In a fast-paced world, it’s easy to get swept up in emotions without understanding them. Slowing down and naming your emotions might seem simple, but it’s a powerful tool for emotional understanding and mental well-being.

The Science of Naming Emotions:

Have you heard of the phrase, “Name it to Tame it”? This was coined by Dr. Dan Siegel as a technique of noticing and naming emotions as they happen. Research has indicated that in high-intensity scenarios, labelling is effective for decreasing the intensity of the emotion (Levy-Gigi & Shamay-Tsoory, 2022). Let’s zoom out for a moment and think about how this affects our brain. 

There are two parts of our brain that we’re focusing on when we think about emotional regulation. That is the Amygdala and the Prefrontal Cortex (PC). The Amygdala is the part of the brain that registers danger and is activated when we experience fear or anger. The PC plays a very important role in emotional regulation and how we process and respond to emotions. Research suggests that naming an emotion as it comes up disrupts the uncertainty coming from the Amygdala; decreasing the distress and establishing room to create distance between yourself and that emotion.

Why Slowing Down Matters:

Imagine you’re driving and you see a yellow light ahead. You instinctively hit the breaks to slow down, giving yourself time to assess the situation and decide whether to stop or keep going. If you didn’t slow down, you might rush through the intersection, risking a mistake or collision. In the same way, slowing down when your emotions arise gives you a chance to process what you’re feeling instead of reacting impulsively. Hitting the mental “brakes” allows you to observe your emotions, name them, and then decide how to respond. 

The Connection Between Emotion Naming and Mental Health:

The ability to identify and label your emotions is known as emotional granularity. In 2015, a clinical review of research indicated that in scenarios where distress is high intensity, those with the ability to identify and label their emotions were less likely to resort to maladaptive self-regulating strategies like binge drinking, aggression, and self-injury behaviours (Kashdan et al., 2015). This review also indicated that those with the ability to identify and label emotions are more likely to experience less severe symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Let’s take a look at practical exercises that can help you slow down and improve emotional awareness. 

Exercises to Slow Down and Name Emotions:

Mindfulness skills: S.T.O.P. “Stop” is a mindfulness practice that stands for; “stop, take a breath, observe, and proceed”. This tool allows you to take a breath and check in, assisting you to shift from autopilot to being present and intentional.

Journaling: Journaling reduces anxiety and improves the awareness and perception of events. This is because journaling allows us to understand the emotions we have experienced better, calming our amygdala as we do so. Here are 47 Journal Prompts that can help you explore and increase emotional awareness.

Expand emotional vocabulary: Developing a better vocabulary for expressing emotions and navigating emotional experiences can help you increase emotional awareness, intelligence, and regulation. Here is an Emotion Wheel to help you get started! 

Seeking Support

Identifying and navigating emotions is no easy feat. Sometimes, this can feel really overwhelming or lead to more emotional distress. If this is the case for you, it might be time to consider seeking support. Mental health professionals can help you find the tools and languaging that allow you to navigate emotional distress in a more impactful way. 

If you’re looking for support with depression, you can contact us, book an appointment, or schedule a free consultation.

References

Kashdan, T. B., Barrett, L. F., & McKnight, P. E. (2015). Unpacking emotion differentiation: Transforming unpleasant experience by perceiving distinctions in negativity. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24(1), 10–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721414550708

Levy-Gigi, E., & Shamay-Tsoory, S. (2022). Affect labeling: The role of timing and intensity. PloS one, 17(12), e0279303. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279303