Emotions and mindful attention

Choose the situation that fits. Explore 28 practices and open the steps you want to try.

Name a feeling or a current need

Describe body and emotion separatelyYou want clearer words for an uncomfortable moment.
Put a feeling into wordsYou want to describe your current experience without having to solve it immediately.
Connect an emotion with what mattersAn interaction brought up a feeling you do not fully understand.
Describe mixed feelings without forcing a choiceYou have more than one feeling about the same person or event.
Separate a sensation, a feeling, and a needSeveral parts of an emotional moment feel mixed together.
Describe an experience in specific wordsA broad label such as 'awful' is hiding what you need to explain.
Describe a reaction without a brain labelYou want to explain an emotional reaction clearly.
Keep bodily observation and emotional interpretation distinctYou want to understand a moment without treating a sensation as a diagnosis.
Check in with what you needYou want a brief way to notice how things are going and decide whether to seek support.

Place attention on one ordinary detailYou want a brief pause from a crowded stream of thoughts.
Set up a task you can become interested inYou want time with an absorbing activity you enjoy.
Observe before interpretingYou want to notice what is happening before deciding what it means.
Participate in one chosen activityYou want to be more involved in an ordinary activity instead of evaluating yourself throughout it.
Notice what is happening around you nowYou want a brief pause to attend to your surroundings.

Choose an action while an emotion is strongYou have a strong feeling and want to avoid acting automatically.
Use a movement cue to pause an automatic actionYou notice an ordinary action beginning before you have decided whether to do it.
Pause before a regrettable everyday responseYou are uncomfortable and considering a quick response that may make the situation harder.
Check an urge before choosing a different actionAn emotion is urging an everyday action you are unsure about.
Pause to consider the consequences of a replyYou are about to respond quickly to an ordinary message.
Prepare a deliberate response to a recurring situationYou know an ordinary situation often prompts a reply you later want to change.

Let a difficult feeling be presentYou are judging yourself for having an emotion.
Include a feeling in your self-description without making it everythingA difficult feeling is dominating how you describe yourself.
Remove a judgment about having a feelingYou are adding 'I should not feel this' to an emotion.
Allow a feeling while choosing a small actionYou are waiting to feel completely ready before an ordinary action you want to take.
Update your response as a feeling changesYour emotional response is shifting during an ordinary situation.
Acknowledge your own experience accuratelyYou are dismissing your reaction before understanding it.

Acknowledge a fact you cannot change right nowYou are repeatedly arguing with a fact while still needing to respond to it.
Return from 'it should not be this way' to a next choiceYou keep returning to a fact you wish were different.