1. What kind of sensations do you feel in your body right now?
Describe how does your body feels right now. Notice small details.
2. What kind of thoughts do you have right now?
Describe your mental state and what goes on in your mind right now.
3. Do you feel overstimulated?
A common reason people feel anxiety today is due to over-stimulating themselves by social media and technology.
The best remedy for overstimulation is to get out and do something physical. Go for a jog or hike in nature.
4. If you would need to name the emotion, what would you call it?
Labeling an emotion is a known mindfulness technique backed by science. When we give the feeling a name, we begin to see it from a distance, reducing the intensity of the experience.
5. When did you start to feel that way, and what caused it?
Describe the moment when you first noticed the emotion and what led to it? Find the trigger.
6. Is it something life-threatening?
We tend to over-dramatize while being emotional. Are things really that catastrophic as they appear? Imagine yourself looking back at it after a couple of weeks. How does it seem?
7. Is there anything about that emotion that you don’t understand?
If so, then is there anything that could help you to understand it better?
8. What can you learn from this experience?
What do the emotion and situation want to teach you? Perhaps you need to change something? All difficult experiences are the most significant opportunities to learn and grow.
9. What would be one to three things that you can do in the future not to feel that way again?
It can be avoiding the trigger, changing a habit, or calling a friend. Other times we need to let go of things, end a negative relationship, or go to therapy. Think of ways you can be there for yourself in the future.
10. What could you do right now to feel better?
Possible ideas include calling a friend, meditating, journaling, going for a walk or a run.
11. How much has your emotional state improved compared to how you felt at the beginning of this session?
Chances are that you feel a lot better now. Remember, it’s normal to feel difficult emotions.