The following core skills are essential for emotional wellbeing:
- the ability to recognize your own emotions and emotional states, as well as the emotions of others
- the ability to influence emotional states (your own and those of others);
- the ability to experience emotions in a constructive way.
If you think this list of skills sounds too simple, try starting by naming as many emotions as you can.
How many emotions were you able to name? It’s great if you can recall at least 10 basic emotions, such as curiosity, joy, surprise, anger, sadness, disgust, contempt, fear, shame, and guilt. Being aware of different emotions is a basic prerequisite for recognizing them in yourself and others.
What’s even more challenging is managing your emotions and experiencing them constructively. What does that mean? It means not suppressing your emotions, but at the same time experiencing them in a way that doesn’t harm you or others.
Mastering these skills can have a positive impact on your mental health. For example, it can help you cope better with stress, prevent emotional burnout, and improve your communication.
Questions to help you analyse your emotional wellbeing:
- What emotional state do you experience most of the day? To make this easier, you can use the Wheel of Emotions (author Dr. Gloria Willcox), available below.
- Do you use constructive (productive) and healthy strategies to reduce stress and manage negative emotions?
- Are you able to influence your emotional state through your thoughts? In a positive or negative way?
- Do you allow yourself to express your emotions openly and honestly?
- What three things bring you the greatest joy in life? How often do you include them in your life?
- Which people and recurring situations most often trigger emotions in you?
- Do you support yourself when you feel low?
- Do youmaintain a balance between personal, academic, and professional commitments to avoid emotional burnout?
- Are you able to recognize and influence the emotional states of others?
- Do you set realistic and achievable goals?
Wheel of Emotions
A short guide to the Wheel of Emotions:
- Pause and choose what you feel in thecentre of the wheel.
Select a basic emotion: joy, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, surprise, discomfort. - Move one layer outward andspecify the emotion. Find the word that feels closest to your experience.
- Choose the mostaccurate colour at the edge of the wheel.
That is the emotion you are truly experiencing. - Remember: an emotion is a signal.
It tells you what is happening inside you or around you. - Ask yourself: “What does this emotion need?”
Safety? Support? Rest? Boundaries? Closeness? Time? - Don’tjudge, just observe.
An emotion is not a problem — it’s information.
Here are a few recommendations to help you better understand your emotions, develop mindfulness, and improve your overall emotional wellbeing:
1. Keep a journal (Write down your daily emotions and describe the situations that triggered them. This can be great material for self-reflection.);
2. Print out a list of basic emotions and try to recreate them using facial expressions in front of a mirror. Observe how you express emotions and what you look like when experiencing different feelings. The better you can recognize your own emotions, the easier it will be to recognize them in others.
3. Develop awareness and observation skills. You can practice this with the following exercises:
- Throughout the week, write down facts, events, or situations that fascinate you, surprise you, bring you joy, or upset you.
- Observe the emotions of other people, for example strangers traveling with you on a bus or tram, and try to guess what emotional state they might be in.
- - Mindfulness meditation: spend 5–10 minutes a day practicing mindfulness. Focus on your breathing and observe your emotions without judging them.
4. Develop emotional flexibility: Choose one emotion (for example anger, fear, or sadness) and find healthy ways to express it that work for you, such as breathing techniques, meditation, drawing, exercise, or creative activities.
Exercises
- The 5-4-3-2-1Grounding Method: Name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can touch, 2 smells, and 1 taste. This helps bring you back to the present moment and reduce anxiety.
- The Deconstruction Method: Close your eyes and think about an emotion that’s bothering you. Try to imagine where it’s located in your body, what colour it has, its shape and size, and what it looks like. If this emotion could speak, what would it say to you? How often does it appear in your body, and in which situations? How does it manifest? How does it trouble you? How does it help you? This technique supports awareness and emotional analysis and helps you realize that even negative emotions can have a positive role in human life.
- Breathing techniques: For example, box breathing or triangle breathing.
Now imagine taking a key out of your pocket and opening the chest. Put all your problems, worries, thoughts, and unpleasant memories inside, then close it. They are safe there. What would you like to do with the chest? Throw it away, hide it, or leave it somewhere visible? When you’re ready, slowly return your attention to the room. This technique works best before going to sleep and focuses on shifting attention and reflection.