The importance of knowing how to identify emotions
The emotions we normally know are anger, sadness, joy and fear; However, although these are of utmost importance, they often fail to describe what we are feeling and do not allow us to name and understand what is happening to us.
Due to the above It is very common for us to confuse some emotions with others and that is why we fail to understand what is really happening to us. For example, a person may be feeling nostalgic and think it is simply sadness or a person may be feeling betrayed and attribute it to anger.
Not being clear about what we feel It contributes to negative emotions intensifying and we cannot give them an outlet, since our relationships are conflictive. That is why it is important to improve our mental health to expand our emotional vocabulary.
The keys to emotional vocabulary
Strengthening our emotional vocabulary is a key piece so that we can maintain good interpersonal relationships, since It involves being assertive, knowing how to express ourselves and having empathy which helps create bridges that are based on respect and communication.
That is why being clear about what we feel is one of the most essential skills for our emotional health.
Many times, when we talk about acquiring this competence, we focus on early childhood education since the need for children to have emotional intelligence and recognize what they feel has been seen over time, however many adults today did not have those educational opportunities and that is why we must encourage it regardless. the age we are.
But how can we expand that vocabulary? And more importantly, how can I identify what I’m truly feeling?
Connecting with our emotions
For the first question It is important to understand that there are endless emotions and that they are all valid to start expanding your vocabulary the next time you ask yourself how you feel, look for different words to describe what is happening to you, play with different feelings and you will see that when you find the right word and manage to name it, you will feel great relief.
This is achieved through awareness, in which we must connect with our emotional and bodily state, to be able to understand that we are feeling something and recognize that our body asks us to credit it.
On the other hand also It is extremely important to know how to recognize their needs in others and to be able to understand what they are feeling this is achieved when we are receptive and empathetic.
Another of the most important keys to expressing what we feel is use so-called “emotional verbs”, since these lead us to have openness and encourage expression. For example, I want, I feel, it excites me, it makes me uncomfortable… among many others that we can use and learn.
Regarding the second question, first of all it is important to identify your emotion and allow yourself to feel, since the habit of avoiding or denying emotions is something that can be frequently observed and that hinders self-knowledge, therefore The first step is to give yourself unconditional permission to feel
As a second step, we must ask ourselves some questions that help us understand what is happening to us. How do I feel this emotion? Where do I feel it? What triggered it? What causes it to decrease? To what extent is it for me? By asking this series of questions and reflections we can find the root of the emotion and understand what we are feeling.
Lastly, we recommend write or talk about what you are feeling ; It can be in a journal or with a friend, listening out loud or rereading your thoughts will help you have even more clarity about what is happening to you and therefore you will have greater control of your emotions.
We invite you to try it, expand your vocabulary and ask yourself what you are really feeling, you will see that in a short time your vocabulary will become richer and it will become increasingly easier to express what you feel, know yourself and understand yourself.
