Our feelings can be confusing sometimes. This 3-step exercise can help you to recognise, understand, and make sense of your emotions.
When you build emotional awareness, it helps you understand why you feel the way you do. It also helps you to respond to situations and communicate your feelings to the people around you.
Finding the right words to describe how you are feeling is a good place to start. Watch the video below to learn how to build your emotional vocabulary.
Building your emotional vocabulary
Try for yourself: Emotional awareness exercise
Grab a piece of paper or open your journal. Take a moment to reflect on how you feel and work through these three questions.
What emotions am I experiencing right now?
Pause to name the emotion or emotions that you are feeling. Our emotions often overlap, so it can take time to separate them and see them more clearly. You can use the video above as a guide if you’re finding it difficult to describe what you’re feeling.
Why am I feeling this way?
Think about what factors caused you to feel this way. Sometimes emotions have an obvious cause, but other times it’s less clear. Emotions can be triggered by external events, internal thoughts, or a mix of both.
Where am I feeling these emotions in my body?
Emotions don’t just happen in our heads, they’re in our bodies too. Is your jaw or fists clenched? Do you feel butterflies in your stomach? Is your chest tight? Try to locate your feelings in your body.
How do I express these emotions to others?
How are you communicating how you feel to the people around you? What is your body language saying? How is your tone of voice? Are you allowing your feelings to show or are you hiding them?
How do I usually react when I'm feeling this way?
Our emotions can guide our behaviours. When you feel this emotion, what does it make you want to do?
For example, if the thought of failing your exam makes you feel anxious, you might want to avoid studying and do something else to distract yourself.
Is your response helpful or unhelpful?
