Glossary of Experiences

Experience Terms

Term (links to archive) Description Related Terms
Acceptance of Loss The ability to transfer the emotional bond from a person who has died onto their memory
Alienation Distrusting yourself. Alienation is the inverse of paranoia, which involves distrusting someone or something outside of yourself.
Being Wrong The emotion associated with discovering that one’s prediction was wrong.
Catharsis The experience of purging strong emotions. Clearing or purifying by getting rid of unhealthy tension.
Confusion The feeling of being bewildered or unclear
Connection Feeling linked or bonded to others in community.Togetherness
Courage The feeling of being genuinely afraid of something and simultaneously bold enough to face it. Bravery.
Curiosity When we feel we have some idea about an answer, but are unconfident about what that answer is. The active form of wonder. Where the first form of wonder is passive (essentially pausing in astonishment as a miracle washes over you), curiosity is active.
Dissociation Sense of detachment from what is happeningResignation
Empathy The feeling of understanding another person’s actions. You may not condone the actions or identify with the person, but you accept that their actions weren’t wrong
Empowerment The feeling of knowing and claiming your rights. You feel that you have the freedom and power to control what happens to you.
Existential Nausea Despair in the face of a meaningless universe.
Frustration An emotional response to the perceived resistance to the fulfillment of an individual’s will or goal. Frustration is likely to increase when a will or goal is denied or blocked.
Gratification Satisfaction that a character you identify with gets what they want
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Identification Recognizing, in a character’s experience, a conflict that you have experiencedDouble Identification
Immersion Absorbing or engrossing involvement in a story. You might feel as though you’ve been swallowed by the story.
Love Affection, attraction, and emotional attachmentGenerous Love
Mind Wandering Having thoughts unrelated to a specific task
Moral Omniscience A clear sense of what is right and what is wrong
Nimbleness The feeling that you are prepared to handle a variety of situations.
Optimism The belief the positive outcomes are more likely than negative ones
Paranoia A feeling of threat triggered by environmental irregularities
Ready to Grow Realizing that there are things you could do to improve as a person
Relearning Learning something you have learned in the past and partially forgotten
Released Emotion Brake Feeling comfortable enough to experience emotions after feeling numb to emotions because of traumatic experiences
Relief The easing of distress
Resilience Relief from the negative feelings you experience when you fail (self-loathing, self-hatred, rumination, etc.)
Righteousness Resentful anger aroused by an act that you believe is immoral.Outrage
Self-Acceptance Accepting yourself without shame or disgust
Self-Efficacy The belief that you are capable of accomplishing a specific goal
Self-Irony Recognizing that you resemble a character being satirized in a story. Because you recognize that you are not perfect, you are able to laugh at yourself.
Self-Love Affection for your own nature, flaws and all.
Self-Trust Believing that you can rely on your own abilities to navigate the world
Skepticism A doubting or questioning state of mind
Sober Uplift Spirits raised without intoxication
Stress bodily or mental tension resulting from factors that disrupt equilibriumDistress, Eustress
Superiority An elevated view (God’s-Eye view) of a situation
Suspended Judgment Being unsure how to evaluate something that is unfamiliar
Thinking "What If?" The state of imagining possibilities that do not exist
Tranquility a peaceful calm state, without worry
Wonder An uplifting emotional experience of discovery.Awe

Combination Terms

Term (links to archive) Description Related Terms
Righteousness + Identification Resentful anger aroused by an act that you believe is immoral and has been harmful to you