Unexpected Emotions

Emotions are hard to relay sometimes. I can say I’m sad, but I might really mean that I’m disappointed. Or I say I’m feeling hurt, when a better description might be rejected. Words are important, and the English language is filled with descriptions to help us communicate what we are really trying to relay about how we feel.

Along with words are the physical feelings that many times accompany our emotions. This chart (Hendricks & Hendricks,1993) is a great tool for helping patients identify the emotion that goes along with the physical feelings.

Emotion	Body Location	Possible Sensations
Sadness	Throat, Chest, Belly	Lump, Narrowing Pressure, Aching, Empty
Anger	Back of neck, Head, Shoulders, Arms, Hands	Ropes of tension, Lumps, Throbbing temples, Clenched Jaw, Drawn in Tight, Blocky, Held Back, Curled
Fear	Belly Area, Head, Face, Throat	Butterflies, Fluttering, Clutching, Heavy Ball Dizziness, Shortness of Breath, Tension around Eyes and Mouth, Mouth Dry
Sexual Feelings	Genitals, Lower Belly, Front of Body	Streaming, Fullness, Good Achy, Warmth
Joy	Chest Area, Eyes, Front of Body	Spacious, Expansive, Glowing, Clarity, Bubbling, Giggly Inside

 

Here is a word list to help clients better describe the emotions they are feeling:

Happy:	Good:	Confused:	Helpless	Positive:	Angry:	Indifferent:	Depressed:	Afraid:
Joyous	Calm	Upset	Incapable	Eager	Upset	Insensitive	Diminished	Fearful
Lucky	Peaceful	Doubtful	Alone	Intent	Annoyed	Dull	Sulky	Terrified
Fortunate	At Ease	Indecisive	Paralyzed	Determined	Disappointed	Nonchalant	Guilty	Suspicious
Delighted	Pleased	Perplexed	Fatigued	Inspired	Discouraged	Neutral	Dissatisfied	Anxious
Overjoyed	Encouraged	Embarrassed	Useless	Reassured	Bitter	Reserved	Miserable	Alarmed
Thankful	Surprised	Hesitant	Inferior	Infuriated	Powerless	Weary	Detestable	Panic
Important	Excited	Disillusioned	Vulnerable	Anxious	Ashamed	Bored	Despicable	Nervous
Ecstatic	Certain	Unbelieving	Empty	Enthusiastic	A Sense of Loss	Preoccupied	In Despair	Scared
Jubilant	Relaxed	Skeptical	Forced	Brave	Provoked	Cold		Worried
	Blessed	Distrustful	Hesitant	Challenged	Irritated	Disinterested		Frightened
		Misgiving	Despair	Optimistic	Lousy	Lifeless		Timid
		Lost	Frustrated	Confident				Shaky
		Unsure	Distressed	Hopeful				Restless
		Uneasy	Pathetic	Strong				Doubtful
		Pessimistic	Tragic					Threatened
		Tense	Dominated					Cowardly
								Quaking
								Wary

Hurt:	Sad:
Crushed	Tearful
Tormented	Sorrowful
Deprived	Pained
Pained	Grief
Tortured	Anguished
Dejected	Desolate
Rejected	Unhappy
Injured	Lonely
Offended	Mournful
Afflicted	Dismayed
Victimized
Aching
Heartbroken
Humiliated
Appalled
Wronged
Alienated

Each of these words can be used to better identify your patient’s emotions. Every word has a different connation and can help you get to the heart of what they are really feeling. Post emotion words on your walls so that patients see them and are able to use those words so they can better express their true emotions, and you can better respond to their emotional need.

Kim Griggs
Sparrow Solutions Group

Printable Lists found here: Emotion Words; Physical Feelings