Can a Colour Wheel help support our emotions & improve our quality of life?
Through years of research, Robert Plutchik established that there are 34,000 different emotions! With so many to explore is it really surprising that things can get us down? That we struggle to express ourselves? Help is at hand in the form of a colour wheel. A resource that supports mental, physical and emotional well-being. Critical to those with long-term health conditions *.
American psychologist Plutchik proposed that eight primary emotions serve as the foundation for all others: joy, sadness, acceptance, disgust, fear, anger, surprise, and anticipation. These are then broken down further helping us to draw clear relationships between different feelings and more specific emotions.
Over the years many variations have been developed. Interpreted to suit the needs of different people. By taking the time to recognise and accept our feelings we can try and navigate through the ups and downs of life more effectively.
Here we look at how the wheel works and how it can support:
Participation in sports and exercise
Mental Health Conditions & Long-Term Health Conditions (LTHCs)
Personalisation of the wheel to match individual needs.
The Original Model
Positive Psychology goes deep into the creation of the wheel and looks at the component stages of the original Plutchik model which are:
Emotion
Action tendency
Appraisal
Motor &
Physiological.
Geoffrey Roberts Adaptation
The version produced by Geoffrey Roberts, an Australian Pastor is easy to read and utilise. Download a copy here. Roberts expanded the wheel to include 130 different feelings, with an increased focus on anger and fear. Interestingly these are two common emotions that men are reported to struggle with.
Sport and exercise concept
This theory first came to our attention during the first lockdown of the COVID pandemic. As part of a sports psychology video produced by Swim England. To support swimmers through the challenges of being unable to train. Sport Psychology Part One introduces the wheel and its effectiveness in keeping us grounded. We are encouraged to select an emotion at the centre that resonates. Move outwards to the second. The third level is to focus on and understand what we are feeling.
Having practised this the remaining three parts of this programme look at;
Grounding and staying present (Removing ourselves from negative thoughts or flashbacks)
Exploring Process Goals (The outcome of actions and tasks we complete) &
Effective Self-Talk (Internal positive thoughts)
Mental Health Conditions and LTHCs
Informing your Doctor of your emotions is important. It is known that poor emotional health can impact your body’s immune system. Furthermore having a mental health condition can make it difficult to capture what is going on around you. Hard to express what you are going through. In coming to terms with a diagnosis or the day-to-day stress of managing an LTHC, the wheel can help you understand yourself. At the same time engage with your medical team. The result? A more focused and effective all-around treatment plan. With clearly defined goals. Based specifically on the way different environments and scenarios affect you. This can be both physical and mental welfare. Take it further to inform supportive family and friends.
On a personal note
To help manage psychosis, after an ‘outing’ I sit down with Roberts's wheel and a post-it note. Think carefully about what I have done. Where I have been and what the outcome was. Select a central emotion. For example, happy, progress too pleased, proud, then finally courageous. Write it like a flowchart. Then add a note underneath like: used strategies well, faced a challenge or paced well.
Then I often select another central emotion and repeat it, in the same way. To ensure both positives and negatives are captured. Use as many central emotions as required. What the outcome is? Analyse and learn for the next time. Remove negative thoughts. Ability to focus on the next part of the day.
Equally, this could very effective in analysing your health in different environments and aid your confidence. Seeing the progress you make.
Adaptations and uses of the colour wheel
Just google ‘emotion wheel’ or ‘colour wheel’ to see a screen full of coloured circles, extensive lists of emotions and practical ways to utilise them. Different interpretations and how to implement them.
Examples of this include Fairy God Boss who looks at the perspective of a working environment. Whilst E-learning Industry works through 5 tips that are recommended for e-learning and development in the industry. They are:
Know the right recipe for blending emotions.
Bring a smile to their faces.
Create interest and intrigue by telling a story.
Give them a pleasant surprise.
Use images to trigger an emotional response.
Summary
The great thing about using a colour or emotion wheel is that it can be extremely effective. To interpret, accept and analyse thoughts and feelings. Especially at times when you are struggling with mental or physical health problems. Using it to inform those who support you in different environments can be a powerful tool. It's also easy to use discreetly. With so many options to choose from in terms of simplicity and complexity. Don’t be afraid to select, alter, or modify to use in your way.
*Please remember that these blogs are very real to us. We are on the same journey. It’s tough, slow and frustrating. Most of the Scenarios we face ourselves. Sometimes we find what we print useful. Other times we don’t. It’s included because everyone's journey is different. We have passionate perseverance to help others. To dispose of all content would be a waste and a disservice to our readers.
Fairy God Boss - Career Topics - Emotion Wheel
Positive Psychology Emotion Wheel
Swim England - Sports Psychology Video
E-Learning - 5 Top Tips Using Plutchiks Wheel of Emotions
Geoffrey Roberts - Feelings Wheel