List of emotions and feelings

I put this list of emotions and feelings together some years ago for use in my counselling sessions.

I was aware that men in particular (though of course not exclusively) were often struggling to articulate their feelings.  I thought it would help to give them a list of human emotions and feelings.  It did not last long!

Women - on a continuum - are generally more able to identify and talk about their feelings than men.  (Women also have a better memory for emotionally laden material.)  On the whole, in my counselling experience I have noticed that men find it harder to express their feelings.

Of course, I learned over time that not infrequently roles are switched.  My list of feelings could be as useful for working with women as it is for counselling men of course.

Prof. Simon Baron Cohen, in his book The Essential Difference, talks about 'empathising' brains and 'systemising' brains, with men more likely to have systemising brains and women empathising brains.  The 'emphasisers' are more 'in touch' with their feelings.

You may also be interested in: Interpreting body language.

(BTW: If you are here as a student and you would rather be doing something more exciting, have a look at Text The Romance Back!)

Why this list of emotions and feelings?

I found this list of human emotions useful at a time I adhered to what was suggested during counselling training: people should express their feelings to help them to get better.  Clients were in danger of being considered to be somehow 'deficient' - for want of a better word - if they were unable to identify their feelings.

As a counsellor you were expected to listen out for, identify and 'sit with' feelings - that was all people would need to be on the way to recovery, it was suggested.  I still think this is helpful - for some people in some situations, some of the time.

However - I have found through experience that very often more is needed to help people move on from where they are stuck.  They may have done the feelings bit too much already!  I focus much less on feelings now that I am using the human givens approach to therapy.  I don't use this list of human emotions anymore.

You may also be interested in:
Types of non-verbal communication Body language signs Relationship communication Couples counselling FAQ about counselling

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Other helpful links:

Centre for Evolutionary Psychology - article on the origin and functions of emotions
Huffington Post - Forecasting our emotions: why are we so bad at it?

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