Lesson 1324: If I could express what I feel, I wouldn't have to endure so much pain.
Duration:75 minutes
Topic Introduction:
For children and adolescents with disruptive mood disorder (DMDD), one of the biggest challenges is not “too many emotions” but “too few words.”
You feel a tightness in your chest, a sensation in your throat, and a jumble of thoughts, but all you get is the same question: "What's wrong with you? Explain yourself."“
When you can't speak and can only remain silent or explode, others might think you're deliberately talking back, deliberately causing trouble, or deliberately refusing to communicate. But few see that you're actually in so much pain that you can't speak, leaving only the crudest way to express yourself. The core of this course is to help you open another path between "completely unable to speak" and "only able to express yourself through explosions": using more relatable words to describe your feelings, allowing your pain to be translated, rather than misunderstood. We will practice together: distinguishing between physical sensations and emotional names, breaking down "I feel terrible" into more specific sentences, and finding the shortest truth you can tell someone you trust. The course combines the gentle support of 24 types of Eastern healing teas and 40 kinds of Chinese food therapy soups, the slow writing rhythm of Chinese calligraphy (clerical script), and the calming practice of "a mandala is not about drawing something, but about observing," accompanying you step by step from "unable to speak" to "being able to express it little by little," allowing your pain to no longer be suppressed so deeply and heavily.
[arttao_Healing_Course_tts_group1324_1328]
▲ AI Interaction: Break down "I feel terrible" into three sentences
Think back to the last time you just wanted to say "I feel terrible" but didn't know how to explain it.
Now try breaking down the sentence "I feel terrible" into three more specific sentences, for example:
- “"My body feels like..." (e.g., very tired, very tight, very blocked, very sore, very numb.)
- “"I'm worried about..." (e.g., being scolded, disliked, failing, or being abandoned.)
- “What I need most is… (e.g., please be quiet, let me finish, please don't ask any more questions, please give me some time.)
Click the button below to practice translating "I feel terrible" into three clearer sentences with AI; when you can say it like that, the pain usually won't feel so stuck in your chest.
○ Finding a Language for Emotions: Music Therapy
When you can't find the words and all that's left is "annoying," "never mind," or "don't ask," your brain is often in a semi-frozen state: you want to express yourself, but you're also afraid of saying the wrong thing.
Please choose a slow, simple, and quiet piece of music and do a short exercise with the music: as the melody plays, say three words in your mind in turn—"sad," "fearful," and "angry"—and see which one best reflects your current state.
You don't need to tell others right away. Let the music help you make the first distinction in your mind: it turns out that "feeling bad" already contains a more specific emotional name.
○ Eastern Healing Tea: Ophiopogon and Lily Soothing Tea
Recommended reasons:Ophiopogon japonicus has the effects of nourishing yin, moisturizing dryness, and relieving irritability, while lily is often used to calm the nerves and reduce anxiety and restlessness. For those feelings that are "stuck in your throat but can't be expressed," this tea is like a gentle channel, reminding you that your feelings can be slowly resolved, rather than being blocked in your chest forever.
usage:Steep 3g of Ophiopogon japonicus and 3g of lily bulb in hot water at 90–95°C for about 5–7 minutes. When drinking, try to describe your current state in your mind with the simplest sentence, such as, "I am really tired today." Just this one sentence is already the beginning of softening the pain.
○ Millet and Pumpkin Sleep-Aid Soup (Chinese Food Therapy - Soup)
Millet is often regarded as a grain that "soothes the stomach and calms the nerves" in traditional diets, while pumpkin brings warmth and satiety. For people who are often tense, easily startled, easily tired and unable to express it, it is a bowl of gentle comfort.
When you can hardly even clearly explain "where I feel unwell", a bowl of millet and pumpkin soup can tell you from inside your body: "This day has really been tough for you."“
You don't need to explain anything while drinking the soup. Just allow yourself to be supported by the warmth, and then silently say the most truthful thing in your heart: "I have been working very hard, but it seems that no one hears me."“
Only when the body is allowed to relax a little can language slowly grow.
Suitable for emotional exhaustion
Warmth and fullness
Healing Recipes
/home2/lzxwhemy/public_html/arttao_org/wp-content/uploads/cookbook/sanma-shioyaki.html(Please confirm that sanma-shioyaki.html has been uploaded)
Psychological Mandala (Viewing)
Psychological Healing: Psychological Mandala - 75 Thoughts
When you can't describe what you're feeling, everything in front of you easily becomes gray and blurry, and you can't even see yourself clearly.
At this point, the mandala is not asking you to draw anything, but rather inviting you to simply observe.
Find a mandala pattern that makes you feel comfortable, focus your gaze on the center, and imagine that point represents how you truly feel today—no need to name it or explain it.
Then, slowly looking outwards at the rings of lines, I softly asked myself, "If I had to choose one word to describe myself right now, what would it be?"“
Perhaps it's "tired," "wronged," "afraid," "panicked," or "empty." It doesn't have to be perfect; it just needs to be a little more honest than "okay."
Mandala drawing is not about drawing something, but about observing; in observing, you train a gentle self-identification: what am I really feeling?
○ Chinese Calligraphy - Clerical Script (Find characters to experience)
Many people were interrupted and ridiculed when expressing their feelings as children, and over time they only dared to say "it's okay," forgetting that they also have the right to have more nuanced language.
The horizontal strokes of the clerical script are wide and the rhythm is slow, making it very suitable for practicing "finding characters" for one's own feelings on paper and writing them out stroke by stroke.
- Suggestions for writing words:
- Tired, wronged, scared, sad, nervous, empty, want to be hugged
- Writing Tips:
- After writing each word, pause for a second and ask yourself, "Does this word resemble me at all right now?"“
It's okay if it's not there, just skip it; if it's somewhat similar, let the pen linger on the paper a little longer.
You are building a small warehouse for yourself where you can "let go of your feelings," rather than writing an exam paper.
○ Giving Shape to Emotions: Art Therapy Exercises
When words are insufficient, images can help you express yourself; when you see the shape of your emotions on paper, pain usually no longer feels so helpless.
I. Emotional Temperature Bar
- Draw a long strip on a piece of paper from bottom to top, and divide it into five sections: calm, slightly tense, very anxious, about to explode, and already exploded.
- Use different colors to mark today's temperature location and indicate "approximately where I am now".
- This picture allows you to honestly say, without having to explain it in a single sentence, "I'm very close to my limit."
II. Chest Map
- Draw a simple upper body outline, focusing on the chest, throat, and stomach areas.
- Use lines or colors to draw out where it is tight, blocked, empty, sour, or hot.
- Write a sentence next to the image: "This is how I feel today, in a way I can't put into words." Let the image speak part of the truth for you.
Please log in before submitting your drawings and feelings.
○ 1324. Finding words to express feelings: Journal guidance suggestions
① Write down the three most recent situations in which you just wanted to say "I feel terrible" but couldn't explain why. Describe what happened in two or three sentences each time.
② Try adding one more word for each time: for example, "feeling wronged and upset", "feeling misunderstood and upset", "feeling scared and upset".
③ Choose one of these instances and write down a sentence you would like to say to someone you trust in the future, such as: "I can't quite explain it right now, but I'm really sad and tired."“
④ Complete the sentence: "If I could express more about what I felt, I wouldn't need to rely on the explosion to prove how much pain I was in, because..."“
Please log in to use.
It's not that you don't feel it, it's just that you're too often asked to "explain it clearly."
May this lesson help you gradually rediscover your own language, so that the pain you once could only express through breakdowns can now be spoken and heard properly, little by little.
EN 
ZH 
ES 
FR 
JA