When emotions are too strong, I try to identify them, feel them, accept them without judgement. By being fully conscious and present with charged emotion, usually I am able to stop the instinctive and learned reaction.
Instead, I try to respond to the situation by questioning myself how do I feel, then I search for triggers that caused me to feel that way. The goal is to slowly detach from the prison and the reaction of the past, and discover the true nature of my inner self.