Emotions Wheel

When would we use an “emotions wheel” (AKA “feelings wheel”)? Why should we use one? How do we use one?

All of these questions will be answered. To start, an emotions wheel (as I prefer to call it) is a tool designed to help individuals identify common feelings through a known language. This is beneficial for 2 main reasons: (1) so that you can use those words to talk and relate with other people of that same language, and (2) to help you make sense of what is going on in your life, narratively. Why would number 2 be helpful? That’s easy! Because studies show that one of the big ways we heal through life’s ups and downs (including trauma) is to “make sense” of what has happened. In other words, to make meaning.

An emotions wheel can also help individuals identify deeper needs. For example, if I were to tell you that I was feeling anxious about swimming in the ocean, what would be an appropriate response for this:

(a) To throw me in to a sea full of jellyfish

(b) To yell at me

(c) To have me sit down and take deep breaths

Well, you technically can respond to an anxious person with any of those options. However, if I’m feeling anxious and afraid, then I’d most benefit from someone having me sit down and take deep breaths to calm down my Nervous System. This is exactly why it’s helpful to have a language full of emotion words so that we can identify our needs for ourselves and others.

*There are many ways to use an Emotions Wheel. It’s a multi-use tool, after all!