Emotional Identification
Tended Path Counseling, PLLC
Emotions aren't problems to solve — they're information. They arise to signal something: that something matters, that something feels unsafe, that something has shifted. This worksheet is an invitation to slow down and listen to what's present.
There's no right answer here. Start wherever you are, and go as deep as feels useful.
Step 1 — Orienting
Before you name anything, take a breath. What's present for you right now — even vaguely?
Step 2 — Naming the Emotion
Select any words that feel close. Emotions layer and mix — more than one is fine. Start broad, then go specific.
Click the outer ring to select
hover to preview
Select from the wheel…
Click to add more precise words:
Step 3 — Where Do You Feel It in the Body?
Emotions live somewhere in us, even when they're hard to name. Click regions on the figure, or describe the sensation directly.
Click to mark where you notice sensation
Step 4 — What Might This Emotion Be Telling You?
Emotions carry information — about what matters, what feels threatened, what needs attention.
Step 5 — How Are You Relating to This Emotion?
There's no right answer. Notice your honest relationship to what you're feeling — not what you think you should feel.
I want it to stop or go away
It feels too uncomfortable, or there isn't space for it right now
I'm trying to figure it out
I want to understand where it came from or what it means
I'm sitting with it, even though it's hard
I'm not trying to fix or change it — just staying present with it
I'm making room for it
I can feel it and still move in the direction I want to go
I'm not sure
Hard to say how I'm relating to it right now
Step 6 — Is This Feeling Familiar?
Patterns live in emotion. Sometimes a feeling is old — it just arrived wearing a new situation.
Step 7 — What Does This Part of You Need?
Not what you should do — what does this feeling, or the part of you carrying it, actually need right now?