Who am I? What are emotions, and how do I deal with feeling them?

Difficulty: Explorer (Level 1)

Have you ever felt a bounce in your step and a case of the giggles? That’s happiness! Or maybe, before a test, your stomach felt like it was full of wriggly worms? That’s nervousness. All these things are called emotions.

Think of emotions as a special messaging system inside you, like a walkie-talkie from your brain to your body. They are not good or bad. They are just signals, trying to tell you something important.

A “happy” signal might be telling you, “This is great! Let’s do this again.” An “angry” signal might be a loud alarm saying, “Something isn’t fair. I need to speak up.” And a “sad” signal could be whispering, “I need a rest and a hug right now.”

Sometimes, we get big, uncomfortable feelings like anger, worry or sadness. It’s like a tricky puzzle. You cannot just throw it away; you have to figure out how to solve it. The emotion and feeling are just signals. You get to choose what to do next.

There are many different ways to deal with your emotions. You just have to find the strategies that work best for you.

No matter how you’re feeling, it’s important to hear and feel an emotion out to understand more about yourself. Photo: Shutterstock

Here are some ideas to try

• If you feel an emotion that comes with a lot of intensity, like anger or worry, you can jump, run, stomp your feet or squeeze a pillow really hard.

• Get some paper and crayons. You can draw that feeling out. Maybe anger looks like a red volcano. Perhaps worry is a grey squiggle.

• Find a trusted grown-up or a friend and tell them about your signal. Sometimes, just saying “I feel sad” makes that feeling a little smaller.

• Pretend your belly is a balloon. Breathe in slowly to fill it up, and then breathe out slowly to let the air go. This is like a “pause” button for your body.

• If you feel sad or tired, it’s OK to take a break. Curl up with a soft blanket and a favourite book.

Remember, what works for someone else might not work for you, and that is perfectly OK. You are the boss of your feelings, and with a little practice, you can learn to understand their signals and choose the best way to respond.

What is an emotion you feel often? Photo: Shutterstock

A whole array of feelings

Take a look at the emotions listed below. For each one, draw the face you make when you feel that emotion. Then, write about a recent moment when you had that feeling.

1. Happiness

2. Sadness

3. Anger

4. Fear

5. Surprise

6. Disgust

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