All. The. Feels.

If you’ve been in therapy before, you might be familiar with the rainbow “feelings wheel.” It’s typically color-coded thematically, with core emotions in the middle and more nuanced feelings on the edges. Ringing any bells? Still not sure what I am talking about? No worries. Take a few minutes and check it out online. Bonus points if you take a screenshot!

The feelings wheel is a great resource to help broaden our emotional vocabulary. However, if you’re like most of my clients, when you look at the wheel you may be wondering what half of the feelings even mean.  What does it look like to feel __________? When have I felt __________ before?

If this is you, you’ve come to the right place. In Atlas of the Heart, author Brené Brown breathes life into the rainbow wheel of feelings. She leaves her readers with an ever-growing emotional vocabulary, as well as a deeper understanding of emotions and how they are commonly defined.

Sidenote: If you’re looking for something that’s research-based and relatable – you’ve found it. Atlas of the Heart reads like a conversation (…a very informative conversation!) and feels like an invitation. As you read through this book, it beckons you to take a look inward and reflect on your experiences.

As Brené Brown says in the introduction to Atlas of the Heart, “Language is our portal to meaning-making, connection, healing, learning, and self-awareness” (p. xxi). When we give language to our experiences, we often feel them in a new way. You’ve probably noticed this before. Picture the scene: You go to describe something you’ve just experienced to one of your friends, but you can’t quite name how it made you feel. You meander about for a bit, and then suddenly the words you’ve been searching for come to mind. They fit just right and something shifts inside of you on a heart level. Your emotions begin to feel a bit differently in your body. And you might notice that you feel a little more connected to your friend in that moment.

This is a big part of the therapy process: A calling inward that propels us towards feeling more connected to others in a personal and meaningful way.

Here are three practical ways to engage with your reading:

Spinning Wheel of Emotions If you have a printed copy of the feelings wheel, look away and spin the paper around a few times. With your eyes covered, pick a point on the wheel. See where you land and read the corresponding section in Atlas of the Heart. Bonus: Can you name a time when you felt this way?

Peaches and pits Pick an emotion that you love to feel and an emotion you try to avoid. Read the corresponding sections in Atlas of the Heart. Bonus: Identify any new perspectives from reading about these emotions.

Reflective Journaling As you read Atlas of the Heart, pause and write about what resonates with you. You can read this book in chunks, but I recommend that you take a slower, more methodical approach. This will give you time to take in what you are reading and see what it brings up for you. As always, do what you need to take good care of yourself.

If you try any of these approaches alongside your reading, I want to encourage you to listen to how they feel for you. Your emotions matter, and you deserve space to hold, feel, and honor what’s there. If therapy feels like it could be a helpful resource in this process, I’d love to connect with you.