Research Summary: Putting Feelings into Words | Psychologist Osman Güneş Özkurt

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Putting feelings into words is something most of us do instinctively in daily life: “I am angry,” “I am so tired,” “I am worried.” But does doing so make a difference in the mind? In this post we summarise two pieces of research on that question in plain language.

What did the research look at?

Lieberman and colleagues (2007) showed participants pictures of faces expressing emotions and followed their brain activity with imaging. When participants named the emotion in the picture with a word, activity in the amygdala, a brain region linked to emotional reactions, was lower than when they only looked at the picture. In the same study, activity rose in front regions of the brain linked to thinking and regulation.

What might this mean?

The findings suggest that naming a feeling may put a small distance between us and that feeling. This does not mean suppressing or ignoring it. On the contrary, noticing a feeling and giving it a name may be one way of relating to it more calmly.

Later work

Torre and Lieberman (2018) wrote a review bringing together work in this area. The review discusses how naming a feeling may work as a way of regulating emotion without the person being aware of it. It is worth remembering that this area is still being studied and that the findings may not hold the same way for everyone.

Limits

The studies summarised here were carried out under laboratory conditions with short tasks. It would not be right to apply their results directly to the complex feelings of daily life. The finding of a study is not a substitute for advice or treatment in a personal situation.

Why a plain summary?

The aim of this post is not to critique a study or to announce firm conclusions, but to give curious readers a short look. For details, you can turn to the articles in the reference list below.

A small experiment for daily life

Drawing on this, you may like to try a small exercise:

When you feel a strong emotion, pause and ask, “What am I feeling right now?”
Give the feeling as precise a name as you can: instead of “angry”, something like “I feel treated unfairly.”
Write it in a notebook or say it aloud.
Gently notice whether the intensity of the feeling shifts.

This post is for general information and does not replace a personal assessment or a diagnosis.