Emotions

States of Mind Reasonable Mind (Left Brain) Emotional Mind (Right Brain) Wise Mind Using both reason (fact) and emotion. Facts Information Other people’s opinions Your own emotions and reactions.

Emotions Emotions are neither good or bad, right or wrong. Feelings just ARE. They exist. There is a difference between having an emotion and doing something or acting on the emotion. Emotions don't last forever. No matter what you're feeling, eventually, it will lift and another emotion will take it's place. When a strong emotion comes, you do not have to act on your feeling. All you need to do is recognize the emotion and feel it. Emotions are not facts.

Emotions have 3 "jobs". 1. Communication to you and to others. Emotions are communicated most powerfully by our faces, our voice tone and volume, our posture, and our gestures. Often other people can tell what we are feeling, even if we try to hide it.

2.Motivation or self-protection. Emotions tell us to "ACT NOW!" or "STAY FOCUSED". They give us motivation to change a situation. Emotions save us time in important situations. We don't have to think everything through (You don't want to spend time thinking about running away from a snapping, growling dog!) Strong emotions help us overcome obstacles in our mind and in the environment. (Giving a speech in front a group of people or being able to break the car window when trapped in a car accident.)

3.Validation. Emotions can give us information about a situation- they can be your "gut instinct". (But remember emotions are not facts. That 's when you must use your logical mind to determine the healthy response.)

There are 8 core emotions. You are born with these emotions wired into your brain. That wiring causes your body to react in certain ways and for you to have certain urges when the emotion arises. 8 core emotions: Anger Sorrow Joy Fear Disgust Guilt Interest Surprise

All other emotions are made up by combining these basic 8 emotions. Sometimes we have secondary emotions, an emotional reaction to an emotion. Examples of secondary emotions: Feeling guilty when you get angry. Feeling angry when someone hurts your feelings (sorrow). Feeling anxious when receiving an award.

Secondary emotions are not wired into our bodies and brains, but are learned from our families, our culture, and others. Example: You see your mom/dad become angry when another family member hurts their feelings, so you learn that if someone hurts your feelings, you should be angry.

Another example would be seeing your friends laugh and jump up and down when they receive a gift. You learn that when you receive a gift you should laugh and jump up and down. When you have a secondary emotion, the key is to figure out what the core emotion is, so that you can demonstrate healthy skills to feel and then relieve your body of the emotion.

Naming Emotions Worksheet

How Emotions Feel In your body when you experience an emotion, chemical changes happen in your brain. These chemicals change how your body feels. (You sense an emotion.) You show these changes (or your emotions) in your face, posture, and gestures (body language).

How Emotions Feel Worksheet

Activities Breathing Notice how your body feels

Emotions

Our Unique Emotional Responses Research shows us that the 8 core emotions cause a common reaction in all human beings! All human beings are the same in the way they feel and show these core emotions. However, every person is also unique. When you feel an emotion like anger, everyone feels tension in part of their body. But where you feel the most tension and exactly how you express anger is unique to you. (Example: Some people feel anger in their chest, others in their stomachs.)

Urges to do something are a natural part of having any emotion. For example, if you are bored, you may restlessly seek out something to interest you (perhaps annoying your sibling). Your urges may be different than another person's urges when they experience the same emotion. (For example, one person may want to avoid others when he/she is angry and another person may want to yell someone when they are angry.) In this unit, we will be emotions detectives, exploring how you feel in your body when you have an emotion, what your body tells others when you feel an emotion, what your urges are when strong emotions happen, and how to use healthy skills when experiencing emotions.

What’s the Difference Worksheet Observing and Describing Emotions Worksheet

STRONG Healthy habits are an important part of managing emotions. Keeping yourself healthy means you have more mental strength to manage your emotions. Ssleep as much as you need- not too much, not too little. Ttake care of yourself. When you are sick, go to the doctor, rest. Rresist drugs and alcohol. Oonce a day do something you enjoy. Nnutrition- eat a variety of foods everyday. Gget exercise. Try to do 20 min. of exercise a day.

STRONG Goals Worksheet

Activities Breathing Notice how your body feels

Emotions

Pleasant events list Some emotions that we feel are painful or uncomfortable (anger, sorrow, fear, guilt). After identifying and feeling an unpleasant emotion, we may need to help our body and mind to "heal" from that emotion by doing a pleasant activity.

Meditating Talking with a friend Reading a magazine Watching TV Sitting/Lying in the sun Drawing Listening to others Playing an instrument Looking outside Watching a movie Repairing something Building something Taking care of plants Thinking “I’m a good person.” Writing a letter Cooking Sleeping Daydreaming Watching sports Writing in a journal Reading a letter. Reading a book Eat lunch with a friend Solving puzzles Looking at/sharing photos Taking a warm bath/shower Playing a board game/card game Laughing out loud Painting Singing Watching the birds Gardening Doodling Going for a walk Making a gift for someone Listening to music Acting Dancing

Emotions Toolbox Create an emotions toolbox that has activities that help relieve an unpleasant mood. Think of "tools" that can calm each of your senses. You can put each of these “tools” in a box or certain place in your house so when you are feeling an unpleasant emotion, you can go to your “toolbox”.

Example: Touch = silly putty knitting Hear = playlist on your IPOD sheet music for an instrument you play Sight =book movie puzzle drawing/art supplies journal Taste/Smell =mints fun flavored gum scented candle cookie cutters to bake cookies