Feelings wheel

A deep quiet, when even your thoughts seem to pause for a while.

Prompt: What sounds can you hear in this stillness? List them slowly.

Loose and unhurried, with the tension gone from your shoulders and jaw.

Prompt: What helped you let go of tension today? Could it help again tomorrow?

Comfortable where you are and with who you’re with, with nothing to prove.

Prompt: Where, or with whom, do you feel most at ease? What makes it that way?

The good feeling of a need met, or a job done well enough.

Prompt: What did you finish or tend to recently that you’re glad about?

At home in your body and your surroundings, with nothing pinching or pressing.

Prompt: What around you is making you comfortable right now: a chair, a blanket, a sound?

A deeper contentment that comes from doing what matters to you.

Prompt: What gave you a sense of meaning lately, even in a small way?

Free of something you’d been carrying, like a task, a secret or a fear.

Prompt: What did you set down recently? Write yourself a few words of thanks for carrying it.

As if something heavy has lifted, and the day takes less effort.

Prompt: What feels lighter today than it did before? What changed?

Your doubts have eased, because of something someone said or something you found out.

Prompt: What reassured you? Write it down, so you can read it again on a harder day.

Light and upbeat, in a way that often spreads to the people around you.

Prompt: What’s lifting your mood today? Who might enjoy hearing about it?

Quietly pleased that something happened, or that something is the way it is.

Prompt: Finish this sentence a few times: “I’m glad that…”

A burst of pleasure at something lovely or unexpected.

Prompt: What delighted you lately? Write about the moment it happened.

Goofy and giggly, happy to be a little ridiculous.

Prompt: What made you laugh recently? Write it down, so you can laugh again later.

Free of worry for now, taking things easily and with a smile.

Prompt: What feels less serious today than it used to?

Unrestricted, with room to do as you like and be as you are.

Prompt: What would you do with an afternoon that belonged completely to you?

Expecting that things will probably work out well.

Prompt: What makes you think things could go well? List a few reasons.

Keen and ready for something that’s coming.

Prompt: What are you looking forward to? Which part are you most eager for?

Stirred by an idea, a person or a place to make or do something.

Prompt: What inspired you lately? If you’d like to, what small step could you take with it?

Looked after by someone who notices what you need.

Prompt: What is one way someone has looked after you lately?

Welcome as you are, without needing to change or perform.

Prompt: Where can you be fully yourself? What makes it feel that way?

Protected and secure, with no need to stay on guard.

Prompt: What helps you feel safe? Describe a place, a person or a habit.

Wanting to say thank you for something someone gave or did.

Prompt: Who would you like to thank, and for what? You don’t have to send it.

Recognizing the value of something or someone.

Prompt: What do you usually take for granted that you appreciate today?

Touched deeply by something, sometimes to the point of tears.

Prompt: What moved you recently? A song, a kindness, a view?

Fond of someone and wanting to show it, with words, a hug or a small gesture.

Prompt: How do you like to show affection? How do you like to receive it?

Friendly and kind-hearted, glad to be near someone.

Prompt: Who makes you feel warm inside? Write a few words about them.

Concerned for someone’s well-being and wanting to help.

Prompt: Who are you caring for right now? Is there a way to care for yourself a little too?

Quietly lost in thought, often with a slightly serious or sad edge.

Prompt: Sit with the thought for a moment. What would you like to say about it?

So focused on something that time slips by without you noticing.

Prompt: What recently held your attention so completely that you lost track of time?

Thinking deeply and quietly, often about bigger questions.

Prompt: What question have you been carrying lately? You don’t need to answer it.

Something has caught your attention, and you want to keep following it.

Prompt: What caught your interest this week? What made it stand out?

Captivated by something, completely held by it.

Prompt: What fascinates you, however small or strange? Describe it to someone who’s never seen it.

Willing to consider new ideas, people or experiences.

Prompt: What are you open to trying or learning? What might a first step look like?

A soft longing for something that has passed, or that can’t be.

Prompt: What do you find yourself wishing for? Let yourself write about it gently.

Tender feelings stirred by memories, keepsakes or old places.

Prompt: Is there an object you keep for the memories it holds? Tell its story.

Happy and sad at the same time, often about something that has ended.

Prompt: What memory feels both happy and sad? Can you let both be true?

Used up after a long stretch of effort.

Prompt: What have you been carrying for a long time? Write it down, and let the page hold it for a while.

As if your energy has run out, often after giving a lot to other people.

Prompt: What drains you, and what fills you back up? Make two short lists.

Your body is asking for sleep: heavy eyes, slow thoughts.

Prompt: What could help you rest well tonight? Choose one small thing.

Nothing feels very good or very bad, as if the color has gone out of things.

Prompt: Is there one small thing, like a warm drink or some fresh air, you could try today just to see how it feels?

A hollow feeling, as if something is missing inside.

Prompt: What would feel gentle to you right now? A few words are enough.

Disconnected from yourself, from other people or from what’s happening around you.

Prompt: Press your feet into the floor and notice five things you can see. Write them down, one by one.

Unable to settle, with an itch to move or do something different.

Prompt: What is your body asking for: a walk, a stretch, a change of scene?

Low on energy, with little interest in doing anything.

Prompt: What is the smallest thing that might feel nice right now? It can be very small.

Knowing there are things to do, but finding it hard to start any of them.

Prompt: Write down the tiniest first step of one task. You don’t have to do it yet.

Your mind keeps coming back to something that might go wrong.

Prompt: Write the worry in one sentence. Then write one thing that is okay right now.

Jittery before something that matters, like a talk, a test or a first meeting.

Prompt: What’s coming up that you care about? What would help you feel a little steadier beforehand?

A vague sense that something isn’t quite right, even if you can’t say what.

Prompt: If this feeling were weather, what kind would it be?

Under pressure, with your body tense and on alert.

Prompt: What is one thing you could let be “good enough” this week?

Pushed by expectations, deadlines or other people’s demands.

Prompt: Whose expectations are you feeling most? Are they yours, or someone else’s?

Scattered and frayed, as if you’re pulled in too many directions.

Prompt: Take three slow breaths first. Then name the one thing that matters most in the next hour.

Feeling you’re not good enough, or that you’re falling short.

Prompt: What would “enough” look like today, if it were a little smaller than you usually expect?

Emotionally open and unguarded, aware that you could be hurt.

Prompt: What helps you feel a little more protected when you feel this open?

Questioning your own judgment, skills or choices.

Prompt: Write about one time you trusted yourself and it turned out okay.

Mildly annoyed, bothered by small things that pile up.

Prompt: What’s getting under your skin today? Naming it can make it a little smaller.

Wanting something to happen sooner than it is.

Prompt: What are you waiting for? Is there anything you could enjoy while you wait?

Tired of something that keeps happening, and out of patience with it.

Prompt: What has happened one too many times? Write down what you’d like to be different.

Resentment that has settled into a lasting, sour disappointment.

Prompt: What would it feel like to set this down for one evening? You can pick it up again tomorrow if you need to.

Afraid of losing someone’s love or attention to someone else. People also use it for wanting what someone else has.

Prompt: What does this feeling tell you about what you want for yourself?

Treated unfairly, as if someone did something they shouldn’t have.

Prompt: What would you want acknowledged? Write it the way you’d want it said.

Sad or deflated when something falls short of what you hoped.

Prompt: What were you looking forward to? Is any part of that hope worth keeping?

Hurt by someone you trusted, who broke that trust.

Prompt: You don’t need to go over what happened. What do you need now, to feel a little steadier?

Not taken seriously, as if your feelings or ideas don’t count.

Prompt: What did you want to say that wasn’t heard? Write it here, where it has room.

Cut off from other people, by circumstance or by choice.

Prompt: Is there one small thing that makes you feel less alone, like a familiar song or a walk where other people are?

Not included in something you wanted to be part of.

Prompt: It makes sense that this hurts. Where do you feel welcome, even a little?

As if nobody notices you, or understands what you’re going through.

Prompt: What would you want someone to know about you right now? Write it down, and let the page see you.

Overwhelming sadness, often after losing someone or something you loved.

Prompt: What has helped you get through the days, even a little? Write it down, so you can lean on it.

The deep sorrow after a loss: of a person, a pet, a relationship or a way of life.

Prompt: What would you like to remember about who or what you’re missing? A few words are enough.

Feeling that things won’t get better, or that nothing you do will help. Hopelessness can feel completely true in the moment, but it often changes, especially with support.

Prompt: You don’t have to find hope today. Has anything helped you through a hard moment before, even something very small?

Self-conscious after something awkward happened in front of others.

Prompt: Most people forget moments like this much sooner than we do. What would you like to tell yourself about it?

Feeling you did something wrong, and wishing you could put it right.

Prompt: Is there anything you’d like to do about it? Or can it be enough, for now, to notice that you care?

Deeply hurt after being made to look foolish or small in front of others.

Prompt: You don’t need to replay what happened. What would help you feel steady in yourself again?