Putting words to emotions

My 5 yr old is having trouble with expressing his emotions. Not that he isnt expressing them but that he is overwhelmed with them and tends to holler or cover his ears and try to block out what is happening around him.

We have been actively working on labling our emotions. When he says that he hates me or his little brother, I ask him if he actually hates me or hates the thing that I am asking him to do. When he agrees that it is the act not the person he dislikes, I feel that it is an accomplishment.

I also find that he is asking me how I am feeling more often. He can *read* my emotions even if I am not interacting with him. When he asks me if I am mad, my first reaction is to say *NO* and try to change the subject. This is wrong. I now try to be honest and say how I am feeling and what(if anything) I am mad at. This is harder than it sounds. I am always trying to keep the stresses of a messy divorce and financial strains from my children. It appears that I walk around with a mad or frustrated face quite often. With him asking me how I am feeling so often, it has also helped me to cope with my own emotions and not walk around *in* them so much.

I think that learning to read others emotions is a first step in healthy emotional stability for our boys as they grow.. This learning process is difficult for both me and my children. We are actively working on our emotional status all the time. I think that covering up our true feelings can be detrimental to us as adults too.

Although this new stage of development is not comfortable for me or my son, I think it is very important for us.

Thoughts?

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