Feelings Versus Non-Feelings - according to nvc
This is similar to the EQI section on emotional literacy

A common confusion generated by the English language is our use of the word feel without actually expressing a feeling. For example, in the sentence, “I feel I didn’t get a fair deal,” the words “I feel” could be more accurately replaced with “I think.” In general, feelings are not being clearly expressed when the word feel is followed by:

a) words such as that, like, as if:

“I feel that you should know better.”
“I feel like a failure.”
“I feel as if I’m living with a wall.”

b) the pronouns I, you, he, she, they, it:

“I feel I am constantly on call.”
“I feel it is useless.”

c) names or nouns referring to people:

“I feel Amy has been pretty responsible.”
“I feel my boss is being manipulative.”

Conversely, in the English language, it is not necessary at all to use the word feel when we are actually expressing a feeling: we can say “I’m feeling irritated,” or simply, “I’m irritated.”