Emotion Basics
Name 10 different emotions.
(named 10)
What are the six steps of the emotion wave?
1. Event
2. Thought
3. Feeling
4. Action Urge
5. Action
6. After Effects
What does it mean to check the facts?
Checking the facts means asking yourself if your emotional reaction fits the facts of the situation you're in, or if there are other possible interpretations of the situation that warrant a different or less intense emotional reaction.
Try to do something pleasant every day! Be mindful of positive experiences (focus on being in that positive moment!)
How does your physical well-being impact your emotional well-being?
It has a huge impact! If you don't do a good job of taking care of your health, you might get sick and feel miserable. Not sleeping/ eating enough can make you grumpy and more easily irritated.
Each team member choose an emotion and make the facial expression that would go with that emotion. The team must guess each member's emotion based on their expression.
(correct guesses)
What does it mean to be mindful of your emotions?
What are two different ways to interpret the following situation, that would cause two different emotional reactions:
Your parent/guardian cancels a visit with you at the last minute.
Example interpretations:
- My parent/guardian doesn't care about me/ doesn't want to see me. (sad/ angry)
- Something important must have come up. (understanding/ anxious)
What can you do to accumulate positive emotions in the long term?
Figure out what's important to you and build a life that prioritizes those values.
How is exercise good for your mental health?
Being active is the opposite action for depression, so it can help with depressive symptoms! Exercise releases endorphins that help your mood. Exercise can help you feel like you accomplished something, so can add to building mastery.
Why are emotions important?
Emotions motivate behavior and communicate important information to ourselves and others. Emotions can help us overcome obstacles. Emotions can be like signals or alarms about something that is happening.
What is the emotion fear usually trying to tell you? What action urges usually go with fear?
Fear is usually trying to warn us of some danger, so we can prepare to run away, hide, and avoid the danger.
What type of situation should you use opposite action for? And what type of situation should you use problem-solving for?
Use opposite action when your emotional reaction does NOT fit the facts, or when acting on your emotional urge is NOT going to be effective.
Use problem-solving when your emotional reaction does fit the facts.
What does it mean to build mastery?
To do things that make you feel accomplished and successful, and challenge yourself to get even better at the things you're good at.
Why should you avoid using substances that are not prescribed to you?
Substances change your brain chemistry and can impact your mood. It's important for a doctor to help monitor any substances you might be using, to help you stay safe and healthy. Using substances to self-medicate is not a good long-term solution for most problems. Substances can have long-term effects on your developing brain.
When you hold onto an emotion instead of letting it come and go naturally, what happens?
It lasts longer and turns into a mood
How does the way you think about a situation impact the way you feel and act in that situation?
There are multiple ways of interpreting every situation. Some interpretations lead to more helpful feelings and actions than others.
What would be the opposite action for feeling depressed and having the urge to stay in bed all day?
Getting out of bed, getting dressed, getting active. Be around family/friends, do a fun activity.
I know that I get overwhelmed and procrastinate every time I have a big project to do. How can I cope ahead for future situations like this? (Walk us through the steps for coping ahead)
1. big projects trigger procrastination
2. feeling overwhelmed makes me want to avoid the situation instead of using skills that could help.
3. do something to decrease the feeling of being overwhelmed. maybe break down the project into smaller steps that are less overwhelming.
4. Rehearse!
What can you do to increase your ability to get restful sleep every night?
Keep a consistent sleep schedule, even on weekends.
When it's time for bed, make sure your room is dark, quiet, comfortable, and cool.
Try to avoid spending time in your bed during the day.
Try not to catastrophize when you can't sleep.
Try relaxing mindfulness exercises before bed.
Name five different ways you can tell if someone is feeling anxious.
Examples:
- may be fidgeting/ restless
- may be irritable
- may be avoiding anxiety-provoking situation
- may seem distracted
- may appear tense
Demonstrate how the emotion wave process works using your own example situation.
Example includes all wave components:
event, thought, feeling, action urge, action, after effects
What are the steps for problem solving? Walk us through an example.
1. describe the problem
2. state your goal
3. list possible solutions
4. use pros/cons to decide what solution to try
Name a value that is important to you, and describe what you can do to make that value more of a priority in your life.
e.g. Being close with family
Call my siblings more often than I currently do. Try to visit them more. Consider living closer to family in the future.
What should you do when you're having extremely distressing emotions, and you aren't able to think through or use complicated skills?
revert back to using distress tolerance skills, like DISTRACT and self-soothing, until your distress is lower and you are able to think through more complicated skills.