ANGRY: red
Resentful: forgive (talk it out)
Upset: explain (share your feelings)
Furious: exercise (burn off steam)
Irritated: color (do a coloring page)
Frustrated: pause (try again later)
Annoyed: hydrate (drink water)
AFRAID: purple
Scared: share (talk it out)
Nervous: breathe (slow deep breaths)
Anxious: focus (on your 5 senses)
Worried: plan (create a strategy)
Terrified: nestle (hug a stuffy)
Panicked: count (slowly to ten)
SAD: blue
Lonely: connect (talk to someone)
Disappointed: create (draw or paint)
Hurt: comfort (ask for a hug)
Hopeless: make a list (of good things)
Unhappy: play (do something fun)
Gloomy: walk (get some air)
HAPPY: green
Joyful: sing (your favorite song)
Excited: celebrate (do a happy dance)
Proud: reflect (on your hard work)
Amused: laugh (with a friend)
Grateful: thank (with a note)
Relieved: relax (rest quietly)
CALM: teal
Relaxed: read (a good book)
Peaceful: enjoy (relish the quiet)
Content: chill (lie back and unwind)
Secure: cuddle (with a pet)
Balanced: meditate (sit and breathe)
At ease: listen (to calming music)
- recognize it
- ask what other feelings there are with it (4 is a good number)
- ask where it is in your body and what it feels like
- sit with it, and watch how it transforms over seconds, minutes, … hours…. Days
- ask what it is asking of you
- articulate that to others
Sadness can feel heavy and makes you feel stuck. It's okay to be sad for a little while! Tell a friend why you are sad. Surround yourself with things that make you happy or comfort you.Try sitting outside in the sun and drink some water. We need to take care of our brain & body when we are sad 💚
My therapist told me to treat myself the way I’d treat my friends if they were sad. Self-care, kind thoughts, recognizing the negative thoughts you have are a product of your mood and not anchored in reality. Some1 else mentioned the emotion wheel which is helpful for recognizing the root of it.
It also helps to not spiral, even when youre sitting with your feelings. Dont sit forever, but let yourself feel things and then find something you *can* do to help release the emotions. Go for a walk, draw, dance to some music.
Either exacerbate it to get over it faster, or try to pretend it's not there. Former is more indulgent, and falls into the line of feeling your feelings that therapists often like to tell folk to do. I like sad songs for this task. Also, have a hug 🫂
Wait I thought the first thing was bad and what I'm not supposed to do! Though oh maybe I use anxiety to increase it rather than just something to help feel the feeling 🤔🤔
I find sometimes it's bad for me, the first thing, if I end up telling myself untrue things to fuel it. But if it's an honest and straightforward kind of grief then leaning into it for a while can help it run its course. If that makes any sense?
I guess I thought I had "black or white thinking" when it came to negative emotions where I either dig an endless pit of despair for my pain or bury it forever. And I feel like there's a secret third option perhaps not involving dirt or holes at all.
I think the secret third option is feeling in the moment, like basically digging the pit, but putting it on a timer. Cause I have plenty of pits in my emotional backyard. There's a Dialectical Behavioral Therapy subset of skills for this. Can't remember off the top of my head what it is, unforch
I tell my son that it’s okay to be sad and to express it. He is 5 years old. But he also probably doesn’t have any sadness equivalent to how any progressive adults feel right now and being sad for 4 minutes/days is different than sad for years and years on and off because things are actually bleak
Comments
Resentful: forgive (talk it out)
Upset: explain (share your feelings)
Furious: exercise (burn off steam)
Irritated: color (do a coloring page)
Frustrated: pause (try again later)
Annoyed: hydrate (drink water)
1/6
Scared: share (talk it out)
Nervous: breathe (slow deep breaths)
Anxious: focus (on your 5 senses)
Worried: plan (create a strategy)
Terrified: nestle (hug a stuffy)
Panicked: count (slowly to ten)
2/6
Lonely: connect (talk to someone)
Disappointed: create (draw or paint)
Hurt: comfort (ask for a hug)
Hopeless: make a list (of good things)
Unhappy: play (do something fun)
Gloomy: walk (get some air)
3/6
Joyful: sing (your favorite song)
Excited: celebrate (do a happy dance)
Proud: reflect (on your hard work)
Amused: laugh (with a friend)
Grateful: thank (with a note)
Relieved: relax (rest quietly)
4/6
Relaxed: read (a good book)
Peaceful: enjoy (relish the quiet)
Content: chill (lie back and unwind)
Secure: cuddle (with a pet)
Balanced: meditate (sit and breathe)
At ease: listen (to calming music)
5/6
- ask what other feelings there are with it (4 is a good number)
- ask where it is in your body and what it feels like
- sit with it, and watch how it transforms over seconds, minutes, … hours…. Days
- ask what it is asking of you
- articulate that to others
Also, I don't think it's bad, as long as you're not ignoring your core responsibilities to feel your feelings. It's how I've survived
What do you do?
You find a toilet.
You don't poop your pants, you don't pretend it's not a bad feeling, you tell someone you need to poop.
You let it out. Hopefully someone helps you if it's real bad.