Name your fear to weaken its power over you

You’re sitting at your desk, cursor blinking on a blank report, and your chest feels tight—like there’s an invisible weight crushing your confidence. You glance at the spreadsheet, and suddenly your mind floods with “What if I mess this up?” The breath catches, and you’re paralyzed: fear has hijacked your brain. Then you remember the simple wisdom of affective labeling: naming the emotion you’re experiencing.

You close your eyes, press your feet firmly into the floor, and declare, “I’m feeling anxious and uncertain.” The words cut through the knot in your gut as if carving a path. You visualize the amygdala turning down its volume, and your breath finally finds its rhythm. The terror isn’t gone, but you can feel it loosen like morning mist under sunlight.

This practice draws on decades of neuroscience showing that putting feelings into words engages the brain’s ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, which inhibits the fear response in the amygdala. Labeling doesn’t zap anxiety instantly, but it breaks the spiral of ruminative thought. Suddenly, you aren’t a hostage to your emotions—you’re the observer, gifted with choice.

Allow yourself a moment to honor your feelings. Acknowledge them and let them flow through you rather than freeze you in place. Naming is the first step to neutralizing the storm.

Next time anxiety strikes, pause and place your feet on the ground. Notice where you feel tension and simply say the emotion’s name: “I’m nervous,” “I’m stressed.” Then trace it to its source—fear of judgment, perhaps—before taking a slow, cleansing breath. You’ll activate your brain’s natural calming circuitry and create the space you need to act. Give it a try in your next high-pressure moment.