🗺️ The DojoWell Emotions Map: A Comprehensive Guide
Published: 30-Jan-2026
📝 Introduction: Why This Map Exists
The DojoWell Emotions Map is not a traditional mood tracker. Most tools ask, "How do you feel?"—inviting you to search for a label like "sad" or "frustrated." This map asks a more fundamental question:
"What state is your nervous system in right now?"
This distinction is the key to breaking "stuck" patterns. You can have perfect intellectual clarity about your emotions and still remain physically trapped in a stress response. If your body remains braced, the regulation cycle has not finished. This map is your visual dashboard to see where you are in that cycle and how to move toward completion.
Figure: DojoWell Emotions Map — start at the center (state), then use outer emotion words as clues.
🔘 Section 1: The Core Philosophy
Before diving into the labels, we must establish the ground rules for using this tool effectively.
- Accuracy is Secondary: The map works with "close enough." Don't get paralyzed by precision.
- State > Story: Your nervous system state is the biological container for your thoughts. If the container is Alarmed, the thoughts will naturally be Alarmed. Change the state to change the story.
- Capacity, Not Character: Being in a "Collapsed" or "Frayed" state is not a moral failure or a personality trait. It is a reflection of your current physiological capacity.
📍 Section 2: The Five States of the Nervous System
When you look at the map, start at the center. Ignore the outer rings of emotion words and identify which of these five modes your body is currently inhabiting.
🟢 1. SETTLED (The Baseline)
When you are Settled, your system is relatively calm and coordinated. This is the state of homeostasis.
- The Feel: Breathing is natural and deep. Your muscles have "resting tone" rather than tension.
- Attention: Your focus is flexible. You can look at a screen, then look out a window, then listen to a friend without feeling "jolted."
- The Misconception: Settled does not always mean happy. You can feel quiet, sad, or contemplative and still be Settled. What matters is that the body is no longer braced for impact.
🔵 2. ENGAGED (The Flow State)
Engaged means your system is mobilized but coordinated. This is "healthy stress" or eustress.
- The Feel: There is a buzz of energy and focus. Effort feels possible, sustainable, and even rewarding.
- Attention: You are "locked in," but you aren't panicking.
- Key Indicator: You can stop what you are doing, take a break, and return to it without losing your internal stability. You are active, but you aren't "running away" from anything.
🔴 3. ALARMED (The Protection State)
Alarmed is a high-energy, protective state. The body is preparing for immediate action (Fight or Flight).
- The Feel: Your heart rate increases, your breathing becomes shallow, and your body feels "tight." This manifests as anxiety, anger, or intense pressure.
- Attention: Your focus narrows significantly (tunnel vision). You become hyper-aware of "threats" or things that are going wrong.
- The Purpose: This state exists to save your life. The problem isn't the state itself—it’s when the system stays here long after the threat has passed.
🟡 4. FRAYED (The Unstable State)
Frayed occurs when the Alarmed state stays "ON" for too long. It is the signature state of modern burnout.
- The Feel: You are "tired but wired." You feel overwhelmed, scattered, and irritable. Small inconveniences feel like major catastrophes.
- Attention: Your focus breaks down. You find yourself switching tabs, checking your phone, and losing track of your goals.
- The Danger: This is where the system becomes vulnerable to Shortcuts and Substitutes (like doom-scrolling or caffeine abuse) because it feels like it can’t settle on its own.
⚫ 5. COLLAPSED (The Shutdown State)
Collapsed is a low-energy, low-responsiveness state. It is the body’s "emergency brake."
- The Feel: Numbness, heaviness, or "brain fog." You might feel like you’re moving through molasses.
- The Reality: This is not laziness. It is the physiological cost of being Frayed or Alarmed for too long. The body pulls back to conserve resources because it believes it is out of options.
- The Path Out: You cannot "willpower" your way out of Collapse. You must gently signal safety to the system to allow it to move back toward Frayed and eventually Settled.
🛠️ Self-Assessment Checklist
If you aren’t sure where you land, ask these two questions:
- Level of Activation: On a scale of 1–10, how much "electricity" is running through my nerves right now?
- Level of Coordination: Do I feel like a well-conducted orchestra (Coordinated) or a room full of people screaming at once (Scattered)?
🔍 Section 3: Use Emotion Words as Clues, Not Answers
Once you have identified your general state (Settled, Engaged, Alarmed, Frayed, or Collapsed), you can begin to look at the specific emotion words found on the outer rings of the map. In the DojoWell system, these words are treated as descriptors, not diagnoses.
⚠️ The Trap of "Story Capture"
A common problem in self-regulation is Story Capture. This happens when the mind attaches to a label—such as "I am a resentful person" or "I am an anxious person"—and begins to repeat it as an identity.
- Repeating the label keeps the body activated.
- The mind looks for evidence to justify the label, creating a feedback loop.
- The map helps you break this by shifting the focus from the label to the mechanics.
🛠️ How to Decode an Emotion Word
Ask yourself these two "Mechanical" questions:
- Does this word suggest HIGH or LOW activation? (Am I revving up or shutting down?)
- Does it suggest my system feels COORDINATED or SCATTERED? (Am I focused on a goal or pulling apart at the seams?)
The DojoWell Rule: If the emotion language feels confusing, inaccurate, or overwhelming—ignore it. The map is a physiological tool first.
🚀 Section 4: The Four Systems of Activation
The map organizes human experience into four distinct "drivers." These systems explain why your nervous system was triggered.
- 🛡️ Threat & Safety (The Protection System): Concerned with survival and physical safety. Focus: Danger and uncertainty.
- 🤝 Social & Status (The Connection System): Our standing within a group. Focus: Evaluation, comparison, and belonging.
- 🎯 Reward & Pursuit (The Incentive System): Focus: Stimulation, achievement, novelty, and craving.
- 📖 Meaning & Narrative (The Identity System): The "Story of Me." Focus: Interpretation and identity.
💡 The "State vs. System" Insight
Person A is Alarmed because of a loud noise (Threat System). Person B is Alarmed because of a public speech (Social System). The State describes your capacity; the System describes your bias.
🔄 Section 5: Watch for Loops, Not Just Feelings
If the cycle cannot close, the body looks for substitutes. These form Emergent Loops.
🛑 The Three Common Loops
- 🚫 The Avoidance Loop: Relief through withdrawal, delay, or numbing. Ex: Doom-scrolling.
- ⚡ The Power Loop: Relief through control or dominance. Ex: Micromanaging.
- 💎 The Pleasure Loop: Relief through stimulation or consumption. Ex: Stress-eating.
Crucial Insight: These loops are not failures; they are intelligent responses to persistent activation.
✅ Section 6: Ask the Only Question That Matters
❓ "Am I moving toward Stand-Down, or toward Substitution?"
| Target | Action |
|---|---|
| Stand-Down | Rest, deep breathing, reducing input, finishing one small task. |
| Substitution | Checking your phone, drinking another coffee, over-analyzing. |
🧭 Section 7: Navigation, Not Judgment
The DojoWell Emotions Map is a navigation tool. When used consistently, you will notice:
- 📉 Lower Monitoring Load: Less energy "policing" emotions.
- 🗣️ Less Inner Argument: Stop fighting your body for being Alarmed.
- ⏩ Faster Recovery: Recognize loops earlier.
- ✨ Higher Meaning Density: Allowing cycles to finish.
FAQ — DojoWell Emotions Map
Is this an emotion wheel?
No. The DojoWell Emotions Map is not designed to label or categorize emotions. It is a regulation-first map that focuses on nervous system states and whether biological cycles are completing. While emotion words may appear as descriptors, they are treated as signals layered on top of regulation, not as defining truths. The map exists to reduce confusion, not increase self-analysis, and to guide the system toward stand-down rather than interpretation.
Why doesn’t it ask “How do you feel?”
Because naming feelings often keeps activation alive instead of resolving it. The DojoWell Emotions Map asks about nervous system state to help users recognize whether their system is mobilized, overloaded, settling, or shut down. This shift moves attention away from story and toward physiology. The goal is not emotional insight, but cycle completion—so the system can return toward baseline and regain capacity for clean re-entry into life.
Are some states better than others?
No regulation state on the map is considered good or bad. Settled, Engaged, Alarmed, Frayed, and Collapsed are all functional biological configurations that serve different purposes depending on context. Problems arise not from entering a state, but from staying there too long or failing to complete the regulation loop. The map helps users move between states appropriately and recover reliably, rather than judging themselves for being activated.
What are the loops shown on the map?
The loops represent emergent regulation patterns that form when activation does not reach stand-down. Avoidance, Power, and Pleasure loops are common substitutes that provide short-term relief without true completion. They are not moral failures or bad habits, but predictable responses to persistent activation in modern environments. The map makes these loops visible so users can recognize when relief is replacing resolution and gently redirect toward completion.
Do I need to understand all the emotion words to use the map?
No. Emotional vocabulary is optional and not required to use the map effectively. The DojoWell Emotions Map works even if emotional language feels confusing, imprecise, or unhelpful. Users can locate themselves using simple cues like energy level, tension, focus, or shutdown. Emotion words are treated as translation aids, not requirements, and the system never relies on perfect labeling to support regulation or recovery.
What should I do after I locate my state?
Once you identify your nervous system state, the key question is whether you are moving toward stand-down or substitution. The map is not asking you to fix or analyze anything. It is guiding you to choose the next action that supports completion, recovery, or reduced load. Often this means doing less, not more—allowing the system to finish what is already open rather than adding effort or explanation.