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Emotions - Name it to tame it

Difficult emotions can be tough for anyone to deal with.

In fact …

Emotions can be like wild beasts ;-)

Sometimes they are right in your face, growling, and sometimes they hide, ready to pounce.

But … When we notice that we are, in fact, experiencing emotions, we can learn to focus, calm down, and reflect before we take action.

When feeling angry, sad, scared, excited, and even bored, don’t just feel it.

Name it!

Naming the emotion is often enough to help you think more clearly.

Once the emotion is called out, we can zoom in to the physical to see how and where that feeling shows up in our bodies.

Before becoming outraged, for example, you feel tension in your body, your heart rate increases, and you either stop breathing or experience shallow breaths.

You probably feel like you’re about to explode. This goes for all intense emotions.

As we get better at detecting our feelings, we can more quickly notice when they’re present (or on the way) and decide how we want to respond versus just reacting without much thought.

Example:

I notice that I’m feeling anxious, so, in my mind, I say “anxious.”

Then I pay attention to my body and realize the discomfort in my stomach, the tightness in my chest, tension in my shoulders, and the whole heavy-headed feeling.

This is often enough to help me accept whatever is going on inside of me, and I can move on to do something to get a fresh perspective.

I could, for example, decide to stop and breathe mindfully for a minute.

In this one act, you and your child can break away from a stressful situation, even for a moment.

Mindfulness for Kids – Emotional Regulation – Name it to tame it

Purpose: Noticing and understanding emotions, Emotional regulation & intelligence

Best for: Ages 7+, one-on-one

What you need: Nothing

The way you can help your kid is to guide them through this simple activity when you notice them struggling.

1. Simply ask them to pause for a while and see if they can name the emotion they are experiencing.

Ask them how they feel—what it feels like in their body. Ask them what emotion that could be.

2. Then continue to discuss where it could lead if they weren’t aware of the emotion building up.

How being nervous can lead to stress building up, and how that could result in anger, for example.

It can be this simple to get in touch with your emotions and learn to detect them before they escalate beyond your control :)

I hope you’ll find this simple activity helpful!

https://blissfulkids.com/mindfulness-for-kids-emotional-regulation-name-it-to-tame-it/