How to Show (Not Tell) an Emotion–S to Z

Emotions show up on your body in a variety of hand movements, eye twitches, breathing patterns and more. There are so many ways to show what your characters are feeling without boring us as readers by saying, Anabelle felt angry. Yuck! Show me, don’t tell me!If you’re looking for an emotion starting with A through R, check out the first installment of this series, How to Show (Not Tell) Emotion–A to D or the second installment How to Show (Not Tell) Emotion–E to R. By the way, these apply to both the character’s Point of View and the individual watching.

Here are some ideas:

Sadness

bowing postures of the body wall
cry face and lip-pout
gazing-down
slumped (i.e., flexed-forward) posture of the shoulders
audible sigh
drooping eyelids
flaccid muscles
hanging head;
contracted chest;
lowered lips, cheeks, and jaw (“all sink downwards from their own weight”)
raised inner-ends of the eyebrows
remaining motionless and passive
acute sadness, muscles of the throat constrict, repeated swallowing occurs, the eyes close
facial signs include frowning eyebrows mouth pouted or compressed

Stress

Difficulty making decisions
Angry outbursts.
Forgetfulness.
Low energy level.
Constant worrying.
Propensity for mistakes.
Thoughts about death or suicide.
Trouble getting along with others.
Withdrawing from others.
Hiding from responsibilities.
Carelessness
I find it difficult to concentrate because of distracting thoughts.
I worry about things that don’t matter.
I feel jittery.
I get diarrhea.
I imagine terrifying scenes.
I cannot keep anxiety-provoking pictures and images out of my mind.
My stomach gets tense.
I pace up and down nervously.
I am bothered by unimportant thoughts running through my mind.
I become immobilized.
I feel I am losing out on things because I cannot make decisions fast enough.
I perspire.
I cannot stop thinking worrisome thoughts.
Become irritable when you have to wait in line or get caught in a traffic jam?
Eat, drink, or smoke in an attempt to relax and/or relieve tension?
Worry about your work or other deadlines at night and/or on weekends?
Wake up in the night thinking about all the things you must do the next day?
Feel impatient at the slowness with which many events take place?
Find yourself short of time to complete everything that needs to take place?
Become upset because things have not gone your way
Tend to lose your temper and get irritable?
Wake up in the night and have a hard time getting back to sleep?
Drive over the speed limit?
Interrupt people while they are talking or complete their sentences for them?
Forget about appointments and/or lose objects
heart beats faster.
pain in the neck or shoulders, or headaches

Shame

a blush especially low down the body does the blush extend

Tension

Frowning
Twitching eyelids
Breathing rapid, irregular
Mouth tight
Swallowing
Be aware of nervous gestures:
- If someone brushes their hair back with their fingers, their thoughts conflict with yours.
- If someone is biting their lip, they are anticipating something

Trust

The wider the gesture. The closer someone is to you, the warmer his opinions of you.
Watch head position. tilted heads are trying to convince you of their honesty
The worst thing that you can do to people with crossed arms is to challenge them in one way or another. This annoys them. If someone rests their arms behind their neck, they are open to what is being discussed.
Lowered eyebrows and squinted eyes illustrate an attempt at understanding. It’s usually skeptical.
Forced smiles only involve the muscles around the mouth.