Free somatic tool

Where do you feel it in your body?

By Albert Wong, PhD, Clinical Psychologist · Somatic Psychology

Emotions are not just thoughts — they live in the body. Anger tightens a jaw, fear flutters a stomach, grief sits heavy on a chest. Learning to notice where and how a feeling shows up in your body — psychologists call this interoception — is one of the most direct paths to understanding and regulating it.

Pick the feeling you're exploring, choose a sensation word, and tap the places on the body where you notice it. Your map builds as you go.

Completely private: everything happens on this page, in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or stored by us.

1 · What feeling are you exploring?

2 · Pick a sensation, then tap the body

Choose the word that fits, then tap everywhere you notice it. Tap a marked spot with the same word to remove it.

Figure from The Healing Trauma Workbook (Wong, 2023)

Your map

Nothing marked yet — pick a word and tap the body.

Why the body?

When a feeling is vague and overwhelming, the fastest way to get traction on it is often not to analyze it but to locate it. Naming the sensation ("tight," "hollow," "buzzing") and finding its place ("chest," "throat," "stomach") turns something formless into something workable — research on affect labeling shows that simply putting feelings into words calms the nervous system's alarm response. This is a foundational practice in somatic psychology, and a skill anyone can build.

This exercise is for reflection and psychoeducation; it is not a diagnosis or a substitute for professional care. Persistent or alarming physical sensations deserve medical attention — this tool maps the felt sense of emotion, not medical symptoms.

More free tools

The Feelings Wheel Seven core emotions unfolding into 100+ specific feelings — click the wheel to build your "I feel…" statement. The Sensations Wheel From The Healing Trauma Workbook: ~150 words for what you feel in your body — build your interoceptive vocabulary. Discover Your Negative Cycle The classic couples exercise from Hold Me Tight — map your conflict pattern and get your infinity-loop cycle map.