Map of where people feel emotions in the body

I used to be way detached from happiness and sadness, compared to fear, which is something I can detach or dissociate from. Anger, disgust, and contempt I feel deeply and strongly.

@inmourning - Interesting read. (And not lame! 😉) I don’t feel my emotions to the extent the chart shows, but I am very familiar with the feeling of deep rejection, loss or abandonment. Those feelings are deep in my stomach.

When an emotion is still hurtful, but less severe, I feel it in my heart. Sometimes I can have something that evokes a negative emotion of loss or rejection start in my stomach and later travel to my heart, and I know for me that’s progress bc the negative emotion is moving upward affecting me less.

Anger would be in my head and happiness and joy I feel more in my chest and radiating up in a warm way. Those are the major emotions I feel.

@inmourning - My therapist also used to ask me where I felt emotions. We were usually talking about rejection or abandonment at the time and I was feeling it acutely so it was easy to identify that deep in my stomach or to a lesser extent my heart.

No, I’m definitely not aware of my feelings all the time. I’m trying to become more mindful. At work I’m completely on the go from the second I get there until I leave- distracted by my many demanding students. It’s in the evening when my day is finally settling down when I have some quiet time to notice how I’m doing. This is new to me as well but I’ve been watching some good videos by Thais Gibson to help me.

Thank you for this input Jane. I thought everyone felt rejection as a pinch on their chest.  I can't imagine it in my stomach. 

But I know what you mean about pushing down. I can sometimes switch something off and sometimes my body just says "Nope we will be having none of that" and before I know it I'm just kind of neutral- I might still be thinking a lot about it but my body isn't overwhelming me with it. 

No, I know what you mean and I appreciate what you're saying.  I do find myself reaching out for help a lot more.  I've cried a lot in the last few months.  I've also reflexively deactivated or dissociated from the emotions a lot so it's been a roller coaster.  I've been more genuine because I am ABLE to be, for instance when I was crying all over myself to K (that's what i'm going to call my guy from now on, i'm sick of labeling him).  I was being super vulnerable talking about my hurt feelings instead of denying them or checking out from them somehow.  It was overwhelming. 
 BUT I felt a lot better and was happy for the experience of being really genuine with him.  All it takes is some kindness to fix that kind of stuff up- repair it.  It makes me want to talk to him about every little thing I notice now but that would annoy him.  Lol.  I'm going to show him the body map at some point and see what he says.  I'm guessing he will be mystified a bit too.  

i feel anger in the chest, like a ball of fire that fills up my entire upper chest to throat, so think of the space between your mouth and underboob. it also comes out from my throat - that's why my voice rises when i get angry. and if i get really angry, i snap. the emotion just shoots out of my head lol, and it feels like my head exploded. I've rarely reached that state, but if i do, it's like a fire hydrant.

happiness and fear come together, usually followed by sadness. This combination of feelings usually is from social interactions e.g., someone made me happy. when i'm feeling happy, it starts from the heart, very localized. then it squeezes probably from fear. when it comes out, it's also from my throat, but in a much smaller "stream" compared to anger - anger is like this massive water column exploding from a fire hose, happiness + fear is more constricted, softer, and weaker stream of intense emotion. sadness then just starts from the mid chest, sternum area, usually more like a welling up.

awkwardness and embarrassment start with a pinch in a chest. could go all over the body if i let it, usually stays around the neck and shoulders.

when im happy e.g., from eating good food tht i've been craving with no fear, it's more just a heavier, fuller, steadier spread of warmth from diaphragm area.

contempt and disgust usually starts from the throat and eyes - eye rolling, and gag reflex. much more localized in the head (cos of judgment and wariness) than in the body.

dread for me comes from the stomach and below the heart. this increasing sense of heaviness.

anxiety is usually located around the area from the eyes to the boobs. lots of light, tense energy - think deer in headlights.

The one time that "broke" me was when my ex started pulling away then texted me that he wanted to spend more time on work and less time on us. it just felt like my entire soul was ripped out of my chest from my throat - everything was empty. that ripping out emptied out both my brain and heart - I just wasn't there anymore, even though i was completely functioning e.g., going to work and having meetings. I don't think there was much feeling most of the times, just this big emptiness that was gaping and it felt no matter how much i breathed, the gap cannot be filled. usually, deep breathing helps to diffuse all the other feelings described above.

A long time ago up to my early 20s, i rarely felt anything. I was quite cold and clinical, but probably just suppressed alot of emotions. I remember those times, the feelings mainly stayed in my eyes and head, not so much bodily. like what @janedoe said, i started "feeling" when someone told me I was emotionally retarded, and it was just... messy. I think as part of "feeling" I also got involved in alot of emotional trauma and drama, which I could have dealt with better when i was dissociated, but the experience of "feeling" PLUS the drama was just crazy making. It's like going to war without training but coming out of it as a soldier versus going to war as a trained combat soldier and coming out a veteran.

@shiningstar - Wow, you’re good at this! Since I’m severely DA with my parents I wonder if I also suppress a lot of my feelings? I’m only AP in romantic relationships.