Mira wrote in her notebook with a confused face. "I don't know what I'm feeling right now"
Sora asked, "Did something happen?"
Mira shook her head. "Always like this. Emotions are like in fog"
Leo became interested. "Don't know your emotions?"
Mira nodded. Wrote, "Happy, sad, angry. Can't distinguish"
Sora recalled. "Might be alexithymia."
"Alexithymia?" Leo asked.
"Difficulty recognizing emotions," Sora explained. "A state where it's hard to identify or verbalize your own emotions."
Mira looked seriously.
Leo asked, "Is it an illness?"
"More a trait than illness," Sora answered. "Some people are naturally less able to recognize emotions."
Mira wrote. "Can't be cured?"
"Improvement is possible," Sora said. "By training awareness of emotions."
Leo asked practically, "How?"
Sora thought. "First, pay attention to bodily sensations."
"Bodily sensations?"
"Emotions appear in the body," Sora explained. "Heart rate, breathing, stomach feeling, muscle tension."
Mira wrote. "How does that relate to emotions?"
"For example," Sora said, "if your heart pounds and hands get cold, might be anxiety. If chest feels tight, might be sadness."
Leo understood. "The body gives emotional signals."
"Yes. But people with alexithymia have trouble noticing those signals," Sora continued.
Mira put her hand on her chest. As if searching for something.
Sora said gently, "Do you feel something now? In your body."
Mira concentrated. After a while wrote, "Heavy"
"Where?"
"Chest," Mira wrote.
Sora asked, "What emotion do you think that is?"
Mira looked confused. "Don't know"
"That's okay," Sora said. "You don't need to know right away. First, feeling it is important."
Leo suggested, "How about expanding emotional vocabulary?"
"Good suggestion," Sora acknowledged. "Emotions have fine gradations. Even joy includes satisfaction, elation, relief, pride..."
Mira started writing in her notebook. A list of emotion words.
Leo added, "In Europe, there's emotion education. From childhood, practice naming emotions."
"Less common in Japan," Sora said. "So many adults are also poor at emotion recognition."
Mira wrote. "Everyone like this?"
"To varying degrees," Sora answered. "Many people find it difficult to accurately recognize complex emotions."
Leo asked, "Why is recognizing emotions important?"
Sora explained. "Because emotions are information. They tell you what you need, what's the problem."
"For example?"
"Anger is a sign of boundary violation. Sadness is a sign of loss. Anxiety is preparation for threat."
Mira wrote with an understanding expression. "Emotions are messages"
"Exactly," Sora nodded. "But if you can't read that message, you can't respond appropriately."
Leo asked a practical question. "How should Mira practice from now?"
Sora suggested, "How about keeping an emotion diary?"
"Emotion diary?"
"Every day, write events of the day and emotions felt. Vague is fine at first," Sora explained.
Mira wrote. "Can I write it?"
"Start with bodily sensations," Sora said. "Like 'chest felt heavy' or 'head hurt.'"
Leo encouraged. "From there, gradually find emotion names."
Mira thought. Then nodded.
Sora added, "And please share with us. Let's think together what that emotion is."
Mira wrote. "Thank you. Now feel a bit warm"
"Your chest?" Sora asked.
Mira nodded.
Leo laughed. "That's probably gratitude."
Mira looked surprised. Then smiled slightly.
Sora said, "Not understanding emotions isn't shameful. It just means you need to learn."
Mira closed her notebook. Today, she learned one new emotion word. "Gratitude." A warm, gentle emotion. And she wanted to learn more.