Naming Your Emotions
Putting accurate words to feelings can lower how strong they feel. This handout explains the idea of name it to tame it and gives you an emotion-word list, from basic feelings out to more precise ones, to help you say what is going on inside.
Written by Tarun Vermani, Trainee Clinical Psychologist Last reviewed
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Naming Your Emotions
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Why naming feelings helps
When a feeling has no name it can feel huge and confusing. Putting it into words helps your thinking brain get involved, which can take some of the heat out of it. Researchers call this affect labelling, and it is sometimes summed up as name it to tame it. You are not trying to get rid of the feeling, just to understand it more clearly.
Try to be precise
Just saying bad or stressed is a start, but more exact words tell you more. There is a difference between feeling let down, lonely, and ashamed, even though all three can feel low. The closer the word fits, the more it can help you understand what you need. The list below moves from basic feelings out to more precise ones.
Words for sad
Sadness comes in many shades. See if a more exact word fits better than just sad.
Words for angry
Anger ranges from mild to strong. A precise word can point to what feels unfair or crossed.
Words for scared
Fear and worry have many forms, from a small flutter to real dread.
Words for happy
Good feelings are worth naming too, so you can notice and grow them.
Words for disgusted or surprised
Two more basic feelings that are easy to overlook.
Which feels strongest right now?
Pick the basic family that feels biggest for you at this moment. You can pick more than one.
Put words to what you are feeling now
Use the lists above to help. Try to name the feeling as exactly as you can, and add anything about what it is connected to.
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When to use ‘Naming Your Emotions’
‘Naming Your Emotions’ is an interactive cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) worksheet. As a core CBT skill it is used right across the model, with presentations including depression, anxiety, OCD, trauma and low self-esteem, rather than being tied to a single diagnosis.
It is designed to be used within therapy rather than as a standalone self-help tool: a therapist introduces it, works through it collaboratively, and helps make sense of what it surfaces. You can preview the full worksheet above, then assign it digitally for clients to complete between sessions on any device — or download it as a print-ready PDF.
How it works
Most people work through it in around 8 minutes. It moves through six short steps:
- Why naming feelings helps — When a feeling has no name it can feel huge and confusing. Putting it into words helps your thinking brain get involved, which can take…
- Try to be precise — Just saying bad or stressed is a start, but more exact words tell you more. There is a difference between feeling let down, lonely, and…
- Words for sad — Sadness comes in many shades. See if a more exact word fits better than just sad.
- Words for angry — Anger ranges from mild to strong. A precise word can point to what feels unfair or crossed.
- Words for scared — Fear and worry have many forms, from a small flutter to real dread.
- Words for happy — Good feelings are worth naming too, so you can notice and grow them.
Completed on the Formulate platform, your client's answers are saved automatically and shared straight back to you, so you can review them before the next session rather than waiting for a paper copy to come back.
The CBT approach behind it
In common with other CBT methods, ‘Naming Your Emotions’ works by noticing the links between situations, thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and behaviour — and finding practical ways to change unhelpful patterns. The aim is not positive thinking but a clearer, shared understanding of what keeps a difficulty going — and practical, testable ways to change it.
Because it is a CBT tool it stays focused on the here-and-now links between thoughts, feelings, the body and behaviour, and it works best as one part of a wider course of therapy rather than as advice or a diagnosis.
Evidence & sources
This worksheet is grounded in established cognitive behavioural therapy theory and practice. Key sources include:
- Lieberman, M.D., Eisenberger, N.I., Crockett, M.J., Tom, S.M., Pfeifer, J.H., & Way, B.M. (2007). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychological Science, 18(5), 421-428.
- Ekman, P. (1992). An argument for basic emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 6(3-4), 169-200.
For use alongside professional support
Formulate provides educational CBT resources for use with a qualified therapist. They are not a substitute for professional assessment, diagnosis, or crisis care.
If you need urgent help now:
- Emergency services: 999 — if you or someone else is in immediate danger
- Samaritans: 116 123 — free, day or night, 365 days a year
- SANEline: 0800 689 5555 — 4:30pm–10:30pm, every day
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