ADHD Toolkit
Tools to understand, process, and regulate your emotions—especially during ADHD emotional intensity
Interactive Emotion Wheel
🎯 Name What You're Feeling
ADHD brains often experience emotions intensely but struggle to identify exactly what we're feeling. Click a core emotion to explore more specific feelings.
😊 Happy
Joy, pleasure
😢 Sad
Down, hurt
😠 Angry
Frustrated, mad
😰 Fearful
Anxious, scared
🤢 Disgusted
Disapproval
😲 Surprised
Shocked, amazed
📥 Download Full Emotion Wheel
Right-click and save this page, or print to PDF for a complete emotion reference guide
Name the Feeling Worksheet
📝 Identify Your Current Emotion
Use this when you feel emotionally overwhelmed but can't pinpoint why. Work through each step to get clarity.
Barely noticeable
Mild
Moderate
Strong
Overwhelming
Self-Soothing Scripts
💬 Words to Say to Yourself
When emotions feel too big, sometimes we need a script. Read these aloud or in your head. Adapt them to fit your voice.
When You're Overwhelmed
When You Made a Mistake
When You're Anxious About the Future
When You Feel Rejected or Left Out
When You're Having Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD)
When You're Feeling Numb or Disconnected
Breathing Exercises
🫁 Calm Your Nervous System
Breathing exercises activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which helps regulate emotional intensity.
Box Breathing (4-4-4-4)
Click Start to begin
Other Breathing Techniques to Try
- 4-7-8 Breathing: Inhale for 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8 (calming for anxiety)
- Physiological Sigh: Two quick inhales through nose, one long exhale through mouth (instant stress relief)
- Belly Breathing: Hand on belly, breathe deep so your stomach expands (not chest)
- Counted Breaths: Count each exhale up to 10, then start over (focuses busy mind)
- One Minute Breathing: Just focus on breathing for 60 seconds, nothing else
Grounding Techniques (5-4-3-2-1)
⚓ Anchor Yourself in the Present
When emotions feel overwhelming or you're dissociating, grounding brings you back to the here and now. Use your senses to reconnect with your environment.
5 Things You SEE
Look around. Name 5 things you can see right now.
4 Things You TOUCH
Notice 4 things you can physically feel (chair, clothes, temperature).
3 Things You HEAR
Listen. What are 3 sounds you can hear?
2 Things You SMELL
What can you smell? Fresh air, coffee, your shampoo?
1 Thing You TASTE
Notice any taste in your mouth. Or take a sip of water.
More Grounding Techniques
- Ice cube in hand: Hold ice until it melts (intense sensation brings you present)
- Feet on floor: Press feet firmly down, notice the pressure and support
- Name 5 colors: Find 5 red things, 5 blue things in your environment
- Splash cold water: On face or hands (activates diving reflex, calms nervous system)
- Describe surroundings: Out loud or in your head in detailed sentences
- Touch different textures: Smooth phone, soft blanket, rough wall
ADHD & Emotional Intensity
🧠 Why Emotions Feel So BIG
ADHD affects emotional regulation in specific ways. Understanding this helps you be compassionate with yourself.
ADHD Emotional Patterns
- Emotional impulsivity: Feelings hit fast and hard before your thinking brain catches up
- Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD): Intense emotional pain from perceived rejection or criticism
- Difficulty shifting emotions: Once you feel something, it's hard to move on—you get "stuck"
- All-or-nothing emotions: Feelings tend to be extreme—you're elated or devastated, rarely neutral
- Emotional flooding: Multiple feelings at once that are hard to sort through
- Delayed emotional processing: Sometimes you feel the full impact hours or days later
Emergency Emotion Regulation Kit
🚨 When You Need Help RIGHT NOW
Create your personalized list of what actually helps when you're in crisis mode.
Remember
- It's okay to need help regulating your emotions—everyone does sometimes
- Distraction isn't avoidance if you come back to process later
- Your regulation strategies might change day to day—that's normal
- If you're in crisis, reach out: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text)