Self-Reg looks at stress and self-regulation (how we respond to stress) across five domains of experience:
- Biological: physiological factors:health, nutrition, sensory issues illness, tiredness
- Emotion: stressors around strong and uncomfortable emotions
- Cognitive: stress related to thinking, concentration, attention, perseverance
- Social: social interaction, relationships, friends,
- Prosocial: stress around moral judgments and behaviour, empathy, other people’s stress
Why is it important to look at all five domains?
- Helps us see beyond the most obvious stressors
- Stress in one domain can cause or worsen stress in another domain
- Helps us look at children’s (and our own stress) more holistically
- Opens our eyes to more possibilities for reducing stress
Learn more:
The Self-Reg Framework: The Five Domains of Self-Reg

It’s wonderful to see the science of self regulation and it relation to behaviour in these five domains. What is interesting to me is when we or someone is in crisis and our immediate need to fix the situation. Perhaps this stress that is caused to the person in crisis as well as the person trying to help is so overwhelming that mistakes are more often made in handling the situation or circumstance.
Ron, you have some interesting thinking here. I’d love to hear more. What might be a better way to respond instead?
Thanks for extending the conversation!
Aviva