Feelings into words

[LucyLou]

Feel a bit rubbish after the session this morning. It's always been so hard for me to put feelings into words and tell therapist how I'm really feeling and that's how its been today. Why is it so difficult to put into words and how do i get passed that. She said she is going to send a feelings wheel over to me, to see if that would help. I just feel sad

 

[Sideways]

It's always been so hard for me to put feelings into words

Do you have other ways, avoiding words? Could you draw it, for example (sometimes, for me, just picking a particular coloured marker and making lines on a page in that colour could give a lot of insight)? Or pick a song that expresses it? Some people describe how it feels in their body (like, there’s heaviness on my shoulders, a knot in my stomach, or energy buzzing in my chest).

Longer term? I found the feelings wheel (or wheel of emotions) extremely helpful for learning how to label my feelings. It took practice, but it’s a skill you can learn, and sometimes having options in front of you to choose from makes it easier.

Your final line - I am sad - was perfect. It actually doesn’t need to be any more than that.