Sometimes a thought arrives and pulls you in before you even realize what’s happening. They’re upset with me. I’m going to mess this up. Something bad is going to happen.
Labeling the thought creates a little distance between you and what your mind is saying. Instead of being completely inside the worry, you step back and recognize: This is a worried thought—not necessarily a fact.
Why It Works
Researchers call this affect labeling—putting an emotional experience into words. Studies suggest that naming what we’re experiencing can reduce distress and is associated with less activity in brain regions involved in emotional reactivity. It may seem almost too simple to matter, but giving an experience a name can help your brain shift from automatically reacting to observing what is happening.
Watch the 2-Minute Video
This brief video explains how to label thoughts, why the skill can help, and how to use it when your mind starts pulling you into a spiral.
