What would life be like without emotions? Dull and monotonous, most likely. Most people would agree that emotions - the ability to perceive and care rather than just think - are what make life worth living. Scientists have come a long way in understanding what emotions are, documenting how they are perceived by most people. There is no doubt that there is still a lot of work to be done on this controversial and debated topic.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Examine the Nature of Emotions
Step 1. Understand what it is
Emotions are programmed reactions, shaped by evolution, that allow you to move around the environment in ways that, in the past, were generally adaptive, that is, conducive to adaptation to social, economic and environmental conditions. In all likelihood, this is still the case today. Our ancestors who had the ability to experience emotions, such as fear at the sight of a precipice, were more cautious and were more likely to survive and reproduce than those who were unable to fear.
Emotions fall into two primary categories: negative and positive. The positive ones are the emotions that occur in view of a potential benefit or immediately after having achieved it. The negative ones come before or after a situation that involves a sacrifice on your part
Step 2. Know the basic emotions
Most psychologists agree that there is a set of "basic" or "primary" emotions that all human beings are endowed with, just as they have eyes, legs, or arms. Primary emotions include anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise.
The researchers expanded the list of basic emotions to include contempt, pride, shame, love, and worry. There may be others, but it is not yet clear if they are universally experienced or if they belong only to some specific cultures
Step 3. Understand their role
Emotions are incredibly important to our survival: they allow us to thrive and make good decisions. The idea that there is a rigid separation between emotion and reason is false. The fact that emotions are considered important for human survival can best be explained through an example:
Imagine that you woke up one day with no sense of embarrassment or completely unaware of what it means to feel shame, regard, or modesty. That day you acted instinctively without worrying in any way about the presence of other people. There is a good chance that you will have lost all your friends if you have not taken into account having them around. This example explains that emotions, even negative ones, are very important for getting along with others and ultimately for our own survival
Step 4. Recognize how emotions affect your decisions
The whole decision-making process is greatly affected by emotions. They provide value or importance to some information, therefore they direct our choices in one direction or another. Several studies have found that, in people who have suffered injuries to the parts of the brain that are associated with emotions, the ability to decide is impaired and, in some cases, even the ability to maintain ethically correct behaviors.
- The most famous case is that of Phineas Gage, an American worker who survived a very serious accident in which a metal rod pierced his skull, damaging a part of the brain involved in the processing of emotions. After that day Phineas Gage was never the same, his personality changed drastically: he showed feeble or inappropriate emotions, made terrible decisions and held very stupid behaviors. One of the main reasons for this transformation was that he had suffered damage to one of the parts of the brain related to emotions.
- Among those who have problems with being in society are psychopaths. People with psychopathy often engage in criminal behavior. One of the key criteria for diagnosing this disorder is a lack of emotion. These particular personality traits are referred to as CU (from the English "Callous unemotional", which translates to "insensitive and ruthless"). It is a lack of empathy and guilt that tends to provoke antisocial behavior. This confirms that emotions are important for the development of a sense of justice and morality.
Step 5. Understand that emotions can be "disturbed"
Just like you may have kidney or eye problems, you can develop a "disorder" that affects emotions. If you feel like your emotions are unruly, it's important to see a mental health professional for proper treatment. Some of the disorders that most commonly cause emotional upheaval are:
- Depression: causes a persistent and lasting sense of sadness and a loss of interest in most activities.
- Anxiety Disorders: Generally refer to the fact of worrying in a protracted and excessive way about the events of every day.
- Schizophrenia: can be associated with a lack of emotion or mood disorders, such as depression and irritability.
- Mania: A condition generally associated with bipolar disorder, refers to a prolonged period in which the mood is excessively and strangely euphoric. People with mania can also experience severe and persistent irritability.
Step 6. Record when emotions arise
When you are clear at what moments and how they occur, you can take note of this information to better understand how each emotion is related to you. To deepen your specific knowledge and understand what triggers them in your life, write in a journal the circumstances in which they arise and what you think may have caused them.
- Let's take an example: maybe you felt anger grow and you remembered that a moment before you realized that you have to wait in line for 15 minutes before you can have lunch, and you hate waiting in line.
- You could use this information to increase or tone down the emotions you want or don't want to experience in your life. For example, by knowing what angers people in general (and you in particular) and wanting to reduce the number of times you feel angry, you could take steps to avoid situations that trigger that emotion (such as buying only a few products at the time when you go to the supermarket to be able to use the express checkouts).
Part 2 of 2: Recognizing the Emotions
Step 1. Learn about individual emotions
We do not all perceive them in the same way: many aspects are subjective. The clearest distinction is that negative emotions are perceived very differently from positive ones, but the truth is that different negative emotions are also experienced in many different ways. Embarrassment is by no means the same as sadness, which in turn is different from fear.
Step 2. Recognize what anger looks like
Anger arises when you believe that someone has done you wrong in some way. Its function is to dissuade the other from repeating that wrong behavior in the future. Without an emotion like anger, people may continue to take advantage of you.
Anger arises from the back, between the shoulder blades, and moves upward along the back of the neck and around the jaws and head. When you are angry, you can feel hot and agitated. If you notice feelings similar to tension, pain or pressure in the area of the back, neck and jaws, it is likely that you have internalized a feeling of anger
Step 3. Recognize disgust
It is an emotion that is triggered by a repulsive stimulus, which causes physical discomfort. Its function is to protect you from circumstances that could make you sick. You may also feel disgusted by something metaphorically "gross", such as some moral violations.
Disgust arises in the stomach, chest and upper body. You may feel really sick or physically nauseous, having the need to close your nostrils and get away from the repulsive stimulus
Step 4. Recognize the fear
You feel scared in response to a dangerous situation, for example in front of a bear, a precipice or a firearm. Fear helps you dodge the threat in the present moment and teaches you to avoid it in the future as well. While it is an ancestral emotional response, many of the things humans fear are learned. Nonetheless, we are much more inclined to acquire fears from the situations and circumstances that have frequently characterized the experiences of the whole of humanity (e.g. bumping into a snake or a ravine) than modern inventions, which are, however, much more dangerous. (like driving a car or fumbling with an electrical outlet).
Fear is mainly felt in the upper half of the body, with the exception of situations in which there is a fear of heights, where the sensations often also involve the legs. The heart tends to beat faster, the breath accelerates, and the palms of the hands can become hot and sweaty in response to the nervous system going to work. This is the primitive physiological reaction to a dangerous situation, which in English is called "fight or flight"
Step 5. Analyze happiness better
It is an emotion we experience in response to things that often have implications for survival, prosperity and the transmission of genes. Some examples of circumstances that make us happy include sexual intercourse, the birth of a child, achieving an important goal, being liked by others, or being in a pleasant and welcoming environment.
While probably one of the best known or easily recognizable emotions, happiness remains one of the most difficult to define. It can manifest itself through a feeling of warmth that involves the whole body or through a sense of satisfaction, security or joy towards life
Step 6. Take a closer look at sadness
It is a very painful emotion, which we experience in response to the loss of someone or something we care about. This characteristic can teach us to prevent further losses in the future or to appreciate what we have when we receive it for the first time or if it is returned to us (this example could refer to a partner).
Sadness often originates in the chest and then moves upward, down the throat and into the eyes, where it manifests itself through tears (you probably know the expression "Having a lump in the throat"). Giving yourself permission to let off steam in tears can be a liberating experience in many cases. Paying attention to the physical sensations affecting these parts of the body and allowing energy to flow outward can help you, for example, cope with the loss of a loved one, empathize with the suffering of others, or foster a greater state of mind. health and wellness
Step 7. Know the sixth primary emotion:
the surprise. It is an emotional state that arises when something unexpected happens to us that we do not consider threatening. Surprise is an interesting emotion because its essence is relatively neutral, compared to that of the others (which is instead more positively or negatively connoted). One of its functions is to help us shift our attention to something unexpected.
The emotion of surprise originates mainly in the chest and head. It occurs in reaction to a circumstance that we consider unexpected. It can also be compared to a very slight shock
Advice
- Remember that emotions are short-term experiences, unlike mood which is a state of mind that can last longer. For example, when you feel scared, remember that the fear should disappear within a short time.
- Remember that emotions - even negative ones - are a natural human reaction, in many cases useful.
