Activities for Getting in Touch With Feelings

Understanding your emotions gives you the ability to understand yourself and relate to others. When you are in control of your feelings, you will have an easier time managing stress and problem solving. Emotional control gives you confidence and increases your ability to effectively communicate with others. Getting in touch with your emotions can be scary, but it will give you a great deal of insight into your behavior. As you realize what motivates you, it will be easier to make necessary changes.

Relaxation

• Relaxation, deep breathing and visualization can help you tap into your emotions and reduce stress, allowing you additional control of your emotions. Carve a 15- to 20-minute chunk of time each day. Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down, close your eyes and practice deep breathing to help your body to completely relax. Focus on the most intense emotion you felt during the day. Allow yourself to feel it in your body. Hold onto the emotion and pay attention to your thoughts. Visualize throwing negative thoughts into a fire or garbage. Dump bad memories into a pit. Replace them with what you would like to happen.

Journaling

• Free writing can help you get in touch with your feelings. Pick a set time each day; 10 to 20 minutes should be plenty of time. Write whatever comes to mind. Do your best to keep writing the entire time. Avoid editing or pausing too long to think about what you are going to write. The object is to write what's inside of you at that given moment. As you continue to journal, you can look back at previous journal entries to see how you have grown emotionally and gauge your emotional progress. Your journal will also give you incentive when things are at a low point.

Slower Pace

• Slow your life down and you will deepen your emotional awareness. If you are the type of person who is always on the go with a schedule jam-packed full of activities, play-dates, girl's nights and dinner parties, it's not surprising if you have difficulty getting in touch with your feelings. Pay attention to your body as you sit down and slowly eat your dinner. Savor each bite, smelling, tasting and enjoying the various sensations a delicious meal brings. Pay attention to nature; enjoy the sunrise and smell the spring air. These small changes can awaken the positive feelings within your soul, renewing and energizing you.

Therapy

• If you find it difficult to get in touch with your feelings on your own, a skilled therapist may be able to help. One type of therapy to consider is psychodynamic therapy, which assists the patient in bringing her true feelings to the surface, experiencing them and understanding them. Psychodynamic therapy assumes your defenses are doing you more harm than good. Once you become aware of the feelings in your unconscious, your pain will lessen.