Checking in to your Emotions Guide

The Joyful Freedom Approach

to energy restoration

Checking in to your emotions

This worksheet integrates the work of Brené Brown from her book Atlas of the Heart. Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience (2021). I have always struggled to identity many emotions beyond anger, fear, happy, frustrated, depressed and anxious. Brené’s listing and groupings of emotions inspired me so much and I want to share it with you here, in this exercise.

Checking in with how you feel is an important part of the Joyful Freedom Approach to Energy Restoration. Once you put a name to your emotion, you can identify your unique patterns and begin to address them head-on. So, to start,

Consider: 

1. How are you feeling right now?

2. What comes to mind? [Let this arise from your heart, which comes quickly if true]

3. Then, circle or write down all of the emotions below from List One that relate to how you are feeling right now. Write down additional emotions or words that describe how you are feeling, even if they do not appear on the list.

4. Refer to the second list of emotions (List Two) that are presented under distinct groupings.  Are there emotions that you have experienced that are not on the Brené’s list? Which group would they go in?  What is your conclusion?

I have found this exercise in fascinating and helpful in deepening understanding of my emotions of the moment and also for  promoting mental health towards Joyful Freedom.

List One: Emotions according to Brene Brown’s Atlas from the Heart

stress, overwhelm, anxiety, worry, avoidance, excitement, dread, fear, vulnerability, comparison, admiration, reverence, envy, jealousy, resentment, schadenfreude1, freudenfreude2, boredom, disappointment, expectations, regret, discouragement, resignation, frustration, awe, wonder, confusion, curiosity, interest, surprise, amusement, bittersweetness, nostalgia, cognitive dissonance, paradox, irony, sarcasm, anguish, hopelessness, despair, sadness, grief, compassion, pity, empathy, sympathy, boundaries, comparative suffering, shame, self-compassion, perfectionism, guilt, humiliation, embarrassment, belonging, fitting in, connection, disconnection, insecurity, invisibility, loneliness, love, lovelessness, heartbreak, trust, self-trust, betrayal, defensiveness, flooding, hurt, joy, happiness, calm, contentment, gratitude, foreboding joy, relief, tranquillity, anger, contempt, disgust, dehumanization, hate, self-righteousness, pride, hubris, humility.

List Two: Emotions according to Brene Brown’s Atlas from the Heart according to groups

1. Places we go when things are uncertain

·         Stress, overwhelm, anxiety, worry, avoidance, excitement, dread, fear, vulnerability

2. Places we go when we compare

·         Comparison, admiration, reverence, envy, jealousy, resentment, schadenfreude1, freudenfreude2

3. Places we go when things do not go as planned

·         Boredom, disappointment, expectations, regret, discouragement, resignation, frustration

4. Places we go when it’s beyond us

·         Awe, wonder, confusion, curiosity, interest, surprise

5. Places we go when things aren’t what they seem

·         Amusement, bittersweetness, nostalgia, cognitive dissonance, paradox, irony, sarcasm

6. Places we go when we are hurting

·         Anguish, hopelessness, despair, sadness, grief

7. Places we go with others

·         Compassion, pity, empathy, sympathy, boundaries, comparative suffering

8. Places we go when we fall short

·         Shame, self-compassion, perfectionism, guilt, humiliation, embarrassment

9. Places we go when we search for connection

·         Belonging, fitting in, connection, disconnection, insecurity, invisibility, loneliness

10. Place we go when the heart is open

·         Love, lovelessness, heartbreak, trust, self-trust, betrayal, defensiveness, flooding, hurt

11. Places we go when life is good

·         Joy, happiness, calm, contentment, gratitude, foreboding joy, relief, tranquillity

12. Places we go when we feel wronged

·         Anger, contempt, disgust, dehumanization, hate, self-righteousness

13. Places we go to self-assess

·         Pride, hubris, humility

1 schadenfreude - finding joy or pleasure from another person’s misfortune

2  freudenfreude - finding joy or pleasure from other person’s good fortune