We experience a wide variety of emotions. However, many times we do not have a word to explain what we are feeling. We may know words that relate to emotions, know cognitively what they mean, but do not know how they feel. We may have experienced emotions we have identified and labeled. We may experience new emotions with new experiences or situations. Emotions may be comfortable or uncomfortable. Having a word for the emotion can help us better understand ourselves, express ourselves and develop management strategies for our tendency to experience emotions to the extreme.
Acey says: Sometimes we are sad. We feel unhappy. We may be told or say we are depressed. Other times we are exuberant. We feel happy. We may be told or say we are overexciteable. Then there are times we are upset. We feel frustrated. We may be told or say we are angry. We experience all these emotions and many more. We need to learn new words and know what they mean and how they feel to better express ourselves and our needs. Each example we used three different words. We need to understand better what each word refers to so that we can better tell others how we are feeling and practice ways to manage the emotions.
Dr. Edith says: Having a vocabulary to express our emotions and describe what we are feeling helps us: to better understand ourselves; talk to others about what we are experiencing; gain insight into the why we are feeling what we are feeling; and develop strategies to manage and cope with the emotions and the situations. To help us better identify our emotions; developing our vocabulary comes in handy. We have pictured, a wheel of emotion that expands basic feelings within a broader context of both positive/negative or comfortable/uncomfortable or undesirable /desirable. It is difficult to know what to do if we do not understand what we are feeling. Like boredom – we might say we are not sad, but have no energy. When we understand we are bored we can then resolve to engage in something stimulating which will offset the boredom. If we are frustrated versus angry – then we can look at the actions to solve the frustration – more time, different approach, etc. Whereas with anger: we need to identify the feeling; our value/need to having that response; and be able to ask for what we need.
We have talked about Let’s Explore Emotions and Boredom previously. These can be revisited in the links provided. Expand your emotional vocabulary today. Understand and express yourself more effectively. Grow.