For me, it's a comfort thing. If I don't feel comfortable with someone, I am able to express my feelings verbally but it doesn't translate to expressing my emotions nonverbally. My psychiatrist constantly tells me I say the most awful things in a pleasant/smalltalkish manner like I'm discussing the weather instead of suicidal ideation, etc. and that it makes diagnosis or assessment really hard. i am very guarded among most people and it's not even a conscious thing. There are only currently about 2 people on the planet I can be "real" with. I can be with my therapist now, but it took a good 6 months of her saying she didn't really "get" how bad things were/weren't because My emotions were hard to read. But I am very direct in my verbal communication.

My old therapist used to constantly say I didn't use language properly to express emotion because I would say, " I feel like..." Instead of just using a word like "sad" or "angry" or "hopeless." THAT drove me nuts.