what it is, how to use it, who made it
Feelings Finder is a map of 179 feelings, organized into six emotional families across seven levels of depth. It exists to help you find the word for what you're feeling. The right word matters: research keeps finding that naming an emotion changes how the body carries it.
Start with the family that's closest: sad, mad, scared, joyful, peaceful, powerful. Follow its line until a word catches. Click it. Each card gives you the feeling's territory, its neighbors, and the words nearby when the first one is close but off. If scanning isn't working, type what you've got into the search; it knows every word on the map.
There's no correct direction and no level to reach. The levels describe depth of territory, from the body's first signals to the search for meaning. A full life plays every note.
The seven levels are levels of need, after Maslow: the body's needs at the base, meaning at the crown. Six families of feeling, seven levels of need. It is a map, not a ladder — nobody lives at the top, and the base is not beneath anyone.
The "+ spirituality" view reveals an older set of maps: the archetypes, the chakras, and the seven sins paired with their virtues. They're older ways of describing the same territory. Use them if they speak to you; skip them if they don't. The psychology view is complete on its own.
Feelings Finder was built by Matthew Michael Brown, AMFT, founder of Queer Magic Therapy. Matt is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist providing therapy at Angeles Psychology Group under licensed supervision. Feelings Finder is an educational tool from Queer Magic Therapy; it is not therapy, not a diagnostic instrument, and not a clinical service of any practice.
If you're in crisis, call or text 988 (U.S.).