Name the feeling in thirty seconds
Let's try something right now. It takes about thirty seconds. Breathe in. And slowly out. Think of one moment from today. Now find a word for how it felt. Not just bad, or fine. Is it closer to angry, sad, scared, or ashamed? Then go narrower. Irritated? Lonely? Embarrassed? Say that one word out loud. In a 2007 study, when people put a feeling into a word, the part of the brain that reacts to threats responded less.