Emotions being more than bodily indicators?

[beandelphiki]

Oh, I forgot:

In our last session, when Dr. Y and I were talking about anxiety, she was asking me why I didn't think I was anxious, etc.

I said, "I don't know what stress feels like."

She took off her glasses. "Well, that's a valid question." (Although it wasn't a question.) "Do you ever feel like your stomach is tensed up or tight?"

I thought about that very carefully, and then nodded. Yes, I suppose it does sometimes.

"Do you feel hot? Or cold?"

Hmm. Yes, sometimes. I nodded carefully to that, too.

"Well, that's anxiety!" She put her glasses back on. Topic must be finished.

"But that's physical!" I protested.

She gave me a bunch of lines about the mind and body being connected, but I wasn't exactly convinced.


Anger "feels" like something other than being tense and hot. Sadness "feels" like something other than a pain in my chest or lethargy. Stress doesn't feel like....anything.

Am I bonkers? Doesn't emotion have a "feel" to it, other than what you can see happening in your body?