How Am I Feeling Right Now?

"Name it and tame it" with this guided journal designed to help you identify your emotions--a simple yet powerful tool for mindful living.One of the most important aspects of mindfulness is being able to describe-and put a name to-what you are feeling right now. Studies show that if you can notice and name your feelings, you will be calmer, less stressed, and happier. Describing how you are feeling might seem like an easy thing to do, but in fact, many of us have trouble finding the words to describe how we are feeling, and resort instead to vague labels like "fine," "okay," or "meh." Some people might have seen a "feelings wheel," which lists the major categories, such as anger, disgust, fear, happiness, and sadness, but those are very broad and do not capture the specificity of the feelings that most of us experience every day. This unique journal solves the problem by providing a comprehensive and easy-to-use list of more than 800 feelings, emotions, sensations to help you figure out exactly what you are feeling at any moment. Since feelings often are first felt in the body, you can begin with the list of physical sensations or move right into the list feelings, which range from simple to subtle to complicated. Once you have chosen the words to describe your feelings, turn to the thoughtful prompts that invite you to explore why you may be feeling a certain way, and write it all down. The intensity of a feeling, the duration of a feeling, the context in which the feeling came about--prompts for each of these factors help us understand why we feel something and give us the emotional awareness to be able to cope with these feelings. The result of noticing, naming, and understanding? A calmer, more mindful state of being.