Explanations

There are 5 base emotions that are quite commonly used (think of Pixar’s Inside Out): Happiness, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust. Surprise too has been often added to cover some emotions which don’t fall into the other categories. I chose to add two additional base emotions:

Distress: I chose to add “Distressed” because there are many vague negative emotions like ‘ungroundedness’ and ‘distraction’ and ‘conflicted’ and “hazy” which I could not find any other general category for. This provides a nice space for other hard-to-categorize feelings like “boredom” and “apathy,” which might even be better described as a lack-of-emotion. I considered naming this category “Meh” or “Bad,” because those resonated with me as more accurate to how I felt. But felt these words seemed too vague and informal for this emotions wheel.

Love: This category emerged because there were just too many positive emotions I was trying to fit into the “happy” category. I needed to break things up! I put emotions into the “love” category because they seemed to hit at something deep within a person that is connected to basic needs, relationship, and purpose in life. These feelings are typically “happy” as well, or lead to feelings of happiness, but most of them can be experienced even if someone is devoid of what is often considered “happy feelings.” For instance, the feeling of being “empathetic” fulfills something deep in us, but may involve taking on someone else’s sadness. Or feeling “safe” can happen strongly in moments of relief and pleasure, but it can also be experienced on a deep level in daily life even if negative surface-level emotions are occurring. Some will not have thought of several of these words as emotions before, but each of these do have a distinct sort of feeling behind them which can be strongly experienced at certain moments. This includes words which can also mean, or lead towards, some sort of activity, like “creativity” and “receptiveness.”

Angry: I discovered a few new things about my own emotional world here! As someone who feels very little anger, I thought I wouldn’t find myself relating here. Wrong. Upon reflections, it turns out that feeling “rushed” is for me a manifestation of anger! (If I’m rushing around and someone is trying to talk to me, I am tempted to snap angerly at them!) Also, I used to feel “defensive” quite a lot, and that’s certainly rooted in a personal woundedness that makes me angry.

With every primary emotion, I tried to find certain emotions which could be considered desirable or undesirable. Every emotion has its purpose, and it is an indication, which with self-awareness and discernment, can be of great help. In this way no emotions are bad in their inherent value, though they may be indicators of what is wrong or lead someone into wrong. But some emotions are considered to us more or less desirable, and I think it is helpful to try to find the desirable in the undesirable and the undesirable in the desirable. For Happy and Love, all the words are typically desirable, and they are also generally good, in the sense that they are usually things which as a society we could benefit from more of. But an excess of anything is bad! And I’m sure we can think of people who exhibit too much cheerfulness or too much agreeableness.

Below are examples of what might be considered the good and desirable parts of emotions which are generally considered bad or undesirable:

Sadness: Grief here is perhaps the most necessary one for health. Without a grieving process, we suffer on top of our sadness. Wistful is an emotion which many people lead into, because it’s a way to feel both good and sad at the same time — it’s a sadness which is enticing.

Distress: None of these are all that desirable, in my opinion, but Tiredness, aside from helping us regulate our sleep, can feel quite lovely at the end of a good day or right before a nap. And there are times in which being disconnected, zoned-out, hazy or distracted is preferable to experiencing the pain of other emotions or of the present moment.

Anger: Many people find anger preferable to experiencing other emotions (they would rather feel betrayed, resentful, or vengeful than feel insecure, rejection, remorse, grief, or vulnerability). This tactic is not very healthy, as it has quite harmful medium- and long-term effects. But anger can be authentically useful for several things. It is a helpful motivator in the right contexts and it is appropriate to feel anger over injustice — over someone being wronged. One of the most important things it can help motivate us to do is to set appropriate boundaries in relationships, so that our relationships can thrive over time. It can helps to stay firm in setting and maintaining our boundaries and assert ourself when there is a problem, not letting it fester and turn into resentment. In life, people require a kind of healthy aggression to assert themselves, pursue their goals in life, and strive towards a goal.

Disgust: Disgust is a hard one for me to find the good in. Obviously there are some evils that warrant our disgust, but in life, I see a lot of unwarranted disgust towards others. It is important for us to learn how to direct our disgust outward in appropriate ways/contexts. It is also important for us to learn how direct our disgust inward in appropriate ways. Many people are victim to excessive amounts of embarrassment, awkwardness, and insecurity, but some people are also victim of inappropriately low of shame, in which they avoid seeing any flaws in themselves and become increasingly filled with false-confidence and pride. It is important for all of us to learn how to direct our shame towards remorse and repentance, in the appropriate places, so that we can grow, shore up our weaknesses, improve upon our flaws, admit our wrongs, exercise humility, and see ourselves with two lenses: the lens of our incredible value and the lens of our incredible weakness/failure.

Fear:

The Emotions Used (In List Format)

Surprised

Confused

Uncertain

Bewildered

Interested

Curious

Fascinated (captivated, engrossed)

Amazed

Stunned (jolted, astonished)

Admiration

Awestruck (wonder)

Happy

Pleased

Cheerful

Delighted (thrilled)

Eager

Enthusiastic

Excited

Playful

Peaceful

Calm (tranquil)

Comfortable (chill, cozy, restful)

Satisfied (content)

Confident

Affirmed

Successful

Courageous

Loving

Free

Uninhibited

Generous

Thankful (grateful)

Trusting

Hopeful

Receptive

Safe

Connected

Intimate

Understood

Empathetic

Affectionate

Agreeable

Devoted

Driven (motivated)

Creative (inspired)

Passionate

Sad

Loss

Grief

Numb

Empty

Gloomy (melancholy)

Dejected

Pessimistic

Dismal

Withdrawn

Lonely

Aimless

Wistful (nostalgic, longing)

Distressed (lousy, crummy, bad, meh, disturbed)

Apathetic

Despondent

Bored

Unaware

Tired (sleepy)

Hazy (fuzzy, foggy)

Distracted

Ungrounded

Restless

Conflicted

Impulsive (rash)

Overwhelmed

Frazzled (strained)

Depleted (exhausted)

Angry

Frustrated

Sulky

Bothered

Imposed On

Rushed

Pressured (impatient, obligated)

Aggressive

Firm (resolute, determined)

Assertive (bold)

Enraged (furious, irate)

Indignant

Betrayed

Wronged

Hurt

Defensive

Resentful

Vengeful

Disgusted

Disapproving

Contempt

Judgmental

Dismissive (snippy, critical)

Disturbed

Horrified

Sickened

Ashamed

Remorseful (regret, repentance, contrite)

Insecure

Embarrassed

Awkward

Afraid

Vulnerable

Exposed

Incompetent

Restricted (confined)

Uneasy

Anxious

Vigilant

Alarmed

Terrified

Startled