Emotions are the core drivers of human quality of life, both in terms of happiness (or unhappiness) and the most common mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicide. This means that altering pathogenic emotion generation processes could simultaneously increase happiness in relatively healthy initials, and also simultaneously prevent or treat depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicide. If this were true, emotion regulation ability would represent perhaps the most important psychological force in human mental well-being.

To identify the psychological processes driving pathogenetic emotion generation, we first must develop the tools to help us understand what problematic emotion generation patterns are. Recent emotion dynamics research diverges from classic conceptions of emotional reactivity and highlights the key role of the duration of our negative emotions. This sea-change brings with it new theories about the most important cognitive processes that may drive pathogenic emotion generation.

Digital emotion regulation and stress resilience interventions can be (a) theory driven, (b) evidence-based, and (c) offered at low cost and low patient burden. We believe transdiagnostic digital interventions have the potential to truly take on the mental health challenges our society faces.