The Pandemic Case For Letting Yourself Share Feelings

“People aren’t taught the emotional vocabulary in school,” says Dr. Marc Brackett on the difficulty in sharing our feelings.

The COVID-19 pandemic has proved challenging for many peoples’ mental health. For some, the public health crisis has been a reset, for others it has been the source of considerable stress.

“Every crisis has an opportunity. I think the pandemic has made everyone more aware.” — Dr. Marc Brackett, author

This paradigm shift in American life has placed an unprecedented emphasis on well-being, feelings and mental health. 

Listen: Dr. Marc Brackett on his book “Permission to Feel”


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Dr Marc Brackett is the author of “Permission to Feel,” the founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and a Professor in the Child Studies Center at Yale University. He says people are typically phobic around feelings because we aren’t taught a vocabulary to talk about them. The pandemic, Brackett says, has created an opening for increased mindfulness around feelings.

“Every crisis has an opportunity, and in this area of emotional intelligence and emotional well-being, I think the pandemic has made everyone more aware,” Brackett says. He adds, “It’s awful what has happened, but maybe just maybe now we will take peoples’ mental health seriously.” 

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