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Chapter 7: Disorders of

Emotional Communication

Material taken from

"  Helping People with Progressive Memory Disorders: A Guide For You And Your Family, 2nd ed"  (University of 

Florida Health Science Center). Used with permission from the authors: . M. Heilman! M"! #. "oty! $h"! %. &.

Stewart! M"! " 'owers! $h"! #. on*ale*+,othi! $h". (-).

EMOTIONAL COMMUNICATION

"isorders of emotional communication include pro/lems e0pressin1 one2s own feelin1sand misunderstandin1 the feelin1s of others. 3motion is communicated in facial

e0pressions! /ody movements! /ody lan1ua1e! tone of one2s voice! pace of words! and

intensity. 3motion can also /e communicated /y the actual words used.

3motional e0pressions si1nal our feelin1s to others and their feelin1s to us. &he emotion4fear4 can si1nal dan1er and warn us to leave a situation 5uickly.

3motions can si1nal a pleasant situation. 6 friendly 4Hi74 encoura1es us to smile and

move forward to 1reet a friend.

6s /rain cells in the ri1ht hemisphere stop workin1 properly! the person may /ecome lessa/le to e0press or under+stand feelin1s.

Difficulty Epressin! Emotion

'ein1 less a/le to e0press emotion interferes with communication. 6 person who is lessa/le to e0press emotion may not show feelin1 in the face or voice. &he face muscles maystay rela0ed and the voice may stay even. &he person may appear unconcerned and free

of emotion. &here may /e no shifts in intensity in their facial e0pression or tone of voice.

&here may /e no /ody 1estures used with spoken words. &he person may think they aree0pressin1 emotion /ut may /e una/le to show the true emotion to the listener.

Difficulty Understandin! Emotion

&he person may /e una/le to understand the emotional e0pression of others. &his lack of

understandin1 may result in miscommunication. For e0ample! /ody /ehaviors such asraisin1 an arm to threaten or puttin1 hands on one2s hips in an1er may not /e understood.

Facial e0pressions such as a sli1ht smile to show sarcasm! a frown to show dis/elief! or asoft! 5uiet voice to show apolo1y may also lose meanin1. &he messa1e of the spoken

word may /e the only messa1e that 1ets throu1h. &he feelin1 messa1e may /e lost! notunderstood at all.

"ace of #ords

Sometimes the pace of words carries emotion. Fast speech may show an1er or fati1ue.

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Slow speech may mean /oredom! rela0ation! or fati1ue. Sometimes a slow pace of speech

is the result of chan1es in the frontal lo/es and the /asal 1an1lia.

Le$el of Intensity

#evel of intensity carries emotion. #ittle intensity (very little effort! a more rela0ed!

neutral /ehavior) shows less feelin18 this level of intensity may reflect acceptance! a 1oodcomfort level! or a lack of carin1. 6 hi1h level of intensity (a 1reat deal of ener1y! loud

voice! and stron1 1estures) shows a 1reat deal of feelin18 this level of intensity reflectsstron1 feelin1! either positive or ne1ative. 9ith some diseases! chan1es in the nervous

system +especially in /rain cells+ may result in less a/ility to control intensity in

communication. &hus! a person with $arkinson2s disease may show little intensity with alow voice and little facial e0pression! /ut that person may feel very happy or an1ry.

Match or Mismatch: #ords and %eelin!s

Sometimes a person2s spoken words are the same as feelin1s e0pressed and sometimes

they do not match. &he spoken words may /e opposite the feelin1s e0pressed. For

e0ample! an an1ry voice sayin1! 4 am happy4 will raise dis/elief in most listeners. &heselisteners will search for the true messa1e: happiness or an1er or somethin1 else. However!

the person with a disorder of emotional communication will listen and understand onlythe ver/al messa1e 4 am happy.4 &he an1er of the voice 1oes unheard. &he resultin1

inter+actions may lead to confusion! frustration! or a ma;or conflict.

Sometimes people perceive those with disorders of emotional communication as /ein1

indifferent or uncarin1. n relationships affection is often communicated in the feelin1se0pressed on one2s face! the tenderness in one2s words! or throu1h a 1eneral happy!

 positive attitude even when the actual words may /e completely neutral. For e0ample! the

neutral! o/;ective words 4t is sunny outside4 may /e heard as an invitation to travel to

the /each or an invitation to en;oy a soft drink to1ether on the patio.

6 person may i1nore important messa1es without understandin1 the e0tra meanin1 of the

feelin1s in tone or in the facial e0pression. &he speaker may think the listener no lon1er

cares a/out time to1ether. Stress may /uild up in the relationship without anyunderstandin1 of the steps leadin1 to the stress.

&T'ATE(IE& TO )EL" IN DI&*O'DE'& O% EMOTION 

-. Use more +ords to identify feelin!s. 6 friendly 4Hello4 will /e /etter understood

with the e0tra words! 4Hello! am happy to see you.4

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@. As- the person +ith the disorder of emotion for specific +ords a.out theiremotional state durin! interactions0 >ou could ask! 4How are you feelin1?4 or

49hat feelin1s are 1oin1 throu1h you ri1ht now?4 Ar you could ask more directlysome 5uestions that push for a 4>es4 or 4Bo4 answer. For e0ample! you mi1ht ask!

46re you on ed1e?4 or 46re you worried?4 or 46re you e0cited?4

&trate!ies That )elp if #ords Are a "ro.lem 

-. 6sk the person with the disorder of emotion to choose a color in the room todescri/e their emotional state.