The Feelings Wheel

Mental Health Tip: The Feelings Wheel

The Feelings Wheel is a tool that our mental health team often uses to help clients identify and understand their emotions. This is a great tool for adults wanting to better navigate their feelings, and for helping to teach children about their emotions and how to name them.

First Layer

The wheel starts with core emotions that encapsulate a wide range of feelings. Starting with simpler core emotions can help us narrow down our emotions to discover what we are feeling. Some of the core emotions in the first layer include:

• Happiness
• Anger
• Sadness

Second Layer

From the first layer with the core emotions, the Feelings Wheel then begins to branch out into slightly more specific emotions to further narrow down the list of emotions we may be feeling. Some of these second layer emotions include:

• Peaceful
• Frustrated
• Lonely

Third Layer

The outermost layer of the Feelings Wheel gives very specific emotions that can help us name exactly what we are feeling. These narrowed down feelings help us by getting to the root of our feelings. Some of these third layer emotions include:

• Inspired
• Jealous
• Ashamed