In a recent post, I wrote about a study that showed that if we can put a name to our feelings, our brains undergo real changes; our fear is reduced along with the intensity of negative emotions.

Sounds like great advice. Except sometimes it's hard to know exactly what we are feeling.

Marshall Rosenberg, the author of Nonviolent Communication, has created a model for compassionate communication. Rosenberg's model "guides us to reframe how we express ourselves and hear others by focusing our consciousness on what we are observing, feeling, needing, and requesting."

One part of the Nonviolent Communication model is trying to figure out exactly what we are feeling. Rosenberg encourages the use of true "feeling words" when we are communicating our needs to others.

Here is the list of feelings from the CNVC. They include feelings that we might be experiencing when our needs are being met and not being met.

If we can pinpoint how we are feeling during times of stress, whether it be daily stress or the stress related to a cancer diagnosis, recovery, or even a grieving process, we can ask for what we need in a more effective way. And hopefully catch some of that brain-calming effect.