Name it to tame it (affect labeling)

Put the emotion into words — "I’m feeling anxious" — to take some heat out of it.

Why it works

Putting feelings into words appears to dampen the intensity of the emotional response, engaging more deliberate processing rather than raw reactivity. Naming the emotion also creates a small gap between you and the feeling, so you are observing anxiety rather than being swallowed by it. The label converts a flood into something describable.

How to do it

1. When anxiety rises, state plainly what you feel: "I notice I’m anxious right now."
2. Add specifics if you can — the sensation, the trigger, the intensity.
3. Stay descriptive rather than judgmental ("I’m anxious", not "I’m a wreck").

Evidence

Affect labeling — putting feelings into words — has experimental support as an emotion-regulation strategy associated with reduced emotional reactivity. (rct)

A reliable but modest effect; labeling takes the edge off rather than resolving the emotion, and it works best as description, not self-criticism.

Common mistake

Labeling with a judgment ("I’m being pathetic") instead of a neutral description, which adds shame on top of the anxiety rather than defusing it.