Counselling is a great tool to use for developing your self-awareness, but here are some pointers to get you started.  

Understanding why and how you react to triggering events.  

How do you react to things that trigger you?  

Like, going into a shop that is packed full of people, or feeling like someone if watching you in a public space.  

Do you feel anxious? Judged? Scared?  

Do you think your thoughts and feelings are realistic, or do you ‘know’ that logically you don’t need to feel that way but you still do?  

These are signs of a lack of self-awareness, which is when you don’t understand why you feel the way that you do. You can combat this by thinking about the reasons why you are triggered by certain events and by exploring any feelings that come up for you.  

Feeling like you are lost or don’t know who you are. 

There are so many labels out there that it can be hard to know where we fit in.  

Am I a housewife, mum, worker, unemployed, a mess, successful, hopeless?  

Am I funny, grumpy, angry, happy?  

How do people see me? How do I see me and who do I want to be? 

A lack of self-identity can send you down so many wrong paths in life. And yet finding out who you want to be can be hard to work out. Have a think about what you like wearing, what name you like to use, what activities give you joy and what interests you.  

You don’t understand what you are feeling? 

Do you get angry or upset but you don’t know why?  

Have you ever been angry about a trivial thing and then realised later on that your anger was excessive?  

Do you struggle to explain why you are upset and sad? 

A lot of people are like this at times, including myself, and it’s linked to our own level of self-awareness.  

It’s good to sometimes sit with your feelings, when safe to do so, and try and listen to your mind.  

Are you thinking angry thoughts? Are you hating on yourself?  

Are you feeling loved or alone in this moment?  

The more understanding you gain will grow your self-awareness and in turn, your understanding of your emotions. You can read more about understanding you feelings in my blog post here.

It’s important to know that no matter what level our self-awareness is at, we all have the ability to grow. It can be hard to have honest conversations with yourself at times so if you are on a journey of self-development, please remember to be kind to yourselves and seek support when you feel you need it.  

The post How to Increase Your Self-Awareness – Part 1 appeared first on Friendly Therapist | Jo Thomas Counselling.

What is it?

It is a visual guide which helps to show how emotions are linked to each other and how they can lead onto others. For example, you are feeling scared of a particular situation because it is making you feel worried and anxious. Processing what your worries are will help to relieve the fear you have.

How does it work?

The first step with using the Wheel of Emotions is to identify the emotion closest to how you are feeling. The emotions vary with intensity starting with the centre ones being the most extreme going outwards to the mildest forms.

When you have identified an emotion, you can try to work out what’s triggering it. Sometimes this is quite obvious but other times it can be very complicated. You may notice that some emotions you identify can lead on to other emotions. For example, you could feel supported by a close friend which makes you feel relieved and peaceful, however this also triggers a trust issue making you feel on edge and nervous.

Once you begin to identify your emotions and triggers, you can use this awareness to help you find ways to cope and work through them.

The post How to Understand Your Feelings? appeared first on Friendly Therapist | Jo Thomas Counselling.