ABSTRACT
Emotions are feelings, bodily sensations. Students experienced all the feelings of fear, but there was nothing to be afraid of. Hungry and horny are common transformations of anxiety. Anxiety is the chameleon of emotions. Transforming anxiety into excitement is not always a bad thing. To read minds, one needs to get past childhood anxiety about knowing too much, and begin uncovering the secrets of the adult world. If fear and anxiety are the primal emotions, then shame and its cousins, embarrassment and humiliation, are the most painful. A frightened emotional knower cannot read other minds, for fear of feeling judged or feeling ashamed. Every depression is a complex mix of emotion that can include loss, anxiety, rage, shame, guilt, pride, and hope. The depressive blindness to others’ thoughts and feelings may be at the root of the social isolation common to all forms of depression. In the absence of social connection, paranoia becomes the default position.
