#The existential horror of unexpectedly seeing people you recognize and do NOT want to talk to

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(SEMI) CHARMED KIND OF LIFE: EPISODE 3, PART XIX. “GENESIS IN BLACK”

[psychologeek-blog1]

A to Z of Human Emotions

Let’s do a quick test: list every emotion you can recall without searching anywhere or asking anyone.

You ready? Go.

I’ll wait.

…

How many words did you come up with? 4? 8? 10? More than that?

Every day, you experience a wide range of emotions you aren’t even aware of (yes, even as an adult). Recognizing different types of emotions and facial expressions build up your emotional intelligence which is the key skill you need to thrive in the world.

(GIF by JosepBernaus on Dribbble)

In this post, I’ll give you an A to Z of of emotion vocabularies. You’ll find some of words from different cultures and languages (some of which are taken from Tiffany Watt Smith’s The Book of Human Emotions). Instead of trusting your memory, I recommend you to save this post to come back to it from time to time to increase your emotional awareness.

Now without further delay, here’s the list of human emotions and feelings arranged in the alphabetical order:

A

Acedia or sometimes called accidie, is an emotion that has no real equivalent today. It was a short-lived but disastrous emotional crisis, usually striking between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Its first signs were listlessness and irritability, but it didn’t take long to turn into desolation and despair.

B

Bafflement is a condition when someone faced too many options, particularly those poorly arranged in a disorderly heap, make it hard to follow, or know which direction we should proceed, leaving us feeling frustrated, or angry, even bilious, but most of all exhausted by a surfeit of information that creates a sense of blockage, and precipitates a feeling of existential angst for the random purposelessness of things.

C

Cheesed off is a form of irritation feeling; often described as being ‘browned off’. The expression ‘cheesed off’ can be traced back to the nineteenth century, used by the pilots comparing themselves to rusting engines. The reason why it became so popular among airmen remains a mystery. Some say it’s because cheese turns brown under a grill. Others, because cheese on toast was obsessively eaten while waiting, and the men were, quite literally, fed up with it.

D

Dismay is a feeling of horror and paralysis. It flattens us; it might make us cover our eyes. The term descended from desmaier–Old French, came to describe a feeling; in other European languages, desmaier morphed into words for falling unconscious; in Spanish, desmayo is a swoon; in Portuguese, desmaio is a fainting fit.

E

Envy is a desire to have the material possessions and advantages of others. It’s the sickness that comes on hearing another’s happy sigh, the ache of contemplating their success. As adults, we mostly feel it as a secret vice. It’s there behind the rictus grin that celebrates other people’s successes.

F

Fago is the pity felt for someone in need, which compels us to care for them, but it is also haunted by a strong sense that one day we will lose them. Fago comes in those moments when our love for others, and their need for us, feels so unexpectedly overwhelming—and life so very fragile and temporary—that we well up.

G

Gladsomeness describes the appearance of a glittering, shining thing. This meaning still lingers in the expressions “glad rags” or “glad eye”—the twinkle that attracts a lover. In the fourteenth century, gladsum, or gladsomenesse, began to be used to describe a brightening of the soul too, a sparky, bouncing feeling, which today we might be more likely to call joy.

H

Hesitant (rooted from Latin word, haesitant), is a condition when you’re slow to act or proceed (as from fear, indecision, or unwillingness). If you are hesitant, you do not do something immediately or quickly because you are nervous or not certain. 

I

If you are inquisitive that means you love to inquire; you're always asking questions. You are eager to know a lot about people or things, sometimes in a way that annoys people. 

J

Jealousy involves the fear of losing a person or their affections to someone else. It is triangular: me (the victim), you (the traitor) and the other (the thief). Such treacheries are all the more painful for the feeling of having been discarded. It is this threat that makes jealousy so inflammatory—and intimacy such a risk.

K

Keen came from the Old English word, cene, that translates to ‘bold and brave’ and while the spelling is now really different, the sounds are similar. If you are keen on doing something, you are very interested, eager, or wanting to do that thing very much.

L

Lenient means tolerant or relaxed, and is usually used when we’re talking about someone’s attitude toward discipline. If you're not overly strict, and you show tolerance and mercy when someone does something wrong, then you're being lenient.

M

Malu, roots from Bahasa Indonesia, is the sudden experience of feeling constricted, inferior and awkward around people of higher status than us. You might be experiencing malu if you clam up before your partner’s parents, or a conversation with a former headmistress leaves you staring at the floor and sweating.

N

The word neglect comes from the Latin verb, neglegere, which means ‘disregarded’. Neglect is worse than ignoring something. It's ignoring it, failing to care for it, and probably harming it in the process.

O

When something isn't fair, or offends you, it often results in your feeling outraged. When you're outraged, you're furious. When you're outraged, you're furious. You might be outraged over the rude treatment you get at a fancy, expensive restaurant.

P

Pathos is a quality that stirs emotions (especially pity or sorrow). A song with a lot of pathos hits you right in the heart. When someone tells a story about people suffering that makes you feel for them, that's pathos.

R

Came from an old French word meaning ‘carried away’, rapture is a feeling of emotional ecstasy so magical it's almost as if you've been transported to some other world. It's happiness so extreme that you just about float to heaven, complete with big goofy grin plastered to your face.

S

Serenity came from the Latin, serenus, meaning ‘calm or peaceful’, plus the English suffix -ity, meaning ‘quality or state of’. Serenity used to describe a state when your mind is still and perfectly calm.

T

Triumph came from the Latin, triumphus, which means an ‘achievement, success, procession for a victorious general or admiral’. It'll make you pump your fist and yell "Hurrah!"

U

Uneasy describes an uncomfortable feeling. You might feel socially uneasy when dining with your girlfriend's parents if they don't like you very much. Your stomach may also feel uneasy at that same dinner and gurgle in an embarrassing way.

V

If you spend all day admiring yourself in reflective surfaces — mirrors, pools of water, the backs of spoons — people may think you are conceited, or vain.

W

The German word Wanderlust describes a kind of longing for movement that runs as deep in the human psyche as love or fear. It’s the desire, as old as human life itself, to see what lies beyond the next mountain, or outside the boundaries of the village—and may leave us with the gnawing feeling that life only makes sense if we are traveling in some direction or another.

Y

A yearning is a strong desire. If you have a yearning to travel in Maldives, it means that you dream about it and intensely hope that one day you'll end up there.

Z

Zeal is dedication or enthusiasm for something. If you have zeal, you're willing, energized, and motivated. If you have passion for something, you have zeal, which is kind of a mix of eagerness and energy and devotion.

That’s all, folks! Isn’t it amazing how many of these emotions we already felt but didn’t know there was a word of it?

If you keep expanding your emotional vocabulary, you’ll be much more comfortable when dealing with your negative emotions and much quicker to appreaciate the positive emotions.

How many new words did you learn today from the list of emotions? Share this post with your friends with one new word you learned today.