You know how when you feel something in your body, and you’re not quite sure what it is?

Is that stomach ache? Trapped wind? The beginning of an ulcer? Oh, it’s a muscle… did I pull a stomach muscle somehow? Oh wait, maybe it’s not a muscle after all…

What makes us think we’re any better at recognising emotions than we are at physical sensations? Sure, extremes of emotion are fairly obvious. If I’m overcome with rage, or joy, or sadness, I can usually tell. But it seems possible that I leap to judgement too quickly when it’s less certain how I’m feeling.

There have been times I’ve assumed I was anxious, only to realise that it was PART anxiety and part excitement or anticipation, and I’m overreacting to my own emotions. This feels like a ridiculous, embarrassing thing to admit. But experience seems to suggest that while I’m mostly right about my emotional state, and mostly right about my physical state… I’m not always right.

Sometimes I need to look a bit closer to figure out what’s going on.