Managing strong thoughts and emotions can be difficult, especially for those who are first learning to work with thinking or when emotions are particularly intense.
In thought literacy, we use the long vowel, a technique that supports regulation through a combination of prolonged exhalation, vocal expression, and emotional language.
Mechanics behind the long vowel technique
Each component of the thought literacy long vowel technique has been studied independently.
- Prolonged exhalation. Prolonged exhalation, or extending your exhale, aka breathing out longer than you breathed in, is a common breathwork technique. It has a lot of benefits, like reducing your heart rate, reducing stress hormones, and increasing activity in the part of your nervous system that helps your body relax.(Ref) Research has also found that prolonged exhalation can affect how people respond to stress and make decisions. (Ref)
- Vocal expression. The long vowel also involves saying the thought or emotion out loud. Research has found that putting an emotional experience into words can affect emotional arousal. In one study, people who verbally described their emotional experience showed lower physiological arousal than when they talked about neutral facts. (Ref) Basically, expressing an emotion out loud can help you emotionally regulate.
- Emotionally expressive language. Swearing is particularly interesting because research has found that it can have several effects beyond simply expressing an emotion. Studies have found that swearing can increase pain tolerance, physical strength, and self-confidence. (Ref) A 2025 study of athletes, coaches, and recreational exercisers found that people reported using swearing for stress and emotional catharsis, mental strength, and coping with physical discomfort and pain. (Ref)
While prolonged exhalation, vocal expression, and emotional language can help when used independently, combining them helps you express the thought or emotion without needing separate exercises.
How to get started
The next time you feel emotionally charged but you aren’t sure what to do with the emotion, or when it feels too difficult to just sit with an emotion choose a single word with a vowel you can easily stretch.
You don’t need to choose a swear word, the point is to pick a word or sound that matches what you’re experiencing.
The word you choose can be the same or different each time and be something like fuuuuuck, shiiiiit, ughhhhhh or nooooooo.
Then in whatever pitch you feel comfortable, say the word while stretching the vowel for as long as you comfortably can. Repeat until the emotional charge has dissipated.
Example of using long vowel technique
After a disagreement with a love interest, I felt the urge to send a long message, but I actively chose not to. Since sending the long text was previously the outlet for my strong emotions, I was then stuck “sitting with” them instead.
After a few minutes of standing in my living room with no idea what to do and wanting any relief from this strong feeling, I sat on my couch, rested my head back, and said “fuck” with a long, about 15-second emphasis on the “u.”
Immediately after, I was shocked at how much better I felt. Still triggered, I decided to do it again. By the third time, I was not only putting emphasis on the “u” but also saying the end of the word with a hard “k,” which made me laugh.
I had gone from feeling deregulated to feeling regulated in a very short time. And while I still felt uncomfortable, I was able to make the decision to call a friend while going for a walk and to use my energy in a more productive way than to send a text.
This set off a positive motion because I was able to talk to my partner in person the next day and clear up any misunderstanding. That positive interaction reduced the “benefit” I was getting from the long texts and encouraged me not to use them as an emotional outlet anymore.
Why we need this
Common advice to “sit with” your thoughts or emotions can be too vague to help when you’re learning to regulate and have limited options for managing very intense and uncomfortable feelings.
The long vowel gives you a way to release some of the emotional charge so you can decide how you want to express what you’re feeling, which can lead to different behavior and better outcomes.
Thoughts?