Emotional Literacy

What is Emotional Literacy?

Emotional literacy is the ability to recognise, understand, and express your feelings.

The Eight Emotion Families

Happy, Sad, Angry, Fear, Disgust, Calm, Love, Surprise

Emotions come in eight main families, each with many different feelings inside.

Emotional Granulation

Finding the Exact Right Word

The more specific you can be about feelings, the better you can understand and handle them.

Energy and Emotions

Emotional Arousal

Emotions have different energy levels — some pump you up, some calm you down.

Pleasant and Unpleasant Feelings

Emotional Valence

Feelings can feel nice or not-so-nice, and both kinds are important.

Feelings in Your Body

The Body-Emotion Connection

Emotions show up in your body — not just your mind.

Reading Others' Feelings

Noticing How Others Feel

You can often tell how someone feels by watching their face, body, and voice.

When Feelings Get Big

Handling Intense Emotions

Big feelings are normal. There are ways to handle them safely.

Empathy: Feeling With Others

Understanding Different Perspectives

Empathy is understanding or sharing how someone else feels.

Talking About Feelings

Sharing How You Feel

Sharing your feelings helps others understand you and can help you feel better.

Neurodivergent Burnout

When everything feels too much for too long

Burnout happens when your brain has been working too hard for too long without enough rest — and it is different from ordinary tiredness.

Meltdowns & Shutdowns

What they really are

Meltdowns and shutdowns are what happens when the brain gets overloaded beyond its capacity — they are not tantrums or choices.