Talking about your feelings can be difficult. Learn how to open up and express your feelings effectively with these tips.

Bottling up emotions can prevent us from processing them and make them harder to handle. But so many of us find it hard to talk about our feelings. We might overthink the process, worry about being judged, or struggle to find the right language. There’s no right or wrong way to go about sharing how you feel, though. 

You could speak to family and friends for support. Or you may find it easier to open up to a professional counsellor or coach. Maybe you have a colleague or line manager you can approach. Other sources of support may include a religious or spiritual community, teachers, or academic supervisors.  

The important thing is that you feel safe and supported by the person you’re opening up to. 

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YTalking about your feelings validates that what you are experiencing is real and means something to you. If you’re upset over something, it’s because you care about it. Trying to ignore that feeling would be invalidating to your experience and your values. Instead, by recognizing and seeking to understand your feelings, you’ll learn what’s important to you and be able to live a more fulfilling life in line with your values.

Psychologists at UCLA have proven what we’ve suspected all along, that talking about feelings is relieving. Through brain imaging studies, the researchers found that the mere act of putting feelings into words reduced brain activity in the amygdala, one of the primary areas of the brain associated with processing emotional responses, meaning that the intensity of an emotion decreases.