how are YOU?

The answer to this often-loaded question lies in science-based strategies designed to help us understand ourselves better. 

- LARISSA P.JOSON

"THE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE AND UNDERSTAND YOUR OWN THOUGHTS, FEELINGS, AND BEHAVIORS IS SELF-AWARENESS," says Steph Naval, the founder and CEO of Empath, an enterprise that provides community-curated mental healthcare services to workplaces, schools, and non-profit initiatives. So important is self-awareness that it lays the groundwork for how we manage our emotions and reactions to different situations, with research telling us that it also builds resilience, creates fulfillment, and shapes emotional intelligence.

Never has developing those qualities in an individual been more important than right now, with all of us still reeling from the aftereffects of living through the pandemic. Interestingly, it was also in 2020, the year we were hit with life-altering change, when the scientific non-profit How We Feel Project launched. The project's goal was simple: to help everyone better understand their own emotions. And it came when it was most needed.

Eventually, the project paved the way for its flagship contribution: How We Feel, a free, award-winning app designed by a team of scientists, designers, engineers, and psychologists. With over a million downloads, the app has helped countless individuals describe and regulate their emotions better through daily check-ins and other tools like mindfulness strategies, interactive exercises, and breathing techniques.