I was anticipating a challenging situation yesterday involving political discourse at local event in my town. Some of the comments I had read online were very upsetting to me. I was concerned how I would respond – and if I even wanted to do affect labeling. I shared this with Jim and Zahra on the Coffee Hour yesterday. I thought it would help to start with affect labeling myself: I was sad, disappointed, frightened and disgusted by some of the things I had been reading. I thought looking inward would help me to better interact with people and charged political comments at the event. I didn't hear any charged/upsetting political comments😊. But I was able to do affect labeling with people talking about other situations in their lives. I left feeling relieved and glad I attended the event.

I'm a mental trainer and psychological counsellor working in the mountain biking industry, leveraging this sport to guide my clients to find their authenticity, improve their mental health and gain confidence through combining skills training with mental tools. As I'm always looking for new inspiration, I found Doug's method and I'm here to learn, exchange thoughts and practice! Loving the exchange until now, Roxy

Hi Everyone! I’m Jay, Doug and his methods are powerful. He has helped my wife and I substantially work through conflict and we have implemented his affect labeling with our children and have great success with it. Thank you for inviting me into this community! Doug’s work is a staple and a core component to the work that I do training on how to stabilize nervous systems. An area I have challenges with are gratitude and empathy towards myself. Being married with younger children there is always a new challenge and conversation to correct with affect labeling!

Quick patterns I’m seeing in your posts and stories: - Word choice unlocks honesty. @Michael Tedesco’s shift from “afraid” → “concerned” got real answers instead of denial. - Label feelings, not content. @Jim Leonard’s reminder: “You’re really sad.” is often enough. Causes can come later. - Highly sensitive people (HSPs) calm faster with two emotions. @Trần Hương noted less overload and more presence when naming 2 feelings. - Consoling is self-soothing. Michael’s “Marvin” story: “Everything will be fine” usually comforts the speaker, not the sufferer. - After calm, ask permission. From the “nail” thread, @Kevin Desai: “Would you like help figuring out how to solve this?” keeps agency intact. - Skepticism is normal data. @Roxy Wieschollek’s “No-shit, Sherlock” fear is common. Keep labeling two emotions and watch the shift. Your turn: drop one line you actually used this week in “You…” form (1–2 emotions, short). I’ll pick three and turn them into screenshot cards for everyone. Special thanks to @Zahra Dhanani @Jeanette Parker @Pegotty Cooper for keeping the bar high!

Hi! I am a mediator and I am always looking for new skills and technique to improve my practice. Glad to be here!