What is a feelings wheel?

A feelings wheel – also called an emotion wheel or a wheel of emotions – is a circle of feeling words arranged from the general to the exact. In the middle are a few core emotions: happy, sad, angry, fearful, surprised, disgusted and bad. Round the edge, each one opens into the precise feelings it is made of: “sad” becomes lonely, hurt, disappointed or guilty.

That is the whole idea. Most people can say “I feel bad”, but “I feel overlooked” or “I feel rushed” is what actually helps – you, or the person you are talking to, can do something with it.

How to use the emotion wheel

Start in the middle. Which core emotion is closest to how you feel right now? Do not think too long.
Move outwards. Read the feelings round the edge of that colour. Which word fits best? There may be two.
Say it or write it down. “I feel frustrated” or “I feel anxious and tired” – the exact word is the point.
Ask what it needs. A feeling with a name is easier to act on: rest for tired, a talk for lonely, a plan for overwhelmed.

Spin it

Press SPIN! and the wheel lands on one feeling, with its core emotion named beside it – “Sad – Lonely”. Spinning turns the wheel into a game and a conversation starter:

Check-ins and circle time – spin, and everybody tells about a time they felt that way.
Journaling – the feeling the wheel lands on is today’s writing prompt.
Acting and drama – play the scene again with the emotion on the wheel.
Families – a calm way to talk about feelings at the dinner table.

Only some of the feelings

Every core emotion can be switched on or off. Working with younger children, keep Happy, Sad, Angry and Fearful, and add the rest later. Focusing on the pleasant feelings for a gratitude exercise? Keep only Happy:

Who uses an emotion wheel

Therapists and counsellors, to help clients put words to what they feel.
Teachers, for social and emotional learning: children with more feeling words handle their feelings better.
Couples and friends, to say what is wrong more exactly than “nothing” or “everything”.
Coaches and managers, for team check-ins and retrospectives.
Anyone who notices a feeling and cannot quite name it.

Feelings wheel or emotion wheel: where it comes from

The psychologist Robert Plutchik published his wheel of emotions in 1980: eight basic emotions – joy, trust, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger and anticipation – arranged like the colours of a colour wheel, with opposites facing each other.

Two years later the therapist Gloria Willcox drew The Feelings Wheel to help people name their feelings, with six core feelings and the exact words around them. The version with seven core emotions used here – including “bad” for the tired, stressed and bored kind of feeling – grew out of hers, and it is the one most often shared today.

So “feelings wheel” and “emotion wheel” mean the same thing: a map from a vague feeling to the word that fits.

All the feelings on the wheel

Happy: joyful, proud, optimistic, peaceful, playful, grateful, hopeful, content.
Sad: lonely, hurt, disappointed, guilty, hopeless, grieving, ashamed.
Angry: frustrated, irritated, jealous, resentful, furious, bitter, critical.
Fearful: anxious, scared, insecure, nervous, worried, overwhelmed, helpless.
Surprised: amazed, confused, startled, excited, curious, shocked.
Disgusted: disapproving, repelled, revolted, judgmental, embarrassed, appalled.
Bad: tired, stressed, bored, busy, rushed, unfocused.

The wheel is a tool for naming feelings, not a diagnosis. If a feeling stays heavy for a long time, talking to someone you trust or to a professional helps.