Many of us say I am so stressed or I feel so bad without ever pausing to ask what the real feeling is behind that general word.
Naming an emotion precisely, saying I feel disappointed instead of just I feel bad, actually softens the intensity of the feeling itself. This is what psychological research calls affect labeling.
When we tell ourselves I feel disappointed because things did not go as I expected instead of I am depressed, we give our minds a precise piece of information to work with, instead of a vague feeling with no clear source.
Try this week: when you notice something uncomfortable, pause for a moment and ask yourself, what is the exact name of this feeling?