Dealing with feelings.

An extremely important aspect of self-disclosure is the sharing of feelings. We all experience feelings such as happiness at an unexpected gift, sadness about the breakup of a relationship, or anger when we believe we have been taken advantage of. The question is whether to disclose such feelings, and if so, how. Self disclosure of feelings usually will be most successful not when feelings are withheld or displayed but when they are described. Let's consider …

…treat you. When you describe your feelings, people are made aware of the effect of their behavior. This knowledge gives them the information needed to determine whether they should continue or repeat that behavior. Describing and displaying your feelings are not the same. Many times people think they are describing when in fact they are displaying feelings or evaluating. If describing feelings is so important to communicating effectively, why don't more people do it regularly?