Self-assessment
Recognising emotions
This check helps you look at noticing body signals, making sense of feelings, and putting needs into words. It is not here to give you a label, but to show where the translation gets difficult.
- About 4 minutes
- 15 questions
- Not a diagnosis
Your answers stay in this browser.
Read more about this test first
The questions were written for this tool and draw on research into alexithymia and body awareness. They are not an existing questionnaire with new wording, and they cannot diagnose you.
- 15 questions, one at a time
- Start with body signals, feelings, or words
- Choose one small next step afterwards
- Your answers stay in this browser
What this check explores
Research on alexithymia separates difficulty identifying and describing feelings. Research on interoceptive awareness also shows that body signals, attention, and the meaning you make of a sensation are different things. That is why this tool keeps its three areas separate.
Body signals
Noticing what your body is already telling you before it becomes urgent.
Making sense
Knowing something is happening and finding an emotion or need that fits.
Words & needs
Explaining what is happening and asking for what you need.
Making the result useful
Do not try to explain your whole pattern at once. Choose one real moment: a conversation, a busy shop, a message that stopped you, or an evening when you suddenly had nothing left.
Complete three short lines: ‘My body did …’, ‘I may have felt …’, and ‘What I needed was …’. ‘I do not know yet’ is also useful information.
The Emotion Translator works well when you want to begin with a body sensation. The Stimulus Radar is a better next step when you mainly want to spot early signs of overload.
Frequently asked questions
Is this an alexithymia test?
No. This is an original reflection check about noticing feelings, body signals, and needs. It cannot diagnose alexithymia or another condition, and does not use the cutoffs of the TAS-20 or another existing scale.
Can autism affect knowing what I feel?
Some autistic people notice body signals, emotions, or needs late. This differs greatly between people. Stress, burnout, ADHD, trauma, sleep loss, physical health, and medication can matter too.
What should I do with an area that stands out?
Choose one real moment from the last week. Note what your body did, which emotion may have been present, and what you needed. You do not need complete certainty before asking for rest, clarity, or a pause.
When is it worth seeking support?
Contact a doctor or clinician if this has changed suddenly, is getting worse quickly, comes with pain, or puts basic care, sleep, eating, or safety under pressure.