Introduction to the Frameworks
These tools work together as a connected system for emotional awareness and choice.
These frameworks and tools help people name feelings, understand them, and choose what to do next.
Whether you're working through something yourself or supporting someone else, you'll find the right entry point here.
Feelings Wheel
The simplest model
Three steps. Easy to remember. Powerful in the moment.
Choose
Choose what helps.
One small step is enough
Pause
Take one slow breath.
Give yourself a little space if needed
Feel
Notice what you’re feeling.
You don’t have to fix it.
A deeper path for reflection and action
IRULE is the most complete framework on this page. It takes you from first noticing a feeling all the way through choosing and using a coping tool.
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Identify
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Recognize
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Understand
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Let yourself feel it
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Employ coping tools
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Each tool plays a distinct role
These frameworks are not competing approaches — they are complementary layers of the same process.
The Feelings Wheel
The Feelings Wheel is the entry point. Before you can respond to a feeling, you have to know what it is. The wheel gives you the vocabulary.
Feel → Pause → Choose
Once you have named your feeling, Feel → Pause → Choose gives you a fast, memorable structure for what to do in real time. It works in the middle of a hard moment.
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IRULE
IRULE provides the full arc — from first noticing to active coping. It is best used when you have a moment to slow down and process more completely.
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