Emotion Explorer is an interactive site for processing emotions. I designed it to give people a place to go to process a feeling the minute they were experiencing it. As a therapist I was concerned about the hours in-between sessions, I was aware that loneliness drove many of my clients to surf the internet in the wee hours of the night where they sometimes got into trouble. I wanted to provide something to do online that might help. Emotion Explorer is a creative, interactive site that uses a series of exercises to identify, explore and process feelings. I’m keeping this simple for today; we’re breaking things up into a few steps. So sit back and relax, take some deep breaths and have fun looking more deeply into a feeling!

Step #1

First, click on this link and look over the feelings in the circles scattered across the page, take your time, and choose a feeling that draws you at this moment.

Step #2

Now you’re going to refine your search…
Look at the list of more feelings that popped up when you clicked your circle…do any of these feelings come closer to the feeling you’re experiencing right now? Once you have found your feeling…just click on it…

Step #3

Next is the mood meter. The mood meter helps you to understand how much or…how little you are feeling something so that you can begin to regulate your feeling…
Would you say you’re experiencing just a little, say 10% of a feeling…? Is the feeling in balance for you at say 50%…or are you heading towards an extreme say 85% or 90% and on your way to getting overwhelmed?…grab the meter stick and slide it up or down…to the percent that best represents where you are right now

Step #4

Now…we’re going to map your feeling…feelings often have memories, sensations, smells, sounds, scenes, and situations associated with them….
Write a few words or phrases that refer to or describe your associations…e.g. “a blue patch of sky”, “my grandmother’s house”, “anxious about a test in English”. “sad that I missed so and so”, “a family dinner table”, “shopping with these friends on a Sat. afternoon” and so forth…

Step #5

You are at a choice point; you can continue through as many exercises as you wish or you can stop now and continue to journal about what you have become aware of so far. If you journal simply begin by saying “I am aware of…” and let the words flow. Do not edit the words in your mind simply let them come out in any way that they come out. This is for your eyes only; no one is going to look at what you write unless you share it, the idea is to allow words to fall onto the paper without controlling them so that your thoughts and feelings pour out freely.

Step #6

Take a few deep breaths. Take a break if you wish and read what you wrote now or tuck it away to read later. If you read it, is there anything you notice that is a new awareness? Simply be aware of what you have learned, take a few more deep breaths, and let the emotions that come up move through your mind’s eye. Simply witness them with no thought of controlling or directing them, let them float by.

Step #7

Next just let your feelings go, you have processed them so release them. Breathe and be aware of your surroundings and move into a different activity in your day, you have finished this one.