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The ability to express your feelings and emotions in words is so important to making yourself understood. Expressing your emotions through words or other forms of communication is necessary to build bridges with other people, whether they be strangers turning into friends, strengthening the bonds of love, or navigating the world with family, friends, or other loved ones. The ability to articulate how you feel is also important to understand yourself and the way you interact with the world. Below are tips to help you express yourself.
The ability to express your feelings and emotions in words is so important to making yourself understood. Expressing your emotions through words or other forms of communication is necessary to build bridges with other people, whether they be strangers turning into friends, strengthening the bonds of love, or navigating the world with family, friends, or other loved ones. The ability to articulate how you feel is also important to understand yourself and the way you interact with the world. Below are tips to help you express yourself.
Name Your Feeling
Name Your Feeling
We often say, "Name it to tame it." If we're experiencing a strong, unpleasant emotion, naming the emotion — either to ourselves (with self-talk) or to someone else — helps give us back power and control over the emotion. If my heart is racing, my muscles are tight, and my mind is a tornado of negative thoughts, that can feel overwhelming. If I say to myself, 'I am feeling very frustrated,' the simple act of naming my feeling gives me back some power and helps me to manage that feeling. You may be feeling a bunch of different emotions — it's very okay to name more than one.
Talk It Out
Talk It Out
If we have a tornado of negative thoughts in our heads, it will be harder to calm down and to stay calm. We might take a few deep breaths or distract ourselves, and that "pumps the brakes" on our stress (e.g., anger, frustration, anxiety) for a while. However, as soon as we start thinking about what made us stressed in the first place, those emotions will start to bubble up again.
Most of the time, it really helps to find someone to talk to. This could be a friend, a family member, a teacher, or another responsible adult. Find someone who will give you their full attention and really listen. You can spot this person because they'll be looking at you, nodding, etc. while you talk. When you pause, they might repeat part of what you said or ask questions to be sure they understand you.
Write It Out
Write It Out
When you have a tornado of angry thoughts in your head, until you find a way to get them out — to express them — you're going to have a much harder time trying to control your emotions. If you don't have a caring listener to share with right now — or if you're not ready to say your words yet because you're worried it will make you too upset — writing them down is also a great option.
Create Art
Create Art
Drawing, painting, writing poems, writing stories, etc. Creating art is a fantastic way to work through our thoughts and emotions. It allows you to get them out and helps you to organize what you're thinking and feeling, so it's less of a tornado and more of a...well, a song, poem, drawing, painting, story, etc.
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