little problem: Problems affecting only 1-2 people and can be ignored or solved in a few minutes.
Reference:
Kuypers, L. M., & Winner, M. G. (2021). The zones of regulation: A curriculum designed to foster self-regulation and emotional control. Think Social Publishing, Inc.
