Labeling feelings is the practice of putting words to your emotional experience. We can rehearse this during your hypnosis session.
How many times do you say, “I’m fine” when you aren’t fine?
What if you named what you were feeling instead? You do that by stating what you are experiencing. Examples are I’m tired, sad, disappointed, frustrated, hangry.
This might sound simple, but naming emotions activates a different part of the brain called the RVLPFC. Instead of feeling the emotion, your RVLPFC, which is located in the frontal lobe, gets activated by naming the emotion. This part of the brain is associated with higher-level cognitive functions, including language, thought, and decision-making.
Instead of being swept away by the storm of feelings (where you activated the amygdala which sends you into flight or fight), you step into the role of observer. This small shift helps create space between you and the emotion. This is one way to get your brain to work for you instead of against you.
Matthew Lieberman and his colleagues at UCLA did a study that supports labeling feelings. Naming feelings allows you to notice patterns and the who, what, when, where and how you get triggered starts to change.
Naming an emotion doesn’t make it vanish. Instead, it reduces the intensity. Here is an example of how this technique works:
During a family dinner, James feels his irritation rising as a relative interrupts him repeatedly. Normally, he might lash out or withdraw, but this time he silently labels the feeling, “I’m angry because I feel disrespected.” The act of naming clarifies what’s really going on. This is not random anger. He recognizes a boundary has been crossed. That realization gives him the chance to calmly say, “Please let me finish my thought,” rather than snapping.
When you name what you feel, you get clear. Then you can decide how to respond.
Labeling feelings can improve communication with others as we pause before responding. What would change if you could train yourself to pause, process, and then speak?
This takes some practice. When you are in hypnosis you can practice labeling feelings that get in the way of you living an emotionally satisfying life.
Donna Brown Houston Hypnotist can help you become better at labeling feelings. What if you could say what you really think in a way that doesn’t come across as angry or condescending?
I’m ready when you are ready.
Donna Brown is a Certified Hypnotist based in Houston with over a decade of experience helping clients create positive change through the power of the subconscious mind. She is a graduate of the National Guild of Hypnotists, Inc. and the National Association of Transpersonal Hypnotherapists. Certifications include Access Bars, Access Facelift, Access Certified Facilitator, Body Code, Emotion Code, and Belief Code Practitioner, Psych-K, and NLP.
