Self-control is the ability to inhibit impulses, while self-regulation concerns how the brain and body respond to stress and restore balance. The capacity for self-control depends on sufficient regulation and energy.
Self-control is the capacity to inhibit an impulse or override an immediate response. Self-regulation, in its original psychophysiological sense, concerns how the brain and body respond to stress, expend energy, and recover from that expenditure. The two are related but fundamentally different. When stress load is high and energy is depleted, the brain systems required for effortful self-control may be less available. Self-Reg shifts the question from “How do we get more self-control?” to “What is affecting this person’s capacity for self-control right now?” Reducing excessive stress and supporting restoration can make self-control more available and, in some situations, make so much effortful control unnecessary.
Self-control depends on regulation; when stress is high, effort alone may not be enough.
