Happiness. It is the ultimate attainable goal. Not only for ourselves, but for the people we love. To pursue happiness and share with our family and friends all nuggets of wisdom we discover our path is the goal here at GoBe. It’s the reason we feel so compelled to invite you to download the In Love While Parenting App, so you can also learn about “happiness chemicals” and the science backed evidence that shows how hard to deal with emotions can be less controlling of our behavior simply by specifically naming our emotions. 

Read more below to recap what we have learned ourselves. In Love While Parenting, Part 2!

What emotion am I feeling? ... Give it a name! 

Have you ever seen a small child exhibit big behaviors because of an emotion that has overtaken them, seemingly clouding their ability to think and act rationally? I’m going to go out on a limb and say the answer to that question is probably a resounding ‘YES’. It’s generally hard to be a bystander when the tantrum is being performed… and an academy award worthy performance many of them are. Through the art of naming helping themspecifically identify their emotions, you can help empower them with the ability to act in a more rational and productive way. 

Why is it important to name our emotions? By naming our emotions it helps us avoid high levels of cortisol and increases oxytocin levels. How is this possible, we may wonder? Cortisol and oxytocin are chemicals released as a result of emotions. By understanding which emotions  we are feeling, it allows our logical brain to organize our feelings in a productive way for us to be more capable of working through these emotions. Instead of just sitting in the chaos of our emotions and chemicals, it organizes it in a way that we can actually do something about it. It’s understandable why it’s such a common practice in therapy. 

How should we name our emotions? As specifically as possible. Emotions that are given too broad of names (good, bad, happy, sad) usually have underlying emotions tied to them. The suggested practice is to name 3 emotions to help get past that broad surface emotion.

How do I become good at naming emotions?

Practice. The more we do it, the better we will become at it. Seems like a novel idea, doesn’t it?  

Click here to download a free printable worksheet with a readily available list of emotions that can help you understand your own emotions and the emotions of your loved ones.