I Tried Out A "Feelings Wheel" For My Anxiety And It Helped Me So Much
A little bit about me: I have anxiety.
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Because of that, I'm always looking for ways to manage and lower my anxious thoughts and feelings. So when I was scrolling through Instagram and saw an Intuitive Eating expert — if you hate diet culture, I highly suggest you listen to our BuzzFeed Daily episode to learn more about it — who recommended a company called The Recovery Box, I clicked through and found MY NEW FAVORITE PRODUCTS EVER.
Basically, the company aims to create therapeutic tools — like The Feelings Wheel — that are designed “to be kept in your back pocket so you can pull them out whenever you need a little extra support.”
If you haven't heard of a "feelings wheel" before, it's a tool that helps you "narrow down vocabulary words to pinpoint your current emotions." For example, when I’m stuck in my head, it can be hard for me to figure out what emotions I'm actually feeling. But The Feelings Wheel breaks down emotions like “sad” and “happy” and “fear" into deeper emotions like lonely, powerless, tranquil, accomplished, and vulnerable.
THEN, once I figure out what I'm feeling — which, by the way, labeling the feeling helps me reduce anxiety immediately — I use my favorite wheel: The Needs Wheel.
The Needs Wheel helps me figure out, you guessed it, what I need...because sometimes it's even harder to pinpoint what you need to help you resolve said feelings. For example, if I'm feeling sad, then the wheel has me pick from some general needs: achievement, affection, belonging, spontaneity, connection, recognition, acceptance, or support. Once I've picked my need — say I pick "recognition" — the wheel then gives a suggestion, such as "ask for validation."
The Recovery Box also has a bunch of other products including The Body Sensations Wheel (which helps you connect your physical sensations with your feelings), The Defusion Diary (which helps me get out of my head and break down whatever anxiety I have), and The Thought Putty (for those with fidgety fingers). Plus, as an added bonus, they're all pretty much priced anywhere from $6 to $15.
These tools have truly made my life so much better, so much so that...I immediately ordered them for my best friend. And guess what? She loves them too!!!
All I'm saying is: Life can be overwhelming and sometimes all you need is a little pocket-sized tool to help you get through it.
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