Episode 43: Name It to Tame It: Why Labeling Emotions in Your Journal Works

Update: 2025-09-02

Description

Hey friends, welcome back to The Journaling Room! I’m Kendall, and today we’re talking about a practice that’s tiny in effort but massive in impact: naming your emotions in your journal.

This episode is called “Name It to Tame It,” and I’ll show you why putting a word to what you’re feeling can help you come back to peace, clarity, and self-trust—especially when life feels messy or you feel emotionally stuck.

We’re diving into why this works, how it helps regulate your nervous system, how it connects to spiritual growth, and why it’s one of the kindest things you can do for yourself.

Here are some prompts to help you build emotional fluency:

What am I feeling right now? Try to go beyond “sad” or “mad”—be specific.
Where do I feel this in my body?
What triggered this emotion, and what story did I attach to it?
What might be underneath this surface emotion?
What does this part of me need right now? Comfort? Boundaries? Rest? Honesty?

And here’s a bonus tip: Create an emotion word bank at the back of your journal. Keep a list of words like: restless, tender, bitter, grateful, agitated, disheartened, delighted. The more vocabulary you have for your emotions, the more clearly you can understand and care for yourself.

Music by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay