Analyse an Emotion: A CBT Exercise for Emotional Clarity

Emotions often carry useful information about our needs, values, and boundaries. But intense emotions can be overwhelming or hard to interpret. Slowing down to analyse an emotion helps build emotional awareness, regulation, and clarity.

The Analyse an Emotion tool is a CBT exercise that guides clients through naming a current emotion, exploring what it’s trying to communicate, and considering how best to respond. Based on emotion-focused therapy principles, it supports both reflection and emotional regulation.

Use it to help clients explore anger, sadness, frustration, anxiety, or overwhelm. It’s suitable for teens and adults, and can be used in-session or as a between-session journaling prompt.

For related CBT exercises, see Managing Stress and Name It to Tame It.

What This Tool Helps With

• Increasing emotional self-awareness and insight

• Identifying underlying needs, thoughts, or values

• Recognizing emotional triggers and physical responses

• Deciding how to respond in ways that align with goals and values

Step 1: What Emotion Are You Feeling?

Ask: “What emotion are you feeling right now?”

Encourage naming the emotion clearly (e.g., anger, sadness, anxiety) to help externalise it. Naming emotions is the first step toward regulating them (Lieberman et al., 2007).

Step 2: What Message Is This Emotion Giving You?

Ask: “What is this feeling trying to tell you?”

This step explores:

• What needs might be unmet?

• What values might be violated?

• What situation or thought triggered it?

For example:

• Anger → “I feel disrespected”

• Sadness → “I miss connection”

• Anxiety → “Something feels unsafe or uncertain”

Step 3: What Thoughts Come With This Emotion?

Ask: “What thoughts go through your mind when you feel this?”

Examples:

• “They never listen to me.”

• “I’m going to fail.”

• “No one cares about me.”

Linking emotion to thought helps clients build cognitive awareness (Beck, 1979).

Step 4: What Do You Feel in Your Body?

Ask: “What sensations do you notice in your body when you feel this emotion?”

Clients might identify:

• Tight chest

• Racing heart

• Numbness

• Tension in shoulders

This helps connect emotional and physical signals.

Step 5: What Urge Does This Emotion Create?

Ask: “What does this emotion make you feel like doing?”

Examples:

• Slamming a door

• Hiding

• Crying

• Yelling

This helps identify automatic behavioral impulses.

Step 6: Would Acting on This Emotion Help or Hinder You?

Ask: “If you acted on that urge, would it help or hurt in the long run?”

Encourage reflection:

• Would it align with your goals?

• Would it make things better or worse?

• Is there a more helpful way to respond?

This supports emotional regulation and values-based behaviour, central to both CBT and third-wave therapies (Hayes et al., 2011).

Why It Works

By guiding clients to slow down and examine the full emotional experience — thought, body, urge, and meaning — this tool builds self-regulation and insight. It supports emotional processing and reduces reactivity, helping clients respond more wisely rather than impulsively.

Try It

Start using Analyse an Emotion today to help clients explore their emotional world, respond with insight, and build healthier habits around stress and self-awareness.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the Analyse an Emotion tool?

  It’s a CBT-based exercise that helps clients understand what their emotions are communicating and decide how to respond.

• Who is this tool for?

  This tool is useful for anyone experiencing strong emotions — especially clients working on emotional regulation, impulse control, or stress-related challenges.

• Can this tool be used for any emotion?

  Yes. It’s effective for exploring both “difficult” emotions like anger or anxiety and more subtle ones like guilt, frustration, or emotional numbness.

• How does this support therapy?

  It improves emotional insight and regulation — foundational goals in CBT, DBT, and ACT-based therapy.

• Can I assign this tool through Offload?

  Yes. You can assign Analyse an Emotion to clients through Offload, and their responses will be shared with you automatically.

• Is this exercise evidence-based?

  Yes. The tool reflects components of cognitive restructuring, mindfulness, and emotion labeling — all supported by current research.

Scientific References

1. Beck, A. T. (1979). Cognitive Therapy of Depression. New York: Guilford Press.

2. Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2011). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change. Guilford Press.

3. Lieberman, M. D., et al. (2007). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychological Science, 18(5), 421–428.