Why naming a feeling helps

If you have ever felt “bad” but could not say how, you are not alone. Lots of people — and especially many autistic and ADHD people — find it genuinely hard to tell their feelings apart. That is exactly what this wheel is for.

Name it to tame it

Researchers have a phrase for this: affect labelling. Simply putting a word to a feeling tends to take some of the heat out of it. The feeling becomes a thing you are looking at, rather than a fog you are lost inside.

How the wheel helps

Start in the middle with a broad feeling, then move outward to something more specific. Each step adds a little more precision — and each word comes with a plain meaning and a real-life example, so you are never stuck on a word you do not recognise.

There is no wrong answer. The goal is just to get a bit closer to this is what I am feeling right now.