How to reduce anxiety

Why talking about your feelings is good for you.

Researchers at the University of California asked people to give a series of impromptu speeches in front of an audience.
Which meant they felt like this 😱.

After the speeches half of the participants were asked to share their feelings:

"I feel ______."

The other half? They weren't asked to talk about their feelings.

Those that shared their feelings showed steep declines in racing hearts and felt calmer compared to the others - who didn't share their feelings and noticed no change.

Simply naming how we feel reduces panic in the amygdala, where we process fear and strong emotions.

"Affective labelling" - sharing how we feel - helps us identify the effect of experiences.

Tips for how to do this include:

1) Be prolific: The longer the description that you can come up with about how you feel the better. So, think quantity, here.

2) Get granular: Get really specific with the language that describes your feelings. And for here, think quality.

What are the benefits of doing this?

🎯 We reduce our feelings of anxiety
🎯 We make more thoughtful decisions
🎯 We plan ahead more successfully

So. Getting emotional and using our words to describe how we feel is a powerful tool. Good to know this for when you're next asked in front of a bunch of people to "just say a few words..." As you'll know what to do to calm yourself down afterwards.