I like to consider myself emotionally intelligent. I’ve been in and out of counseling since I was in second grade. Needless to say – I’ve had a fair share of practice communicating and analyzing my feelings.
So imagine my dismay when I still find myself totally clueless half the time when I feel something come up.
Often, we blanket statement things as anxiety. According to Oxford, it’s a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. Many of us know it as part of our daily lives.
I’ve found that even though anxiety comes and goes (and comes back… again) it isn’t the full picture.
And that’s where the feelings wheel comes in.
At first glance, this rainbow feelings wheel makes you feel like a kindergartener ready for their half day of class. But hear me out.
If we knew what feelings felt like in our body and could identify them more clearly, maybe the blanket statement of anxiety wouldn’t feel so overwhelming.
Don’t get me wrong – I know that there are anxiety disorders and chemicals in the brain that change and fluctuate. So I am not here to try to tell anyone to stop doing what they’re already doing. I am suggesting that this may enhance our self-awareness as individuals which could allow for us to know our body and mind better. Because let’s face it – they’re called feelings for a reason. You feel them physically in the body.
I’ve decided to do an experiment. If I purposely try to allow a feeling to come up, can I sit with what it needs to tell me? Can it help my overall well-being and sense of self?
I’ve been contemplating this for a while and have found reason after reason to postpone. And a lot of those reasons I’d categorize as “anxiety” 🙂
I’m going to avoid putting a ton of parameters on this project. I am simply going to choose a word each day and lean into it. I’m going to be as open and honest as I can on here and at the end of this experiment, I’ll let you know how it goes.
See you tomorrow! Hope it’s a positive emotion 😉
The Feelings Wheel was created by Dr. Gloria Willcox. Here’s the one used by the Calm App.