August 12, 2024
Improving emotional awareness is a reliable way of dealing better with potentially stressful situations. Noticing when you're starting to feel stressed gives you the opportunity to address the issue intentionally, rather than simply reacting. This improves control, which helps to reduce stress over time.
But once you've noticed you're feeling under pressure, it's valuable to be able to work out exactly what's going on. Putting specific names to how you're feeling is called emotional granularity, and it's associated with better mental and physical health. Here's why it works, and how to get better at it.
Why naming emotions reduces stress
When we're only able to describe how we're feeling and broad terms like "bad", "wound up" or "stressed", our sub-conscious brain wastes a lot of energy keeping our body primed for a wide range of possible actions. Do we need to escape from something? Fight it? Something else? Uncertainty is expensive in energy terms.
In contrast, when we're able to get granular with the descriptions, we're using language to bring the situation into the world of executive function, and narrowing the field of potential options for action.
If you realise you're not just stressed but specifically feeling afraid that you won't hit a deadline, for example, you have some much more concrete options for action: you could remind yourself that you've got a good plan and you've always delivered before, for example; or you could identify a real risk that you can raise now, and ask for help to address it. Moving to action reduces the toll that uncertainty takes on your body, and moving to constructive action addresses the source of stress itself.
How to improve at naming
Getting better at naming how you're feeling needn't wait until you're feeling "bad." It's a great skill to practise throughout the day, and can be a fun thing to share with friends and family.
When you notice a distinct feeling that comes with a particular situation, describe it and try coming up with a new word to capture the feeling. "Menu envy" is a good example: the feeling of wishing you'd ordered what your companion has just been served. Or "chiplessness", the feeling you get when you reach into a packet of chips and realise you've already eaten them all.
Having fun with the practice improves your day-to-day experience, and will stand you in good stead the next time something stressful arrives for you to deal with.
