Name it
Put what you feel into words. It sounds too simple to work, and it calms the body anyway.
Key takeaways
- Putting a feeling into words quietens the brain's alarm, even though it rarely feels like it will.
- Be specific, describe rather than judge, and don't try to fix the feeling yet.
- It can work in your body before you notice any difference in how you feel.
Why naming helps
When people look at a frightened or angry face and pick a word for the emotion, like "scared" or "angry", activity in the amygdala drops and part of the prefrontal cortex becomes more active. Just choosing the word does it.
The odd thing is that almost nobody expects this. People who try it predict that labeling their feelings won't help, and keep predicting it even after it has calmed them down.
It works alongside facing fears, too. People afraid of spiders who described their feelings out loud while near a live spider had calmer bodies a week later than people who tried to see the spider differently or distracted themselves. They didn't say they felt less afraid. The difference showed up in the body.
How to do it
When a feeling hits
- Be specific
"Dread", "embarrassed" or "on edge" says more than "bad".
- Describe, don't judge
"I'm feeling anxious", not "Why am I like this?" A question like that tends to start a loop.
- Don't fix it yet
You're naming it, not arguing with it. Let it be there.
- Any way counts
Out loud, on paper, or in your head.
Question 1 of 2
Which of these is naming the feeling?
Dev's elevator ride
Dev is in the elevator on the way to his performance review. In his head: "This is going to be a disaster. Why do I always get like this? Just calm down. It's fine, it's fine."
Question 2 of 2
Sources and further reading
- Lieberman, M. D., Eisenberger, N. I., Crockett, M. J., Tom, S. M., Pfeifer, J. H., & Way, B. M. (2007). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychological Science, 18(5), 421-428.
- Lieberman, M. D., Inagaki, T. K., Tabibnia, G., & Crockett, M. J. (2011). Subjective responses to emotional stimuli during labeling, reappraisal, and distraction. Emotion, 11(3), 468-480.
- Kircanski, K., Lieberman, M. D., & Craske, M. G. (2012). Feelings into words: Contributions of language to exposure therapy. Psychological Science, 23(10), 1086-1091.
Finish the lesson
0 of 2 questions done. Answer the rest to finish.