On May 14, 2025, we held the workshop “Recognizing My Emotions to Prevent Addictions” in the community agency of Huamuchil, located in San Dionisio del Mar, Oaxaca.
The goal was to provide psycho-emotional tools for recognizing and managing emotions, aiming to reduce young people’s exposure to drug use.
Drawing Their Meaningful Places
Youth participants created posters showing places that are meaningful to them — such as their homes, parks, streets, trees, rivers, and beaches — guided by the following questions:
• How does the community I live in make me feel?
• Which spaces make me feel happy/creative or angry?
• What happens in those spaces that triggers these emotions?
The Emotion Wheel
Each participant took turns spinning the “emotion wheel.” If the arrow landed on the red section, which represented the word “creativity,” they were asked to mark in red the place in their community where they feel most creative.
We reflected on these emotions and provided information about their importance and how to manage them using an emotional regulation chart that asked:
• What am I feeling?
• Why am I feeling it?
• What purpose does this feeling serve?
We emphasized that there are no “good” or “bad” emotions — each emotion has its own function and significance.
We also linked the importance of self-awareness and emotional regulation to drug prevention. To reinforce this, we showed two videos: “A Mental Health Trip” and “Why Anti-Drug Campaigns Don’t Work,” both of which helped reaffirm the value of recognizing and understanding our emotions.
