I was reading Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Greaves and Bradberry recently. Or at least I attempted to read it. I may try again, but the intro in which they submit so many EI trainers are needed, but have made the training amazingly expensive and give ownership to the companies, turned me off.
Before I reached that point, I ran across an interesting chart in which they outline the levels of intensity when feeling happy, sad, angry, afraid or ashamed. I printed a copy for myself and felt there’s enough value to share it as an author’s resource and to study. You can see them below:
| Intensity of Feelings | Happy | Sad | Angry | Afraid | Ashamed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | Elated Exited Overjoyed Thrilled Exuberant Ecstatic Fired up Passionate | Depressed Agonized Alone Hurt Dejected Hopeless Sorrowful Miserable | Furious Enraged Outraged Boiling Irate Seething Loathsome Betrayed | Terrified Horrified Scared stiff Petrified Fearful Panicky Frantic Shocked | Sorrowful Remorseful Defamed Worthless Disgraced Dishonored Mortified Admonished |
| Medium | Cheerful Gratified Good Relieved Satisfied Glowing | Heartbroken Somber Lost Distressed Let down Melancholy | Upset Mad Defended Frustrated Agitated Disgusted | Apprehensive Frightened Threatened Insecure Uneasy Intimidated | Apologetic Unworthy Sneaky Guilty Embarrassed Secretive |
| Low | Glad Contented Pleasant Tender Pleased Mellow | Unhappy Moody Blue Upset Disappointed Dissatisfied | Perturbed Annoyed Uptight Resistant Irritated Touchy | Cautions Nervous Worried Timid Unsure Anxious | Bashful Ridiculous Regretful Uncomfortable Pitied Silly |
While the synonyms are great, I find the layers of greater value. Working up and down the emotional levels when a character is dealing with an event, or series of events, is important. And I don’t find it easy to communicate. This chart just found a place on my reference board to help identify where a character is at any given time.
