Feelings Wheel

Can you name 137 emotions? Or even 20? it’s not easy. If you’re anything like a typical human you can only rattle off a handful, and that is more than ok. At the same time, the more you can identify and comprehend the easier it is to navigate your emotional life. Fortunately, there are top psychologists who have have built tools to help with just that.

Feelings Wheel

We’ve adapted the Feelings Wheel developed by Dr. Gloria Willcox which helps people recognize and communicate what they are feeling. There are 7 core emotion groups found in the center: bad, fearful, angry, disgusted, sad, happy and surprised. As you move from the center out, the emotions have more nuance.

The colors (which we’ve modified for clarity) are only significant for quicker distinction. We’ve transformed this wheel into a selection tree for easier navigation when choosing your primary emotion.

Adapted Feelings Wheel

Each core emotion goes 2 layers deep. If you select the core emotion of bad, you'll be able to see the next layer of emotions: Tired, Stressed, Busy and Bored. Choose Stressed and go one layer deeper to Out of Control and Overwhelmed.

You’ll also find definitions to help you feel confident in your selection. Just tap the carrot on the top left of the card to show the definition. Once you identify the emotion you’d like to choose, tap the circle on the top right to select the emotion.