Feelings can be overwhelming for all of us. And if you're just opening up to your emotions for the first time, you may not know what to do with them. No matter how experienced you are with your emotions, we all need help sometimes to know how to deal with them. Here are some tips to help you:

• Notice how you feel without judging or anaylzing your feelings.
  
  
• If you know how you feel, let yourself know that this is how you are feeling right now, and that’s okay. You don’t have to know where it is coming from.
  
  
• Breathe through your feelings.
  
  
• Let your feelings just be there. You don’t have to do anything with them, just accept that this is how you feel.
  
  
• Write about or draw your feelings. Don’t censor yourself, let your feelings do the writing or drawing.
  
  
• Make a sound from your feelings.
  
  
• Move with your feelings. You can dance, stomp around, kick, or hit something.
  
  
• Exercise especially if you are depressed or angry.
  
  
• If you feel like crying, give yourself permission to do this.
  
  
• Think about your feelings as though they are children -- they need to be heard, understood, and comforted.
  
  
• Talk to your feelings as you would a friend. Be gentle and kind.
  
  
• Say out loud what you need to say to someone.
  
  
• Reassure yourself with the words you need to hear, for example, "I’m okay, I’m safe", or "You're okay, you're safe".
  
  
• Curl up in a comfortable chair/bed with a blanket, a warm drink, a good book, or watch a show on T.V.
  
  
• Do something nice for yourself. Treat yourself to something special, take a bubble bath, go to a spa, get a massage.
  
  
• Talk to a supportive friend. Ask for something that you need.
  
  
• Most importantly, let yourself and your feelings be.