Visualizing Your Emotions

Deborah DeLue • January 31, 2025

The Art of Applied Visual Thinking

The official newsletter of Applied Visual Thinking SUPERHEROES. Vol. 6 No. 3, January 31, 2025

Making Emotions Visible:
A Visual Thinking Approach

If you're anything like me, winter has a way of stirring up emotions. The shorter days, colder temperatures, and long stretches of gray skies can bring a mix of stillness, introspection, and sometimes even restlessness. I've noticed how my energy shifts with the season—some days, I feel a quiet calm; others, I struggle with a sluggish mood. When this happens, I use visual thinking tools to process these shifts. Instead of letting emotions linger undefined, I put them on paper, giving them shape, color, and form. It's a simple but powerful way to navigate seasonal emotions.

Why Draw Your Feelings?

Emotions can be unpredictable—sometimes overwhelming, sometimes subtle. They don't always fit neatly into words, making them hard to process. That's where visual thinking comes in.

When we translate emotions into images, shapes, and patterns, we create something we can see and work with. It isn't about making art but externalizing what's happening inside. Drawing emotions fosters self-awareness, problem-solving, and even emotional relief. Think of it as a practical tool for navigating feelings in a way that words alone can't.

Three Ways to Make Emotions Visible

1. Map Your Emotions

Imagine creating a landscape of your emotions. Here's how to do it:

Grab a blank page and something to draw with—markers, crayons, or digital tools.
Ask yourself, "How am I feeling right now?" Pick one emotion to focus on.
Sketch it out using abstract shapes, lines, colors, or textures.

Example: Anxiety might be jagged dark lines. Calm could be soft blue waves.

Add layers to show intensity. Is it big and heavy? Light and fleeting?

Once you've finished, reflect on your map. Does it reveal anything new about your emotions? Could shifting the shapes or colors change how you feel?

2. Create an Emotion Code

Design your own visual shorthand for emotions. Assign specific colors, shapes, or symbols to different feelings.

Example: Anger could be red spirals. Joy might look like yellow bursts. Sadness? Maybe soft blue rain.

Use this code in a journal or planner to track emotions over time. Patterns may emerge that help you understand your triggers or emotional cycles.

This is a great tool for personal insight and can also help teams or kids talk about emotions more easily.

3. Use Visual Metaphors

Sometimes, emotions feel like things we can describe in imagery—weather, landscapes, objects, or animals.

Example: A tough day might feel like a thunderstorm. Draw it—dark clouds, lightning, puddles.

Then, ask: What could shift this storm? Sunshine? A breeze to clear the sky?

Visual metaphors make emotions easier to process by turning them into something external—something you can analyze and even change.

Try This Quick Exercise

Grab something to draw with and something to draw on, and try this five-minute drawing exercise to get started:

Start by drawing a quick, simple figure. If you're not sure where to start, download the free handout here.
Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Tune in—what are you feeling, and where are you feeling it in your body?
Ask yourself, "If this emotion were a shape, color, or pattern, what would it look like?"
Open your eyes and draw your emotion in, on, or around your figure. Working quickly without judgment, use lines, shapes, and colors to express your feelings.
Pause: Allow yourself to sit with this emotion. Be present and let yourself feel it deeply for a couple of minutes.
Notice and Reflect: How does seeing your emotion on paper change your perception of it? You may notice the feeling has shifted or softened, or you may gain insight into what triggered this feeling. Jot down a few notes about the process and your emotions before and after you complete your drawing.

Download Handout

Make This a Habit

Like any skill, visualizing emotions becomes more powerful with practice. Try using it as a daily check-in or a tool when you feel stuck in an emotion.

It's also a great technique to share. Try a quick emotion-mapping activity with coworkers, friends, or family—it might spark surprising insights and better conversations.

Closing Thought

Emotions don't have to stay abstract or overwhelming. When you give them form—lines, colors, shapes—you give yourself the power to see, reflect on, and even reshape them.

Give it a try—your emotions might thank you.

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