Through observational analysis, the present study examined the temporal relationship between the verbalization of unmet existential needs and levels of expressed emotional arousal. Participants were 39 undergraduate students with self-critical tendencies who completed an emotion-focused two-chair intervention for self-criticism during which they enacted their inner critic. Participants were subsequently guided to verbally address their inner critic at two distinct timepoints: (1) an initial reaction and (2) a primed reaction that was preceded by a written priming task intended to facilitate assertive anger and the verbalization of unmet existential needs. Two groups were identified: (a) participants who verbalized an unmet existential need during the primed reaction (n = 24), and (b) participants who did not verbalize an unmet need during the primed reaction (n = 15). Results showed a significant interaction whereby the change in expressed arousal from the initial to primed reaction depended on whether participants expressed an unmet need during the primed reaction (eta(2)(p) = .12). Findings suggest that moderate levels of expressed arousal may precede the articulation of unmet needs.