Do you sometimes feel misunderstood or struggle to explain how you feel? Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown equips you with the emotional language to understand and communicate your feelings, build stronger relationships, and navigate life experiences with greater clarity. In this free Atlas of the Heart summary, you’ll learn the language of emotion to identify, manage and express various types of feelings.
What is Atlas of the Heart about?
Language helps us make sense of and navigate life experiences; it affects our decisions, behaviors, and relationships. By naming our emotions, we gain clarity on what we feel and why, facilitating emotion regulation and psychosocial well-being. It also helps us to develop mutual understanding, form deeper relationships and more genuine connections with the people around us.
In this book, Brené Brown maps out a wide range of 87 human emotions and experiences (or thoughts that lead to emotions) to help us identify, understand, and talk about the feelings that shape our lives. It categorizes both positive and negative emotions into 13 “places” we go when we experience life situations.
Brown shares insights based on more than 20 years of studying emotions, vulnerability, and human connection, including an extensive review of over 1,500 academic publications, and analyzing thousands of stories and experiences.
Mapping the Human Experience with 87 Emotions
By thinking of our emotions and experiences as places, we can consider questions like: Where am I? How did I get here? How do I move to where I want to be?
As you explore each “place” on the atlas, consider how emotions manifest in various aspects of life, in 4 ways:
• Biology: How emotions physically manifest in your body;
• Biography: How your family, upbringing, and culture shape your emotional responses;
• Behavior: The habitual ways you react to emotions; and
• Backstory: The triggers or contexts that lead to these emotions.
These help us to form a deeper understanding of ourselves and others, to form meaningful connection and avoid emotional harm.
In this free Atlas of the Heart summary, we’ll share the list of 87 emotions with a few detailed samples. For a full breakdown of all 13 categories of feelings and 87 emotions, please check out our complete 26-page book summary with text, infographic and audio formats.
1. Places We Go When Things Are Uncertain or Overwhelming
These are the emotions and experiences associated with uncertainty, fear, or overwhelming situations.
Stress and Overwhelm
Stress is the feeling of being overburdened by external demands, linked to a sense of uncertainty and lack of control. It triggers physical, mental, and emotional responses in our body, such as increased heart rate and cortisol production.
The level of stress is determined more by our perception of how well we’re coping, rather than the actual demands.
A buildup of stress leads to overwhelm, where we feel paralyzed because there’s too much happening at once. We lose mental clarity and tend to make poor decisions.
Stress feels like you’re struggling with your tasks, while overwhelm feels like you’re drowning and unable to function. The best solution is to take a break—to engage in play or do nothing—to recover and reset your mental state.
Anxiety, Worry, and Avoidance
Anxiety is a powerful emotion that involves tension, worry, and a growing sense of uncertainty and loss of control. We tend to dwell on worst-case scenarios, which amplifies the sense of helplessness. It also manifests physically through increased heart rate, muscle tension, restlessness, etc.
Anxiety can be a temporary response (state), or it can be a more permanent part of your personality (trait). People with persistent or chronic anxiety might require professional support.
Worry and avoidance are 2 ineffective coping mechanisms for anxiety. Worrying or repeatedly thinking about negative possibilities wastes mental energy and reinforces anxiety.
Avoidance or dodging the causes of anxiety might offer relief in the moment, but increases anxiety in the long run.
Excitement
It’s more effective to reframe anxious feelings as excitement. Both feelings bring similar physical sensations like increased heart rate and energy. By relabeling your feelings—telling yourself you’re excited, not anxious—you can positively shift your perception of the experience.
In our full Atlas of the Heart summary, we also address the feelings/experiences of dread, fear, and vulnerability, along with the other emotions from the other 12 “places.”
Here’s a visual summary of all the 13 places and 87 emotions:
Get the full breakdown of all these emotions in our full 26-page summary of Atlas of the Heart!
2. Places We Go When We Compare With Others
Comparison is a cognitive process that leads to various feelings. It often happens unconsciously, making it hard to recognize its impact on our behaviors and relationships. We nca compare upward and downward –and either type of comparison can trigger negative emotions like anger, fear, shame, and sadness, and there are several misconception about comparisons.
Here are the emotions and experiences that arise when we compare ourselves to others:
- Comparison
- Admiration
- Reverence
- Envy
- Jealousy
- Resentment
- Schadenfreude
- Freudenfreude
For example, resentment is often mistaken for anger, but it actually stems from envy. You feel resentful not because of others’ behaviors, but because you wish you could do/have the same things. It involves a combination of anger, envy, frustration, and judgment. Brown explains how to address the root causes of resentment, and differentiate it from the other emotions above.
3. Places We Go When Things Don’t Go as Planned
These are emotions and responses we experience when life takes unexpected turns and our plans fall apart. They include:
- Boredom
- Disappointment
- Regret
- Discouragement
- Resignation
- Frustration
4. Places We Go When It’s Beyond Us
These are the emotions and lived experiences from encountering things that transcend our usual understanding or experience. They include:
- Awe
- Wonder
- Curiosity
- Confusion
- Interest
- Surprise
5. Places We Go When Things Aren’t What They Seem
These are the emotions and mental states we experience when reality doesn’t align with our expectations or understanding. They include:
- Amusement
- Bittersweetness
- Nostalgia
- Cognitive Dissonance
- Paradox
- Irony
- Sarcasm
6. Places We Go When We’re Hurting
These are painful feelings we experience when we’re suffering and in deep pain—they represent different responses to loss or ways to process emotional trauma. They include:
- Anguish
- Hopelessness
- Despair
- Sadness
- Grief
7. Places We Go with Others
These are the emotions and sense of connection that we share with others, especially during moments of vulnerability, care, and support. They include:
- Compassion
- Pity
- Empathy (including affective empathy and cognitive empathy)
- Sympathy
- Boundaries
It is a common misconception that we connect with others through sympathy and pity. Brown shares how feelings like sympathy and pity can actually be an enemy of empathy–because sympathy is about feeling sorry for someone from a distance, while pity involves seeing others as inferior because of their suffering (making the person being pitied feel alienated or diminished).
8. Places We Go When We Fall Short
These are our emotions and experiences when we don’t meet our own or others’ expectations. They include:
- Shame
- Self-Compassion
- Perfectionism
- Guilt
- Humiliation
- Embarrassment
For example, perfectionism is actually an enemy of confidence and excellence. It is the belief that we can shield ourselves from feelings of shame, judgment, or blame by doing things perfectly (or presenting ourselves as flawless). It’s driven by the fear of failure and rejection, not a genuine desire for excellence. By contrast, healthy striving focuses on growth and progress, and embraces mistakes and failures as part of the learning process.
9. Places We Go When We Search for Connection
These are the emotions and experiences we encounter in our search for meaningful relationships and social connection between people. They include:
- Belonging
- Fitting In
- Connection
- Disconnection
- Insecurity
- Vulnerability
10. Places We Go When the Heart Is Open
We need the courage to love and build deep trust with others. Here are the emotions and experiences that arise when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable and open to the world around us. They include:
- Love
- Lovelessness
- Heartbreak
- Trust
- Self-Trust
11. Places We Go When Life Is Good
These are the emotions we experience when life seems positive, peaceful and fulfilling. They include:
- Joy
- Happiness
- Calm
- Contentment
- Gratitude
- Foreboding Joy
- Relief
12. Places We Go When We Feel Wronged
These are the emotions that arise when we feel we’ve been treated unfairly, wronged, or violated. They include:
- Anger
- Contempt
- Disgust
- Dehumanization
- Hate
- Self-Righteousness
For example, hate is a powerful combination of contempt, repulsion, disgust, anger, and fear. It occurs when we believe a person or group is intentionally malicious or immoral, and that they’re unlikely to change. This creates a strong desire to eliminate them mentally, socially, or physically, and leads to harmful actions like violence or emotional abuse.
13. Places We Go to Self-Assess
These are the emotional experiences we encounter when we reflect on our actions, abilities, and contributions. They include:
- Pride
- Hubris
- Humility
It is a common misconception that pride and humility are negative traits. Brown debunks this by explaining how pride can be good or bad depending on the context. On the other hand, hubris—which is an overblown sense of pride or self-confidence—is dangerous as it inflates our view of our abilities and blinds us to any limitation or fundamental flaw. By contrast, humble people are open to learning, and this is built on an honest understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. It is a powerful character trait that puts them on solid ground to grow and form deeper connections without arrogance.
Getting the Most from Atlas of the Heart
Do you know the difference between joy vs happiness, curiosity vs interest, anger vs contempt, pride vs hubris, belonging vs fitting in? If not, it’s time to find out with a detailed exploration of the full range of emotions in our full book summary bundle which includes an infographic, 26-page text summary, and a 42-minute audio summary. Equip yourself with the language tools to make sense conflicting emotions, cope with difficult emotions, and form authentic connections with yourself and others.
This book provides valuable guidance into our emotional world, with a much more detailed breakdown of the 87 emotions and experiences, along with personal anecdotes, research-backed insights, illustrations, examples and practical tips to help us navigate emotions in everyday life, and form deeper connections with people around us. You can purchase the book here or visit For more details, please visit brenebrown.com for more details.
Learn more from Brene Brown in our Daring Greatly summary. Or, master your emotions with our summaries on: Emotional Intelligence , Emotional Agility, and Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before.
About the Author of Atlas of the Heart
Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience was written by Dr. Brené Brown, Ph.D. She is an American research professor, author, and podcast host. She is a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work and previously served as a visiting professor at McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin. Renowned for her groundbreaking research on courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy, Dr. Brown has delivered multiple TED Talks and lectures, and won numerous teaching awards. She also hosts two popular podcasts “Unlocking Us” and “Dare to Lead” where she explores these topics.
Atlas of the Heart Quotes
“I want this book to be an atlas for all of us, because I believe that with an adventurous heart and the right maps, we can travel anywhere and never fear losing ourselves. Even when we don’t know where we are.”
“Naming an experience doesn’t give the experience more power, it gives us the power of understanding and meaning.”
“Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.”
“There are too many people in the world today who decide to live disappointed rather than risk feeling disappointment.”
“True belonging doesn’t require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are.”
“We need more real love. Gritty, dangerous, wild-eyed, justice-seeking love.”
“The brokenhearted are the bravest among us—they dared to love.”
“While experiencing joy, we don’t lose ourselves, we become more truly ourselves.”
“We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and when we honor the spiritual connection that grows from that offering with trust, respect, kindness, and affection.”
“Anger is a powerful catalyst but a life-sucking companion.”
“Language matters. It’s the raw material of story, it changes how we feel about ourselves and others, and it’s a portal to connection.”
“[I believe] that people are harder to hate close up, and easier to hate when we’re behind our ideological bunker and they’re behind theirs.”
Click here to download the Atlas of the Heart infographic & summary