12. Upsetting Situations

In this journal exercise, use the following template to write a letter about a situation that was upsetting to you.

Upsetting Situations

Dear _________________,

The situation that I am most upset about is ________________________________________
What happened? Who is involved? When/Where did it happen? What was said?
__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

The feelings that I feel about this situation are_____________________________________
Name the feeling words. Circle the main feeling word.

Specifically, the physical sensations that I feel when I feel these feelings are________________

__________________________________________________________________________________
Describe these sensations in various parts of your body. Or describe your physical posture when you feel these feelings.

On a scale of 1 to 10 the intensity of these feelings are about a _________________________

When I feel these feelings I would describe the images that I have as like_____________

__________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

If I could give a color to these feelings it would be _____________________________________

When I feel these feelings my inner conversation goes something like __________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

The behaviors that I tend to act out when I feel these feelings are ______________

__________________________________________________________________________________

The words that want to come out of my mouth when I feel these feelings are _____________

_________________________________________________________________________________

A previous time when I have felt similar feelings was the time when ______________________

__________________________________________________________________________________
Could be a time that goes back to childhood or anytime in-between. Could be a time in your relationship together.

My biggest fears in sharing my feelings are ____________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for taking the time to listen to me.

This journal template is for situations in which you want to communicate to another person about their behaviors.

Upsetting Behaviors in Another Worksheet

Dear _________________,

A behavior that I am most upset about is_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________
What behavior? Describe the behavior in detail. When/Where does it happen?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

The impact of this behavior on me is ____________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

The needs in me that are not being met by this behavior are _________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

The feelings that I feel about this behavior are____________________________________________________________
Name the feeling words. Circle the main feeling word.

Specifically, the physical sensations that I feel when I feel these feelings are

_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Describe these sensations in various parts of your body. Or describe your physical posture when you feel these feelings.

On a scale of 1 to 10 the intensity of these feelings are about a _______________________________________________

It seems to me that your intentions are __________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

When I feel these feelings my inner conversation goes something like _________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

The behaviors that I tend to act out when I feel these feelings are _____________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

The words that want to come out of my mouth when I feel these feelings are ____________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

A previous time when I have felt similar feelings was the time when ___________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Could be a time that goes back to childhood or anytime in-between. Could be a time in your relationship together.

My biggest fears in sharing my feelings with you are ______________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

What I would like to see happen is _____________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for taking the time to listen to me.

Go to the next journaling exercise: How I See Myself

*Journaling exercises written by Cort Curtis, Ph.D, used with permission.