What’s My Brain Saying?
A resource for noticing and naming emotions (& more)
A lot of us say we're anxious, stressed, overwhelmed, depressed, or triggered, often feeling like those words fully explain what’s happening inside.
What we often don’t realize is that those are umbrella words—shorthand for a whole bunch of specific emotions, body sensations, thoughts, and urges happening all at once.
When we stop at the umbrella label, we probably feel a little bit of relief from naming it. It’s a great first step!
Underneath those words is our brain constantly trying to make sense of what’s going on inside and around you. It’s predicting what you might be feeling, what you might need, and how you might want to respond based on your past experiences.
It’s giving you information about yourself. And while not all information needs to be acted on, it needs to be cared for and considered as you decide what to do.
Part of that process is what we call emotion—but emotions aren’t hardwired reactions. They’re activated by your brain, and then how you understand them gets shaped by your body, social context, and significant life experiences. That’s part of why it’s difficult sometimes to go further than “I’m overwhelmed.”
And, sometimes to feel less anxious, stressed, overwhelmed, depressed, or triggered in the long-run, it can be helpful to figure out what our specific internal experiences (emotions, body sensations, urges, thoughts) feel like to us, and what our brain is telling us when it activates them.
How do I do this?
Learning our specific internal language (i.e. what our specific internal experiences feel like and mean) takes a little bit of practice in the short-term, but can be super helpful in the long-term. It does require going beyond reading this blog or social media post, but taking a bit of time each day to give it a try.
As I’ve worked on this with myself and clients, I found it helpful to even just know what words were options to use. I put it in this resource—3x3 Check-In + What’s My Brain Saying? and it’s designed to help you take a moment and ask:
“Given what I’m feeling in my body and the urges I notice… what might my brain be trying to say right now?”
I do want to validate if it’s a bit frustrating at first - there aren’t universal rules or language for your own internal experiences because emotions don’t work the same way for everyone. Instead, this resource gives you common patterns to explore and start to build your own on. It’s a place to start or continue to learn how to work with our brain rather than against it.
How to use this resource:
Start by using it 3x a day for three days, then go down to 1x a day. The goal is to be able to spontaneously think about what your brain is saying on your own, and the repetition will help you get there sooner than later.
Look for what feels familiar. Do any of the listed sensations, urges, or emotion names sound like what you’re experiencing?
Stay curious. This is about exploration, not diagnosis. If your version of “anger” or “joy” feels different than what’s listed, that is very valid. The chart is a place to start in giving words to your own internal experience.
Try naming emotions more specifically. The more clearly you can describe what you’re feeling, the better you can understand what you might need and how the past might be influencing how you’re interpreting the present moment.
Come back over time. Your emotional experiences might shift across situations, cultures, or seasons of life.
Why this can be helpful:
Research by neuroscientist Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett shows that emotions are not universal programs we’re born with—they are interpretations activated by our brain. Tools like this one help increase “emotional granularity”, which improves emotional regulation, decision-making, and mental wellness.
Access the tool here.
You can also just get the “What’s My Brain Saying” graphic here.
