Unveiling Emotion: Meeting the Characters Behind the Feeling

Activity type: writing Time: 30 minutes Materials: pen/pencil and 3 sheets of paper

Anger. Sadness.

Anxiety. For each of these emotions, go ahead and answer the following questions (on a separate sheet of paper for each):

• First, imagine what this emotion would look like if it were a person. Is this emotion a man or a woman? Neither? Or, perhaps, androgynous?

• How old is this emotion?

• What kind of clothes do they wear?

• What color are their eyes?

• How tall are they?

• What is their body type?

• What kind of hair do they have?

• What does it look like when they smile?

Once you've created each emotion's avatar, on the back of the piece of paper, write a letter to that emotion - not yourself experiencing the emotion, but the emotion as its own separate entity. What do you want to say to it? What do you want to ask it? Hold on to your letters for each emotion and the next time you experience one of the three, return to your letter. Read it and then, from the perspective of that emotion (again, the avatar you created of it, not yourself experiencing the emotion) write a response to your original letter. When you've responded to all three letters take a moment to reflect on the experience of personifying your emotions and thinking of them as separate entities from yourself. How did that change your experience of the emotion or the way you handled it?

Take it one step further: Do this activity again, but this time with Joy, Hope, and Pride. Remember, there's no right/wrong way to learn more about yourself. Everything you feel/think/experience is trying to convey a message. It's not your job to judge it as either good or bad, but merely to understand it, and either choose to accept it or change it.