Emotional Clarity
What is Emotional Clarity?
Emotional clarity refers to the extent to which you know, understand and are clear about which emotions you are feeling and why you are feeling them. If you have poor emotional clarity, you may have a difficult time understanding the origins of your emotions. For example, you may say things like, “I feel bad and I don’t understand why”. Or you may not be able to easily distinguish between emotions. Poor emotional clarity results in feeling overwhelmed or upset rather than feeling more specific emotions such as frustration or sadness.
Why is it important to have emotional clarity?
The ability to understand the origins of emotions is essential for being able to take direct action changing the circumstances or thoughts that result in those emotions. For example, if you have poor emotional clarity about how or why an emotion emerges, it is very difficult to prevent it from emerging. Similarly, when you can’t determine whether or not you are feeling sad or angry, it becomes more difficult to enact effective emotion regulation strategies.
Activities to develop this skill:
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About Dr. Tchiki Davis
Dr. Davis is founder of The Berkeley Well-Being Institute. After getting her PhD in psychology at Berkeley, she started creating online content & programs to boost well-being—some of these have reached more than a million people. As author of Outsmart Your Smartphone, and contributor to Psychology Today, The Greater Good Science Center, and Shine Text, Dr. Davis aims to share her insights on happiness & health with people all across the world. Learn more about Dr. Davis.
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