List of Feelings, Words for Naming Emotions

Introduction

Plutchik’s Wheel is a well-publicized short list of emotions.

PLUTCHIK’S WHEEL

Robert Plutchik was an American psychologist and professor who studied human emotions. Plutchik’s theory was that there are 8 distinct, basic human emotions: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, surprise, acceptance, and anticipation. – January Nelson 

Whether you prefer Plutchik’s list or your own, here’s a list we’ve devised that you can start with. Add and remove as you find helpful, and see the long list of 254 feelings in the alpha list below.

Happy

• Ecstatic
• Light or Vibrant
• Joyous
• Happy
• Grateful
• Excited

Loving

• Compassionate
• Loving
• Connected
• Peaceful

Sad

• Grief-stricken
• Sad
• Distraught
• Heavy
• Depressed

Afraid

• Anxious
• Afraid
• Alone
• Ashamed

Angry

• Irritated
• Angry
• Mad
• Disgusted
• Horrified

Confused

• Surprised
• Confused
• Lost
• Unsure

The words in this lesson are all commonly understood as feelings. As a side note, researcher Candace Pert (author of Molecules of Emotion) explains that, biochemically, there is a consistency with other states that are not necessarily thought of as feelings (including basic sensations and drive states):

Why you feel the way you feel is… a subject that has consumed me for over a decade… Emotions are… widespread across both human and animal kingdoms. They… are inextricably linked to the origins of the species. When I use the term emotion, I am speaking in the broadest of terms, to include not only the familiar human experiences of anger, fear, and sadness, as well as joy, contentment, and courage, but also basic sensations such as pleasure and pain, as well as the “drive states” studied by the experimental psychologists, such as hunger and thirst. In addition to measurable and observable emotions and states, I also refer to an assortment of other intangible, subjective experiences that are probably unique to humans, such as spiritual inspiration, awe, bliss, and other states of consciousness that we all have experienced but that have been, up until now, physiologically unexplained. – Candace Pert PhD