Mental Health Awareness Month: Learning to Check In with Emotions
Photo by Marques Jackson Photography.
By Marnie Kunz
It’s Mental Health Awareness Month and a great time to learn how to identify and check in with our emotions. By learning how to do this simple self-care practice, you will be amazed at the difference it makes in how you feel. After trying this, I was blown away by the wide range of emotions I didn’t realize existed. As someone who grapples with anxiety, I found a sense of relief after identifying my emotions.bogged down by unexpressed emotions until I tried this. Meditation has also been a big help for me during this process and I am still learning every day.
Learning About Emotions for Mental Health Awareness Month
I first learned about identifying emotions recently. As someone who has struggled with anxiety, emotions have often been something I’ve tried to avoid, ignore, push away, or bottle up when they were not convenient for others. In a world where we often feel pressured to only express a few “positive” emotions — happy, #grateful, #blessed — other emotions can feel overwhelming, scary, and even lead to panic. Learning how to identify your emotions will help you become more self-aware and more resilient. You’ll also be better able to handle your emotional needs and take care of yourself. And you may be able to identify certain emotions that trigger hamful behavior. What better time to start than May, Mental Health Awareness Month?
Once you learn to identify your emotions, accepting them in all their complex glory will help improve your mental health. Ignoring emotions can lead to more serious problems such as panic attacks, depression, and despair. People who learn to accept their unpleasant thoughts and moods without judgment may be less affected by everyday problems than people who avoid or judge their emotions, according to a study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Likewise, taking time to recognize and appreciate positive emotions will give you a greater sense of gratitude and contentment in your life. So identifying your emotions — whatever they may be — is a great step toward improving your mental health.
How to Identify Your Emotions
Here’s how to identify your emotions:
Do a self-check. Stop and think about how you are feeling right now. Do you feel sadness or happiness or disappointment? Be as specific as you can as you identify your emotions.
Use the emotions wheel to pinpoint all the emotions you feel. You will be surprised, looking at the wheel, to see so many emotions. Many of us are not aware we feel more than the basic emotions of sadness, anger, joy, love, fear, and surprise, but the wheel will help direct you to more specific emotions under each broad category. The wheel also helps to get away from the good/bad thinking that some emotions are bad and others are good.
Record your emotions. Make a note in a journal, on your phone’s note app, or try a well-being app to record your feelings (I use the Calm app, where you can set a Daily Reminder for a Self-Check. This will help you track your moods and emotions over time and identify when you are in a slump or may need help coping with difficult feelings.)
Check in with yourself regularly, at least once each day. Try to check in with yourself around the same time every day so you will be able to see trends in how you are feeling and identify when you are experiencing a lot of difficult emotions, such as dread, worry, rage, etc.
Practice self-care. Once you know how you are feeling, ask yourself what is one thing you can do to either appreciate the moment (in the case of happy emotions) or to help yourself feel better if you are feeling a difficult emotion. Check out our 51 Self-Care Sunday Ideas if you need inspiration on some self-care measures to try.
Seek help if you need it. If you feel overwhelmed or overcome by too many difficult emotions, reach out for help. You can find a local or virtual therapist using the Psychology Today therapy directory or seek virtual counseling through sites like BetterHelp.
Managing Your Emotions
Once you learn to identify your emotions, you may be wondering now what? Instead of pushing them down or trying to avoid them, allow yourself to feel. Try just checking in and observing them. Meditation can be especially helpful to identify your emotions and improve your self-awareness.
I have found the free Healthy Minds meditation app especially helpful for learning to assess my mental state and observe emotions. The app includes different sections and the Foundations and Awareness segments are especially insightful for learning to be more self-aware.
Once you identify your emotions, you can also learn to regulate your response to them. If you have some difficult emotions that cause you to act destructively toward yourself or others, being aware of when these emotions surface will help you to control your actions. Try taking a few deep breaths and give yourself some space when you feel intensely.
If you feel overwhelmed by your emotions, going for a run or doing a workout can help improve your mood. Try writing, painting, creating art, singing, or cooking. Creative outlets can be so helpful for expressing emotions. Therapy may also be a great tool to help with learning new responses to unwanted emotions and finding ways to change behaviors as well.
Have you tried the check-in with your emotions with the emotions wheel? Let me know how it goes in the comments. Happy Mental Health Awareness Month, and take care of yourself.💜
Related Posts: Best Meditation Apps for Beginners, How to Avoid the Toxic Positivity Trap
Marnie Kunz is a NASM-certified trainer and USATF- and RRCA-certified running coach and the creator of Runstreet Art Runs, which bring together communities through running and street art. She is a Brooklyn resident, running coach, Akita mom, and writer. She enjoys traveling, art, and eating messily. You can follow her running and events at @Runstreet Instagram.
