Bad, Mad, Sad

Are you feeling bad, mad, or sad?

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿, and just as important is knowing what you are feeling and being able to articulate them.

Not knowing is called alexithymia, which means an inability to describe our own emotions. It can also be associated with difficulty with identifying different types of emotions.

Critically not understanding or being able to describe our own emotions has far-reaching effects. With the appropriate language we can understand and share what we are experiencing. Labelling an emotional experience results in ‘greater emotional regulation and psychological wellbeing’. Without this capacity we may not even know how to make sense of an experience for ourselves. If we can’t understand and share our experience, then how can we ask for help, or get what we need?