Explorer

The Emotions Grid

How every emotion transforms across the four modes.

Emotions aren't good or bad.

They have four faces — depending on which mode your nervous system is in.

The same emotion that creates connection in one state becomes a weapon in another. This grid shows you exactly how.

Emotion
Connection
Safe enough to connect
Protection
Starting to protect
Control
Managing to avoid feeling weak
Domination
No longer feeling impact
Guilt
Acknowledge, make amends
Shame-driven paralysis
Justify harm
Erase remorse
Fear
Alert, cautious
Anxious, survival-focused
Contain others
Rule by terror
Anger
Boundary energy, repair
Aggressive, reactive
Manipulate through rage
Punish and destroy
Shame
Repair through vulnerability
Collapsed worth, self-blame
Hide under superiority
Humiliate others
Sadness
Shared grief, empathy
Withdrawn, hopeless
Guilt-tripping tool
Weaponized vulnerability
Envy
Admire, learn from others
Compare and feel less-than
Compete and compare
Eliminate what we envy
Joy
Play, celebration
Fragile, rare
Flaunted for effect
Sadistic mirth
Love
Deepens closeness, care
Clinging, fear of loss
Conditional, transactional
Possessive control
Trust
Open, mutual
Suspicious, cautious
Calculated alliances
Forced obedience
Hope
Forward-leaning, real
Desperate wish
False promises, manipulated
False hope used to oppress

What Does This Show You?

Notice how the same feeling can heal or harm — depending on where you are on the gradient.

This isn't about judging emotions. It's about recognizing:

  • What state you're in
  • What that state makes available
  • What becomes possible when you shift

Related Tools

Continue exploring the framework

The Full Breakdown

See the complete picture — mood, perception, neurochemistry, and social constructs across the gradient.

The Four Modes

Go deeper into each mode — what changes, how it feels, how to recognize it.

The Emotional Tools

Practical assessments using the same gradient logic.