How to handle difficult emotions - with Dr. Anna Colton

We also discuss the subtlety of understanding our mental health and emotions. Giving in too much can actually lead to a dangerous negative spiral, but how it’s equally damaging to ignore our distress or negative feeling feelings or not have any support in processing them. Psychology, the brain and behaviour are incredibly nuanced. Anna explains how being able to name our emotions and have a broad vocabulary for them can be surprisingly effective. She for example took it upon herself to find an array of words for anger (which by the way it’s OK to feel, just not to act on – another nuance we chat about) which you can find below. Anna also explains how critical it is to build our own personal toolkit so that we have the right tools for different emotional responses in different contexts. 

Dr Anna Colton, is a chartered clinical psychologist and executive coach, specialising in the Adolescence, Eating disorders, the Bar, elite performance and stage fright.

In addition to her adolescent, coaching and legal practices, Dr Anna has worked with the leads and casts of many West End shows, is the psychologist on Matilda the musical and consults to many other theatre companies. She also works with TV companies to ensure the psychological safety of participants in their shows.

She can often be seen or heard on the TV and radio discussing a range of mental health and well-being topics.

For more on Dr. Anna go to: 

www.dranna.co.uk

For more from me go to:

www.fionamurden.com

Anna’s list of angry words are below: 

Angry

Annoyed

Affronted

Agitated

Antagonised

Bitter 

Cantankerous

Cross

Chafed

Convulsed

Choked

Choleric

Churlish

Crotchety

Disagreeable

Displeased

Enraged 

Exasperated

Furious

Fuming

Ferocious 

Fiery 

Fractious 

Fretful 

Galled

Grumpy 

Grouchy

Huffy

Hacked off

Hot

Heated 

Impatient

Incensed

Incandescent

Indignant

Ill-humoured

Ill-tempered 

Irritable

Irate 

Irritated

Irascible

Inflamed

Infuriated 

Ireful

Irked

Livid

Mad

Maddened

Miffed

Narked

Narkey

Nettled 

Outraged 

Offended

Peeved

Petulant

Pissed

Pissed off 

Piqued

Provoked 

Put out

Raging 

Ranting

Ratty

Raving 

Resentful 

Riled 

Sore

Splenic

Snappy

Storming

Sullen

Sulky 

Stewing 

Tetchy 

Testy 

Turbulent 

Terrifying 

Tumult

Wrathful 

Vexed