When writing, authors find that it can be tempting to describe the feelings of our characters with a cliche such as “her heart dropped.” Why is such an odd statement something that makes so much sense to us that it has become such a typical way to describe emotional plain?

 

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Why Do We Feel Intense Emotions In Our Chest?
by Aamna Mohdin (IFLS)

 

“When you hear bad news, you might feel your ‘heart drop’ or have to deal with ‘heart ache.’ There’s more to these metaphors than simply describing intense emotions – they point to the fascinating way our bodies experience these feelings, both emotionally and physically. But surely that doesn’t make sense – we all know that the heart is simply a symbol for love and pain, and that all the “feeling” is done by our brains. So how exactly do intense emotions trigger specific sensations in our chest?

 

The simple answer is: scientists aren’t really sure…”

 

For the rest, click here to go to IFLS.

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