Let's Talk about Emotions!

Emotions are...

• Normal, Unnatural, Harmful

• Normal, Natural, Harmless

• Abnormal, Natural, Harmless

• Abnormal, Unnatural, Harmless

Answer explanation

Emotions are NORMAL (everyone has them)

Emotions are NATURAL (they provide us with important information about what we are feeling and what we might do)

Emotions are HARMLESS

(even our uncomfortable or strong emotions will eventually pass. All emotions are important for keeping us safe and healthy.

Our emotions are always trying to tell us important information, and to make us DO something about how we are feeling.

• True

• False

When emotions are uncomfortable, they feel that way because the emotion wants us to DO something - take action, get away, get help - whatever we need to do to make that emotion feel less intense.

• True

• False

When our emotions make us feel good, they aren't trying to tell us any important information.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

When emotions make us feel good or are enjoyable, they are also telling us something—they are encouraging us to keep doing the things that make us feel good!

The actions that our emotions make us do are called “emotional behaviours”. Emotional Behaviours are...

• Harmful

• Bad

• Annoying

• None of the above

Answer explanation

Emotional Behaviours are what we call ANY action that we do that is caused by feeling an emotion.

This does not mean that all emotional behaviours we have are bad or harmful. But it is important to remember that some emotional behaviours can be more helpful for us than others.

Emotions have a purpose or a goal. We feel them, because they want us to DO something. What is the purpose of feeling "fear"?

• To make us dance

• To signal to our brain that we should sleep

• To make us laugh

• To react so that we can protect ourselves and keep ourselves safe!

Emotions are always trying to tell us important information and to get us to DO something about how we are feeling. Why do we feel "sadness"?

• To slow down and take time to rest and acknowledge what we have lost

• To spend time thinking about what has changed in our lives

• To think about how we can begin to let go of something that we once had

• All of the above

Answer explanation

Sadness is a natural response for when we feel disappointed about something we have lost or expect losing. This can include the loss of a person, object, idea, thing or privilege.

Sadness often signals to our body that we need time to rest and to think about what has happened.

Anger is a normal emotion for us to feel when we believe that we, or something we care about (a person, object, idea, dream, value, or thing) has been hurt, mistreated, or disrespected. What might someone feel in their body when they are angry?

• Heart Racing

• Feeling hot or sweaty

• Tension in their chest

• Clenched Fists or Jaw

Draw the Emotion Triangle (3 Parts)

Answer explanation

There are 3 parts of an emotion!

1. Thoughts (what we think);

2. Physical Sensations/Body Clues (what we feel inside our body);

3. Behaviours (what we do)

When we feel a strong emotion, it is easy to identify what we are thinking, doing, and feeling in our body.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

When we experience a strong or intense emotion, our thoughts, body clues, feelings, and actions can become hard for us to pay attention to or identify clearly.

The more we learn about the parts of our emotions, the better able we will be at choosing skills and strategies to help us in the moment!