Body Sensation
Noticing Map

ADHD EXECUTIVE FUNCTION TOOLS

Notice physical sensations and record words
you personally associate with them.

Where This Tool Helps

Use this map to notice body sensations and the words you associate with them. A sensation does not map to one fixed emotion, and the same feeling may have physical, emotional, environmental, or unknown causes.

Record your own observations without inferring an ADHD, trauma, panic, or medical explanation. New, severe, or persistent physical symptoms belong with a licensed health professional.

How to Use This Worksheet

Start with the reference table. Read through the body areas and notice which ones feel familiar - where you already recognize a pattern in yourself.
On the personal map page, begin with the body areas where you feel the most. Write down the specific sensation (not the emotion - the physical feeling). Tightness, heat, buzzing, heaviness, hollowness.
Next to each sensation, write any word you personally associate with it. If you are not sure, leave it blank and come back after you notice it next.
Revisit this map over 2-3 weeks. Add entries as you catch new body-emotion connections in real time. The map gets more accurate with use.
Bring the completed map to your next coaching session. Patterns in where and how your body signals emotion are useful data for understanding your stress responses, decision-making under pressure, and emotional regulation strategies.

Coaching and Health Scope

This is a coaching reflection aid, not therapy, diagnosis, medical care, or a validated clinical instrument. Use it to record your own observations and prepare questions, not to identify a condition or choose treatment. Adapt or stop any prompt that feels unsafe or distressing. Bring persistent sleep, mood, anxiety, medication, physical-symptom, or safety concerns to a licensed health professional; use emergency or local crisis services for immediate danger.

Body Sensation Word Ideas

Optional word ideas that some people associate with physical sensations. Use this as a starting point - your personal patterns may differ.

BODY AREA	FELT SENSE EXAMPLE	WORDS I MIGHT ASSOCIATE
Stomach	Butterflies, tightness, pit	Excitement, nervousness, anxiety
Chest / Heart Area	Tightness, warmth, heaviness	Anxiety, love, joy, stress
Throat	Lump, tightness, constriction	Sadness, grief, difficulty expressing
Shoulders	Heavy, tense, weight	Burden, stress, responsibility
Head / Scalp	Tension, pressure, tingling	Stress, excitement, heightened awareness
Arms / Hands	Clenching, tingling, restlessness	Tension, excitement, impatience
Legs / Feet	Restlessness, grounding, tension	Impatience, anxiety, feeling rooted
Whole Body	Lightness, relaxation, warmth	Relief, contentment, positive emotional release

Personal Body Sensation Map

Name:

Date:

Coaching Focus:

Record sensations and your own possible associations. Leave the association blank when you are unsure.

Body Area	What I Feel (physical sensation)	Words I Might Associate

Before Your Next Session

Which body sensation did you notice most clearly this week? What context was present?
Which sensations, if any, do not yet have words you want to associate with them?

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Body SensationNoticing Map