Health and wellbeing: emotions unfiltered
Health and wellbeing: emotions unfiltered
Learn to understand our emotions and discuss some complex ones;
Use participle clauses to express emotional experiences accurately and concisely;
Use functional language for arguing;
Apply new advanced terms in discussion.
Lesson duration is: 80 minItems in this lesson
Health and wellbeing: emotions unfiltered
Learn to understand our emotions and discuss some complex ones;
Use participle clauses to express emotional experiences accurately and concisely;
Use functional language for arguing;
Apply new advanced terms in discussion.
How have you been feeling lately?
A study by Cowen and Keltner (2017) suggested there are at least 27 distinct emotions, and that does not include combinations of emotions.
The emotion wheel
helps individuals identify & articulate their feelings by categorizing
emotions into core,
nuanced
variations.
Visit a website, identify your feelings.
Tell us how you have been feeling lately and why.
What + [feeling] + is + [reason]
The reason why + [feeling] + is that + [clause]
Had + [subject] + [past participle], + [subject] + would feel + [emotion]
Were it not for + [noun phrase], + [subject] + would not feel + [emotion]
Why + [auxiliary verb] + [subject] + feel + [emotion] + [when/if clause]? Perhaps..
Some emotions are misleading or misunderstood.
Do you agree or disagree?
Slide text
2
m
00
s
to generate ideas
A Feeling You Know, But Can’t Name
Have you ever suddenly felt emotional for no obvious reason—your eyes fill with tears, you get goosebumps, or you feel a warm sensation in your chest? This feeling has a name: kama muta, a Sanskrit term meaning “moved by love.”
Why This Emotion Matters
Psychologist Alan Fiske has been studying this emotion for years. He believes it plays an important role in human relationships, helping us feel closer to others and encouraging us to care for them. When we experience kama muta, we often feel an urge to hug someone, help them, or express affection.
What makes this emotion interesting is that it is not exactly happiness or sadness. It is usually brief, sometimes bittersweet, and often described as feeling “moved” or “touched.” Physically, people may experience warmth in the chest, goosebumps, chills, or even tears.
Scientists first became interested in kama muta when they noticed something unusual: people often cry during positive moments. For example, in films, viewers are more likely to cry when characters reunite or support each other than when something purely tragic happens. This suggests that tears are not always a sign of sadness—they can also reflect a strong emotional connection.
1
m
20
s
When have you felt a sudden, moving emotion?
How is kama muta different from happiness or sadness?
Why might recognizing this subtle emotion be important?
Drag and Drop
both happy and sad at the same time
to feel small bumps on your skin because of strong emotion or cold
very close to something happening (often an emotion)
to feel like you might cry because of emotion
get a lump in smb's throat
"I could hardly speak for the lump in my throat"
bittersweet (feeling)
"The ending is bittersweet, with both sides suffering losses."
Drag and Drop
a feeling or expression of an emotion or quality that does not last very long
to feel a strong desire to do something
you feel sympathy for someone
experiencing many intense, rapid, and often chaotic feelings all at once
to feel an urge to (do something)
heart goes out to someone
"My heart goes out to the families of the victims."
whirlwind of emotions
"She was caught in a whirlwind of emotions, feeling both sadness and excitement about the move"
a flicker of (emotion)
"A flicker of amusement in his eyes"
Didn’t expect THIS at a random train station
Waiting for my train, scrolling mindlessly through my phone, I suddenly looked up as someone started playing the piano in the corner of the station. Hearing the first few notes, I felt a flicker of recognition, as if I had heard the melody somewhere before. Then this elderly woman walked up and started singing quietly, her voice trembling slightly.
Watching them together, completely absorbed in the moment, I felt a lump in my throat, my chest tightening for no obvious reason. There was nothing dramatic about it — just two strangers sharing something real — but I got goosebumps almost instantly. Standing there, unsure why it affected me so much, I felt an urge to stay and listen until the very end, even though my train had already arrived.
My little brother’s graduation hit me harder than expected
Sitting in the audience, half-distracted and not expecting much, I was just waiting for it to be over.
But seeing my younger brother walk across the stage, trying to act confident, I suddenly felt a whirlwind of emotions I couldn’t quite explain. Smiling awkwardly and looking around for us in the crowd, he caught my eye for a second — and that was enough. Feeling unexpectedly overwhelmed, I realised I was on the verge of tears, which made no sense at the time. It wasn’t just pride — it was something more bittersweet, like noticing how fast everything had changed. Clapping along with everyone else, I felt my heart go out to him, even though he was perfectly fine.
Random video that completely RUINED me
Scrolling through videos late at night, not really paying attention, I clicked on one about strangers helping each other during a storm. Watching people pull each other out of flooded streets, sharing food and blankets, I felt a sudden shift in my mood. Seeing one guy give away his last dry jacket to someone else, I got goosebumps immediately. Feeling that small flicker of hope in something as chaotic as that situation, I didn’t expect it to hit so hard. By the end of the video, I was on the verge of tears, which honestly annoyed me at first.
But sitting there, replaying the moment in my head, I felt an urge to text someone I hadn’t spoken to in a while.
Have you ever experienced something similar, or do you think this is exaggerated?
Yea, experienced
Nay, exaggerated
Participle clause - a way to sound fluent
Used correctly, these improve your writing and speaking
Drag and Drop
I expressed sorrow as my heart went out to everyone involved.
she still felt an urge to keep working.
he still saw a flicker of hope in her smile.
she immediately got goosebumps when it came through the speaker.
Having heard that voice only once before,
Feeling completely exhausted,
Shocked by the news of the accident,
Broken by years of disappointment,
Choose the best form to complete the sentences
Rewrite the sentences using participle clauses and add one extra detail to make the emotion clearer. Be creative!
She saw her old teacher after many years. It was a bittersweet feeling.
Rewrite the sentences using participle clauses and add one extra detail to make the emotion clearer. Be creative!
She was scrolling through videos late at night. She suddenly felt emotional.
Moments That Moved You
🔸 Step 1 — Preparation (2–3 min)
Think of a moment of kama muta when you:
felt unexpectedly emotional
got goosebumps
were on the verge of tears
experienced a bittersweet feeling etc.
Your story MUST include at least 2 participle clauses
Moments That Moved You
🔸 Step 2 — Listener Reactions
After each story, listeners MUST react using at least one phrase 💬:
Yeah, that totally hits — especially the part about…
I get that — had something like that myself.
Funny how the smallest things can hit that hard.
Not sure I’d feel the same, honestly…
There’s definitely a flicker of something there…
Sounds like one of those “lump in your throat” moments.
That kind of thing just stays with you, doesn’t it?
Exit ticket 🎯
The part of today’s lesson that I related to the most was…
