Mental Wellness: Name the Feeling to Tame the Feeling

When stress or a bad mood hits, our instinct is often to distract ourselves or push it down. A more powerful approach is to simply pause and label the emotion.

Try This: Silently say to yourself, "This is stress," or "I'm feeling really overwhelmed right now." It sounds almost too simple, but this act creates a tiny bit of space between you and the emotion. It stops you from being the anger and instead lets you feel the anger, which is a crucial difference. It’s like saying, "I notice you," to the feeling, which stops it from controlling you.