People with fewer words for the emotions (alexithymia) they feel or sense in others are at a disadvantage in understanding themselves and relating to others. Our culture socializes people differently in regard to emotions and this can lead to conflicts. Many people want to meet their partners' emotional needs but do not fully understand the other, not because they themselves are less emotional, or lack empathy, or are genetically or hormonally different, but because they lack the verbal tools to relate more fully. After a discussion of the nature of emotions and their expression, we will practice using emotion wheels and other tools to expand our emotional vocabulary. We will explore emotion words in other languages, some not translatable, neologisms for complex emotions, and emojis’ meanings. Warning: Some discussion will include exploration of the uses of the F-word and words for excrement because they illustrate the issues so well.

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(https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIudu2hqTgiHtQzH13BjYYnMiY9ZvcKRM0c)