# Name what I'm feeling and figure out what I need

Helps you put precise words to a confusing mix of feelings and work out the need underneath and a next step.

- Topic: Personal Life & Wellbeing
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Explain & Teach, Fill-in Template, Interactive
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/name-what-i-m-feeling-and-figure-out-what-i-need

## Prompt

```text
Help me understand what I'm feeling right now and what I need.

**What's happening or just happened:** [SITUATION]
**How it feels in my body:** [e.g. "tight chest", "heavy", "restless", "numb"]
**Words I'd use for it so far:** [e.g. "bad", "off", "stressed"]
**What I feel like doing:** [e.g. "hide", "yell", "cry", "eat", "scroll"]

Work with me gently:
1. Ask up to 3 short questions to clarify, one at a time.
2. Offer 3-6 more precise emotion words that might fit (e.g. disappointed, overlooked, dread, resentful, lonely), with a one-line description of each, and let me pick.
3. For the emotions I pick, suggest the need or value that might sit underneath (rest, respect, connection, safety, fairness, control).
4. Suggest 2-3 small ways to meet that need in the next 24 hours, at least one I can do alone and one involving another person.
5. If it would help, give me one sentence I could use to tell someone how I feel ("I feel ... when ... because I need ...").

Don't diagnose me or tell me what I "should" feel. Keep responses short and calm. If I describe feeling hopeless, unsafe, or thinking about harming myself, encourage me to reach a crisis line now (in the US, call or text 988) or local emergency services.
```

## What to fill in

- SITUATION
- e.g. "tight chest", "heavy", "restless", "numb"
- e.g. "bad", "off", "stressed"
- e.g. "hide", "yell", "cry", "eat", "scroll"

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.