Feel
Your
Feelings
This Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re inviting you to feel your feelings. Many of us have been feeling a lot lately, so it’s more important than ever to check in on our emotions and talk about them with others. By building our emotional vocabulary and owning our moods, we’re working to destigmatize mental health and show that no matter what you’re feeling, it’s okay to feel it.
We like to use Dr. Marc Brackett’s system of colors and emotions to help visually represent how we’re feeling. These colorful cues can help you identify how you’re feeling when you’re not quite sure.
Yellow corresponds to high-energy, high-pleasantness moods like Energized, Happy, or Optimistic. Green corresponds to low-energy, high-pleasantness moods like Content, Grateful, or Relaxed. Blue corresponds to low-energy, low-pleasantness moods like Drained, Lonely, or Sad. Finally, red corresponds to high-energy, low-pleasantness moods like Angry, Stressed, or Frustrated.
Whether you want to dance around your room or need a good shower cry, music can help you lean into your emotions even harder. And feeling all your feels is a good thing.
In partnership with Universal Music Group, we’ve created 10 playlists for you to jam out to, available on all major music streaming platforms. Simply identify the mood that best matches how you’re feeling, and let the tunes take you away.
Note that different songs mean different things to different people, so if you’re not vibing with one of the picks, that’s totally okay. You know yourself best, which is why you can also use these playlists as inspiration to create your own — with your music faves.
Check out this exclusive worksheet from Channing Shippen, Director of Music Therapy at Tufts Medical Center, to practice mood regulation through music and playlist creation.
Scroll through these mood-based affirmations to help you remember that all emotions are valid.
Search our comprehensive Resource Library to find information, tools, support groups, and more.