How to Talk About How You Feel
Adapted from Managing Your Emotions
When there are many words, transgression and offense are unavoidable, but he who controls his lips and keeps thoughtful silence is wise.
People tend to talk a lot about how they feel. Some talk about their feelings more than almost anything else. They feel good or bad, happy, or sad, excited, or discouraged, fearful or bold, stressed or at ease, loved or unloved, angry or peaceful, jealous or happy when others succeed or are blessed. The list of adjectives that describe emotions is almost endless.
Feelings are ever changing, usually without notice, doing as they please for no specific reason. We have all experienced going to bed feeling fine physically and emotionally only to wake up the next morning feeling tired and irritable. We often tell anyone who will listen how we feel and say much more about our negative feelings than we do our positive ones. If I wake up feeling energetic and excited about the day, I rarely announce it. But if I feel tired and discouraged, I want to tell everyone. It has taken me years to learn that talking about how I feel increases the intensity of those feelings, so it seems to me that we should talk about our positive ones and keep quiet about the negative feelings.
We can always tell God how we feel and ask for His help and strength, but talking about negative feelings just to be talking does no good. If negative feelings persist, asking for prayer or seeking advice can be helpful, but again I want to stress that talking just to be talking is useless. Even if you say, “I feel tired,” you can follow it with “but I believe God will energize me.” When you talk about how you feel, speak positively.
Prayer of the Day: Lord, today I want to use wisdom as I speak about my emotions. Help me to talk about my positive feelings so they will grow and to keep quiet about my negative feelings, as I trust You to help me with them.
