How Am I Feeling Right Now?: A Mindfulness Journal for Exploring My Emotions

Books, Spruce

ISBN 10: 1632174693 ISBN 13: 9781632174697

Publisher: Spruce Books, 2023

Synopsis

"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.

About this title

About the Author

The editors of Spruce Books are longtime students of mindfulness and emotional well-being who are committed to making beautiful and practical books that help readers to express themselves more authentically, develop greater awareness of their emotional landscapes, and live their days mindfully and joyfully. Grow deep roots with Spruce Books.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Being able to recognize and name your feelings is an essential skill for learning how to practice mindfulness.
 
There is a lot of talk about mindfulness as an important aspect of mental health, but what exactly is it? Mindfulness is the ability to notice what you are feeling in any given moment, and to be aware of your feelings without judging, changing, or suppressing them.
 
The first part, noticing what you are feeling in the moment, is trickier than it may seem, because many of us have difficulty identifying what we are feeling. One reason for this is that it’s not always easy to find the right words. When asked “How are you feeling right now?” we may struggle for something to say—indeed, our main feeling might be that we are literally at a loss for words. In that case, we may resort to a vague response like “I’m fine” or “Everything’s OK.” Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by the complexity of our feelings, and instead of trying to say what we are feeling, we go with an easier option and describe what we are doing, such as “Oh, I’m super busy.” Other times we might avoid trying to sort through all the emotions and choose instead to report on our physical state, for example, “I’m sleepy.”
 
It is easier to tap into what we are feeling and express it if we have the words available—our own vocabulary of feelings. Words, after all, are essential tools for recognizing and describing what we feel.
 
The second part, being aware of your feelings without judging, changing, or suppressing them, is also challenging for most people. Not all feelings are easy to deal with; sometimes they are confusing, surprising, distressing, intense, or otherwise difficult. Learning to accurately describe those feelings is the first step toward being able to just coexist with them. Fortunately, it gets easier the more you do it.
 
This guided journal is designed to help you with both aspects of mindfulness. It has two main features—a list of hundreds of words to help you describe your feelings, and a set of guided prompts to help you examine, explore, get used to, understand, and accept those feelings.

Edition details

• Publisher: Spruce Books
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1632174693
• ISBN 13: 9781632174697
• Binding: Diary
• Number of pages: 176