Name it to tame it, the power of knowing how you’re feeling

Here's a quiz to make you a master of identifying feelings 💪 🧠:

The last time you felt angry, it felt most like you were:

, we're so sorry that you felt abused!!! Emotional & physical abuse are very scary. If you need help right away, click here for crisistextline.org's info & help for abuse or we will put links with some ideas on coping with abuse after this quiz is over.

, we're so sorry that you felt attacked!!! We read that there are tips like repeating back the attack if it's in words from a family member. We put links under the mental health resources for more info, or if you need help right away, click here for crisistextline.org

, we're so sorry that you felt scared!!! It's very powerful that you could understand that you were scared under your anger!  We put some tips/articles after this quiz to help cope with feeling scared and angry. But, if you need help right away, click here for crisistextline.org

, we're so sorry that you felt ignored!!! Feeling invisible is enraging as we all have the right and need to be seen & validated.   We put some coping tips/articles after this quiz. But, if you need help right away, click here for crisistextline.org

Great work, . Now, we'll try to identify common 'mind-traps' that you may fall into. Imagine you're terrified of dogs. 💥

You get to your friend's house and there's a dog barking at you.

, like so many other feeling people, you may be overly prone to MIND-READING which can make you unnecessarily anxious.  Let's balance it out with a 1 week #mindhack challenge:

1. See if you can spot when you're assuming what other people (or pets) are thinking - hint, it's probably going to be negative thoughts. 
2. Ask what evidence you have that proves the thought (assumption), and for one minute, imagine a totally different scenario-- for instance, the dog wants to make me feel loved.
3. Ask other people what they're thinking even if you think you know...ask the dog-owner, "Is your dog going to bite me?"

, your mind is alive with great drama! 🎭It's so hard to feel the worse case scenario...the upside is you probably feel great joy and passion in life.  But, let's get the catastrophic horrors under control!  Try this #mindhack one week:

1. Don't exaggerate. Think specific thoughts which dial down the threat like, "the dog is my friend's dog." If you start panicking, ask general questions like "Has this dog bit anyone?
2. Get more sleep. Lack of sleep makes us hypersensitive to threat.
3. Try and laugh at your worst-case scenarios by comparing them to likely scenarios like "is this dog going eat my face off or is it going to bark and then go pee on a bush?"

, be VERY proud of yourself for admitting you tend to blame others!!! Awareness of this is very powerful and makes it easier to change for healtheir situations. For one week try the following #mindhack:

1. Replace blame with understanding. Empathy is like magic.
2. Ask yourself why you're blaming others - this is super hard, but you seem to be on your way already!
3. Let go of shame and allow yourself to accept blame with grace. It may be painful, but you will grow stronger.
   
   

, thinking in rigid rules is very hard to do - so congrats on your great mind rule-making/following ability. But, let's help your brain relax because it can get depressed, tired, insecure from rigid thinking. Let's let it sit comfortably in fuzzy unclear spaces. So, here's #mindhack to try for one week:

1. Try to find the gray in 1 thing daily. Feels weird, but force yourself to say something like 'some dogs are evil, but some dogs are sweet and have small teeth'
2. Try listing options. If black and white thinking has you locked into only two outcomes or possibilities, say as many other options as you can imagine. Dogs like licking. Some dogs were abused as puppies. Some dogs are guide dogs....
3. Find out what other people think. Ask & listen.

Let's end this quiz by asking you a positive question designed to shift your mind towards more positivity. Think of the last time you felt proud. You felt most like you were proud of being:

, your INTELLIGENCE💡 is so needed in this world! You have a mind busy working on solutions and positive thoughts  May the forces help you to continue.

, you KIND💎 one!  This indicates a great capacity to bring powerful positive healing to your community! Please take time to energize yourself with self-care and analyze your feelings for more control.

, hurray! The world needs talented people. Your talents help others as well as you. May the force help you continue to analyze your feelings for more control. 

, you brave STRONG 💪 one! Thank you for taking care of things. You are a rare gift to the world. May you remember to take care of your warrior self with extra self-care and analyze your feelings so you can stay strong.

💯 Throughout the day, try to think about your positive feelings. See how long you can feel them and understand all the parts to them 🙂