{"id":958,"date":"2026-10-02T11:16:25","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T16:16:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/wellbeing\/?p=958"},"modified":"2026-10-02T11:16:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T16:16:27","slug":"feelings-wheel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/wellbeing\/2026\/10\/02\/feelings-wheel\/","title":{"rendered":"Feelings Wheel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Soham Sawant, Kennedy College of Sciences Well-Being Leader<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“How are you!?”<\/em><\/p>

“I\u2019m fine. . .”<\/em><\/p>

“What is ‘fine’?”<\/em><\/p>

“I don\u2019t know. . . sigh. Fine is fine.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Words like \u201cfine\u201d, \u201cgood\u201d, \u201cstressed\u201d, and \u201ctired\u201d are default words. The problem is that they are too vague and do not do justice when trying to convey our actual feelings and emotions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are feeling: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slightly good \u2192<\/strong> fine <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slightly bad \u2192<\/strong> fine <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same word \u201cfine\u201d spans many micro-emotions and thus when we say we are \u201cfine\u201d we don\u2019t really know what we mean. We feel it, but we don\u2019t know what it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where the \u201cFeelings Wheel\u201d comes into the picture. Imagine a big circle divided into colors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the center we have basic broad words like \u2192<\/strong>Mad, Sad, Joyful, Scared. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then we move one step outward… and Mad turns into \u2192<\/strong> Frustrated<\/em> or Hurt. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then as we move to the outer rings, Frustrated turns into\u2192Annoyed<\/em> or Distant.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It takes us from a vague cloudy word to an EXACT word.  So, why does this even matter? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we just say \u201cI\u2019m stressed\u201d , we don\u2019t really know what to do and just sit there feeling bad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if we look at the wheel and realize \u201cOh. . . I\u2019m not just stressed , I\u2019m overwhelmed\u201d, now we know that we need to take a break. If we realize \u201cI\u2019m actually lonely\u201d, then we know we need to text a friend, and not watch another video. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Different feelings need different solutions. \u201cFine\u201d gives us zero solutions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to try it: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Download a picture of the Feelings Wheel on your phone or go to the online version.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    1. Next time you catch yourself saying \u201cI\u2019m fine\u201d or \u201cI\u2019m tired\u201d . . stop.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      1. Open the picture and trace your finger from the center to the outside.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        1. Find the word that actually fits.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          The feeling Wheel is easily available online<\/a> and there is a physical version in the Satellite Serenity Center, so you can stop by chill on bean bag, take a breather and take some time to understand what you are feeling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          That\u2019s it. This small act of taking a few seconds to identify the exact emotion, will overtime introduce us to more words that have specific descriptions. No pressure of writing a journal or an entire essay. When the emotion is felt, see it, call it (using the Wheel) and move forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          By Soham Sawant, Kennedy College of Sciences Well-Being Leader “How are you!?” “I\u2019m fine. . .” “What is ‘fine’?” “I don\u2019t know. . . sigh. Fine is fine.” Words like \u201cfine\u201d, \u201cgood\u201d, \u201cstressed\u201d, and \u201ctired\u201d are default words. The problem is that they are too vague and do … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1762,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/wellbeing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/958"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/wellbeing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/wellbeing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/wellbeing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1762"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/wellbeing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=958"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/wellbeing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":970,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/wellbeing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/958\/revisions\/970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/wellbeing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/wellbeing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/wellbeing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}