It's Feelings February, on the "You Are A LOT" podcast, and I'm starting the first episode of the month with a basic question: what's the difference between an emotion and a feeling? Emotions are real-time body signals—racing heart, tight chest, clenched jaw, shallow breathing. Feelings are what you become aware of and can name after your brain interprets those body signals. For ADHD and AuDHD humans, there's often a lag between the emotion happening and the feeling "forming," (due to our issues with interoception) which can make it hard to answer a simple question like "What's wrong?" I explain how to use a Feelings Wheel and why naming the body state can sometimes ground you more than naming a feeling too fast.

Show Notes:

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Sources Used:

The Difference Between Feelings And Emotions: Wake Forest University

The Feelings Wheel: The New Happy Blog

Toxic Positivity: Book, Whitney Goodman (20% off)