# Words for feelings > Words for feelings help you say more than good, bad or fine. Each page below takes one everyday feeling, explains what it usually means, compares it with the words closest to it, and gives a few questions to ask yourself on an evening when it fits. Source: https://joinleeway.app/feelings/ ยท updated 2026-10-16 Naming a feeling precisely is a skill, and for many people it gets easier with practice. Drained and tired are not the same evening. Neither are overwhelmed and stressed, or restless and on edge. A closer word can make it easier to see what caused the feeling and what might help. The words here are the ones people actually use at the end of a day, grouped by what they have in common. Each page is short, written in plain language, and ends with a few questions you can answer in writing or out loud. These pages describe ordinary feelings. They are not a way to assess your mental health, and they do not replace a conversation with a professional. ## Too much at once - [Overwhelmed](https://joinleeway.app/feelings/overwhelmed/index.md): More on your plate than you can hold at once. - [Overstimulated](https://joinleeway.app/feelings/overstimulated/index.md): Too much coming in, and everything feels loud. - [Frazzled](https://joinleeway.app/feelings/frazzled/index.md): Worn thin and scattered, like a frayed edge. - [Touched out](https://joinleeway.app/feelings/touched-out/index.md): Your body has been needed all day and wants space. ## Running on empty - [Drained](https://joinleeway.app/feelings/drained/index.md): Empty in a way sleep alone does not seem to fix. - [Tired but wired](https://joinleeway.app/feelings/tired-but-wired/index.md): Exhausted, and still buzzing. ## Hard to settle - [Restless](https://joinleeway.app/feelings/restless/index.md): Unable to settle, and not sure what you want instead. - [Wound up](https://joinleeway.app/feelings/wound-up/index.md): Tightly charged by something that happened today. - [On edge](https://joinleeway.app/feelings/on-edge/index.md): Braced for something, and unable to unclench. - [Uneasy](https://joinleeway.app/feelings/uneasy/index.md): A quiet sense that something is off, without a name yet. - [Unsettled](https://joinleeway.app/feelings/unsettled/index.md): Things have shifted and are not back in place yet. ## A short fuse - [Irritable](https://joinleeway.app/feelings/irritable/index.md): A short fuse, and small things land hard. ## Questions ### Why does naming a feeling help? Putting a feeling into words can take a little of the edge off it. In a brain-imaging study on affect labeling, people who picked a word for the emotion shown in a picture had a quieter response in the amygdala, a brain area involved in emotional reactions, than when they processed the same picture in other ways. Research on emotion differentiation adds that people who tell their unpleasant feelings apart in precise words, rather than lumping them together as bad, tend to be less likely to turn to harmful ways of coping, such as binge drinking, under heavy stress. The effects are modest. A precise word is a starting point: once you know you are frazzled rather than sad, it can be easier to see what caused it and what might help. ### What if no word fits exactly? Use two, or describe it: tense, then easing; restless but not worried. Feelings often come mixed, and a short phrase can be more accurate than a single word. ### How is this different from a feelings wheel? A feelings wheel shows many words at a glance. These pages go deeper on fewer words: what each one means in everyday life, and how it differs from its neighbors. ## Sources - [Putting feelings into words: affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli (Lieberman et al., 2007, Psychological Science)](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01916.x), Association for Psychological Science - [Unpacking Emotion Differentiation: Transforming Unpleasant Experience by Perceiving Distinctions in Negativity (Kashdan, Barrett & McKnight, 2015, Current Directions in Psychological Science)](https://www.psychologicalscience.org/journals/current-directions/0963721414550708/), Association for Psychological Science --- Leeway is a new AI voice journal for iPhone, opening soon: you answer one evening question out loud for a couple of minutes, it names what you felt, shows your emotional reserve and your mental load, and keeps one small step for tomorrow. Waitlist: https://joinleeway.app/. Leeway is not a substitute for professional care. In the US, call or text 988 if you are going through a hard time, or 911 in an emergency.