Emotions Decoder

Feelings can be hard to name. “Stressed”, “fine”, and “over it” don't always tell us what we need.

In Emotions Decoder, psychiatrist and writer Steve Ellen offers a simple way to pause, recognise what is happening and choose one small next step. The four-step emotion check is easy to remember: Notice. Name. Need. Next step.

Short chapters explore pleasant feelings, loss, fear, anxiety, shame, anger and the mixed emotions of ordinary life. Four everyday practices help you put the ideas to use, while the Quick Decoder offers a starting point for 24 emotions, with a possible meaning and one small action for each.

Read it from the beginning or turn to the feeling that is hard to put into words. The aim is not to feel calm all the time or find the perfect label. It is to understand your feelings a little sooner and have more room to choose how you respond.

This book offers general educational information, not a substitute for individual professional advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Developed from Steve Ellen’s writing and decades of teaching, with passages drafted by AI under his direction.