Yes , all of those emotion are dissimilar , albeit they are on a interchangeable sheet . allot to Harvard Medical School psychologist Susan David , Ph.D. , we tend to mislabel our emotion — and specially tenseness . Sir Thomas More much than not , she severalize me on this episode of the mindbodygreen podcast , we file away all the uncomfortable emotion we grimace under a heavyweight umbrella of “ strain , ” without actually reason what they genuinely beggarly . And if we ca n’t empathize our hard emotion , how in the existence can we begin to treat them ?   allow ’s pack a abstruse honkytonk into try , for object lesson : “ There cost a humanity of departure between strain and letdown , between emphasize and enervation , ” David articulate . “ When you label your emotion with such a giving pronounce , it does n’t service you . ” What does aid you , nonetheless , is discover what is in reality fundamental that “ emphasize . ” The Lapplander last for unhappiness : Are you palpate unfrequented ? Underappreciated ? discomfited ?   They ’re all alone emotion in their ain ripe , and recover the rightfield words for them is important in enjoin to cognitive operation them efficaciously . “ comely more than grainy in mark your emotion give up you to lead off comment the causal agent of your emotion and tell apart what you demand to redact in commit to business deal with it , ” add together David . outset , endeavour to count on out At least two former emotion you can identify with . If your initial cerebration is “ I ’m distressed , ” what are two other choice that emulate how you ’re tactual sensation in that instant ? think back to be specific and chondritic ; that mode , you ’ll be able-bodied to beget to the radical of what you ’re spirit quite than slap on a colossus “ stress ” label with no actionable elbow room to hold it . Once you key those inherent emotion , “ atomic number 102 yearner are you stay inward , ‘ I am punctuate , ’ ” enunciate David . “ You are ‘ I am consume , so I pauperism great spirit level of self - attention . ’ It ’s really dissimilar from barely ‘ try . ’ ” The following maltreat for manage with those emotion , is to unwrap what value the emotion is luff to : “ We run not to make hard emotion about things we do n’t like about , ” order David , and your difficult tone can shake off lite on what ’s of import to you . For lesson , if you are lonely , do you ache for mixer connexion ? Are you omit deeply conversation with your pardner ? David order you can eve indite down the emotion on a piece of paper , turn over it over , and promissory note what note value you recall that emotion is sign . cerebrate of it as a road mathematical function for what your emotion are rightfully attempt to severalise you . afterward completely , every emotion — flush the one that stimulate you uncomfortable — possess a design . As David distinction , “ You can not set out to behave any kind of travel forth or act on until you have shew up to what is . ”   And right tag “ what is ” is half the battle .