# Emotional Regulation as Relational Infrastructure: A Living Systems Perspective on the Capacity to Be Alone and Collective Care

## TL;DR

This paper argues that emotional regulation is a shared social resource, not just an individual skill, and shows how it's vital for community resilience and public health.

## Contribution

It introduces a new framework viewing emotional regulation as a relational public infrastructure, grounded in a psychodynamic living systems model.

## Key findings

- Macro-level crises like inequality and pandemics disrupt the relational systems that support emotional well-being.
- The 'capacity to be alone' is a relational skill that prevents social fragmentation and supports collective resilience.
- Public health strategies should focus on building 'affective infrastructure' through education and social systems.

## Abstract

Public health relevance—How does this work relate to a public health issue?
The paper proposes a paradigm shift by redefining emotional regulation as a relational public good rather than an individual psychological skill.It examines how macro-level crises—including socio-economic inequality and the COVID-19 pandemic—destabilize the relational infrastructures essential for community well-being.

The paper proposes a paradigm shift by redefining emotional regulation as a relational public good rather than an individual psychological skill.

It examines how macro-level crises—including socio-economic inequality and the COVID-19 pandemic—destabilize the relational infrastructures essential for community well-being.

Public health significance—Why is this work of significance to public health?
It proposes a paradigm shift by conceptualizing emotional regulation not as an individual trait, but as a co-constructed relational capacity.The study highlights the “capacity to be alone” as a fundamental developmental milestone necessary for preventing social fragmentation and fostering collective resilience.

It proposes a paradigm shift by conceptualizing emotional regulation not as an individual trait, but as a co-constructed relational capacity.

The study highlights the “capacity to be alone” as a fundamental developmental milestone necessary for preventing social fragmentation and fostering collective resilience.

Public health implications—What are the key implications or messages for practitioners, policymakers, and/or researchers in public health?
Policymakers should prioritize investments in “affective infrastructure”, such as early childhood education and parenting support, to ensure long-term societal stability.Public health strategies should integrate social-emotional learning (SEL) across educational and professional systems to cultivate a more resilient and cooperative populace.

Policymakers should prioritize investments in “affective infrastructure”, such as early childhood education and parenting support, to ensure long-term societal stability.

Public health strategies should integrate social-emotional learning (SEL) across educational and professional systems to cultivate a more resilient and cooperative populace.

In response to escalating global crises and widespread emotional distress, this paper advances a novel integrative framework that reconceptualizes emotional regulation as a relational public infrastructure essential for societal resilience. While traditional models treat emotional regulation as an individual psychological trait, we challenge this paradigm by repositioning it as a systemic capacity grounded in a psychodynamic living systems model. We argue that early caregiving experiences do not merely influence private development but form a foundational “affective infrastructure” that determines long-term social stability. Through this lens, the capacity to be alone is redefined from a solitary milestone to a relationally enabled skill that facilitates collective autonomy and prevents social polarization. We posit that when these relational fields are destabilized by inequality, the resulting dysregulation is a systemic failure rather than an individual deficit. The paper concludes by advocating for a normative shift in public health, treating emotional well-being as a public good cultivated through institutional systems of attunement. This perspective offers a timely and urgent vision for fostering inclusive, cooperative, and emotionally robust futures.