Express yourself

Expressing how you feel can release a lot of tension

Expressing yourself can help you keep in touch with how you are feeling. It can also release a lot of tension that you may be carrying around with you. Sometimes when people get out of touch with how they feel, their feelings burst out in situations or ways that are embarrassing or inappropriate.

Everyone needs some time to themselves to reflect on their feelings. Being able to express how you feel may help you make better decisons about what is right for you now.

Ways of expressing yourself

Finding out the best way for you to express yourself can be rewarding. You may find that you enjoy expressing yourself in a particular way, such as painting, playing sport, singing, drumming, or even doing something like kicking ball or yelling at a tree. If you don't know what way suits you, try some of the following suggestions.

Write about how you feel

Writing may be a useful way to explore your feelings. Some people keep diaries, others just write down whatever comes into their head. You may want to write a story about whatever is happening in your life now, or even make up a story based on some past event in your life. Writing poetry works for some people so you might like to try that.

Play sport

Playing sport lets you express yourself in a physical way. There are plenty of opportunities to yell or curse or feel elated when things go well. Team sports allow you to express yourself and combine your energy with others both in verbal and non-verbal ways.

Draw or paint

Even if you don't think of yourself as artistic, drawing and painting are useful ways of expressing yourself. No one else has to see what you do. You may just want to experiment with drawing lines, sketching, colours and so on.

Sing, play music, or shout

Singing along to your favourite songs or playing a musical instrument is another way to express yourself. Sing in the shower or out in a park. If you play an instrument or sing regularly you may find that you even start writing your own songs or music to express how you feel.

Dance

Dance is a form of self-expression. Put on some music at home or go out and dance as much as you like.