Name It To Tame It - 5 Minute Emotional Regulation Technique

If you're experiencing an intensely negative emotional state.

It can be very distressing.

One of the fastest and most powerful ways to begin alleviating this distress.

Is actually to simply name the precise emotion that you're actually feeling.

This is called affect labeling,

And it's incredibly effective.

So just slow down a little.

Just allow yourself to breathe.

Perhaps in through the nose and out through the mouth.

Just allow yourself to settle.

And bring your awareness to the emotion that you are currently suffering from.

And become very aware of this emotional state.

Now hey!

See if you can precisely define exactly what it is that you are feeling.

There's no pressure we often find that emotion is quite mysterious It can have a kind of.

.

.

Foggy or misty quality to it.

We often find ourselves just saying,

I don't know,

I just feel awful.

I just feel terrible.

This feels unbearable.

But just stay with this.

And just continue to breathe.

And just begin to really turn.

Your awareness to this inner emotional world.

And don't allow yourself to be vague.

Be precise.

What is it that you are actually feeling?

So rather than just saying,

I feel awful or I'm in a bad mood.

What precise flavour?

Of awful are we feeling?

Is this sadness.

Is this grief?

Is this fair?

Is this rage?

Hopelessness.

Simply continue to cycle through these words.

Picking out words that seemed to fit.

And sooner or later one will land.

And will precisely and accurately define the exact emotion that you are actually feeling.

Now what this does is it puts you back in control.

Because now you know what it is that you are actually feeling,

From there,

There will be steps to take to alleviate the suffering that you're experiencing.

The brain feels a lot safer.

When it knows exactly what it is.

That it's dealing with.

So by being precise.

By truly defining what it is that you are exactly feeling.

This puts you back in control,

Makes you feel a bit more grounded,

A bit more stable And it doesn't get rid of the emotion.

But now the process can begin to just start.

Soothing and gradually taking a deeper look.

Exactly.

What the nature of this emotion really is.

I hope some of that is useful and I hope this passes for you soon.

It's awful to be in that.

Emotional suffering state.

It can be very distressing.

Can be quite dysphoric.

But hopefully this is just one new powerful tool in the toolbox.

So simple.

It's so simple but so effective.

I just love little techniques like that.

It's just something in the bag for when these horrible states hit.

This is just the first thing,

The habit that you've built up.

That's the first thing you do.

Don't be vague about the emotion that you're suffering from.

Just name it.

And as the saying goes,

Name it to tame it.

Take care.

Be well.

And stay present.