She Rocks the Spectrum

Name It to Tame It

Most thought-work asks you to name the feeling and rate it first. If that's genuinely hard for you, you're not doing it wrong — difficulty reading your own emotions (alexithymia) is common, especially for autistic people. The trick is to start from the body, where the data is, and work toward a word.

Start in the body

Tick where you feel something right now, even if you can't name it yet.

• [ ] Tight chest / hard to breathe
• [ ] Stomach — churning, knot, dropping
• [ ] Clenched jaw / shoulders / fists
• [ ] Hot, flushed, prickly
• [ ] Heavy, tired, slowed-down
• [ ] Buzzy, restless, need to move or leave
• [ ] Numb, blank, far away

Anything else my body is doing

______________________________________________
______________________________________________

Put a word to it — a best guess is fine

Tick whatever's closest. Close enough is useful; you don't need the perfect word.

• [ ] Anxious / scared
• [ ] Angry / frustrated
• [ ] Sad / low
• [ ] Ashamed / embarrassed
• [ ] Overwhelmed / too much
• [ ] Numb / can't tell
• [ ] Excited / keyed-up
• [ ] Okay / content

The closest word(s), in my own language for it

______________________________________________
______________________________________________

How strong, and what set it off?

Strength right now
Rate from 0 (Barely there) to 10 (Intense): ____

What seemed to set it off

______________________________________________
______________________________________________

Not knowing the word isn't failing: 'I can't name it, but my chest is tight and I want to leave' is a complete, valid answer. The body is data. Naming gets easier with practice — and this can be a warm-up before any other reframing worksheet.