Trauma · Skills
Naming Feelings After Neglect
Build the vocabulary from the body upward
When feelings were never named for a child, the adult often cannot name them either — emotions arrive as body states, urges or nothing at all. This page builds the missing vocabulary from the body upward.
Start where the signal is
Body sensation
Where
Best guess at the feeling
What it might need
Building vocabulary
Instead of 'stressed'
Overloaded, rushed, resentful, frightened, out of control, unsupported.
Instead of 'fine'
Steady, numb, braced, guarded, quietly flat, relieved.
Instead of 'tired'
Depleted, done, grieving, lonely, over-extended, under-fed.
Instead of 'annoyed'
Dismissed, unseen, crowded, let down, protective, hurt.
Three feeling words I want to be able to use this month
One person I could say a feeling word out loud to (role only)
Guessing is the practice
Accuracy is not the point early on. Naming a feeling wrongly and correcting it later builds the same capacity as naming it right — what matters is that the attempt happens at all.