Moods

Emotions are complicated!

There are many different ways to feel (moods) in any given moment. Moods can vary in intensity (how strongly you feel them), and they can involve different physical sensations and thoughts. Sometimes, you may feel a combination of many emotions all at once, and it is difficult to describe or distinguish between them. At other times, it may seem like your emotions have become numbed, and you feel nothing.

Emotions are psychological states that include subjective, physiological, and behavioural elements.
Feelings are conscious interpretations of emotional, physical, or psychological states, often representing an individual’s internal sense of well-being, such as joy, sadness, anger, fear, or love.

Emotions are immediate, subconscious, and physical responses to stimuli (e.g., increased heart rate), lasting only seconds.
Feelings are the conscious, cognitive interpretation of those bodily sensations, shaped by personal experience, memories, and thoughts. Emotions are universal and instinctual, while feelings are personal, enduring, and developed in the mind.

dentifying Emotions

Most of us are not accustomed to separating thoughts from emotions. We tend to speak of the two interchangeably, complicating the task of clarifying our emotions. We frequently use the phrase “I feel” to mean “I think.”

For example, how often have you heard things like: “I feel like you’re not listening to me” or “I feel like I did a bad job”? Those are actually thoughts, not emotions.

Contrast those statements to the following statements of emotions:
“I feel ashamed”
or
“I feel exhilarated.”

Emotions can each be described in one word, and they are variations of the five main categories of emotions: fear, joy, anger, disgust, and sadness.

Following is a partial list of different words for emotions:
Frustration
Affection
Condescension
Aggravation
Hatred
Lust
Excitement
Empathy
Embarrassment
Contentment
Attraction
Malice
Desire
Disdain
Caution
Gratitude
Horror
Panic
Doubt
Inspiration
Anguish
Disappointment
Hostility
Pity
Humiliation
Confidence
Delight
Admiration
Longing
Pride
Dismay
Enthusiasm
Fury
Loneliness
Scorn
Wonder
Satisfaction
Wrath
Relief
Jealousy
Acceptance
Alarm
Wariness
Apprehension
Bitterness
Bliss
Bewilderment
Exhilaration
Cheerfulness
Contempt
Dejection
Worry
Elation
Enthusiasm
Ecstasy
Melancholy
Defiance
Glee
Nervousness
Pleasure
Spite
Woe
Suspicion
Dread
Jubilation
Euphoria… to name a few.

Why do uncomfortable emotions exist if they seem to give us so much trouble? It is not uncommon to want to minimise or get rid of some of these painful emotions altogether. We have all, at one time or another, wanted to reduce the intensity of emotional pain or do away with it. It is natural to want to escape pain.

Emotions can act as cues to convey information about a situation. They let you know if something is wrong. Anger can signal that something unfair or threatening is happening. Fear can signal that you are in danger. Sadness can signal the loss of something you care about.

Emotions can then motivate you to act quickly—sometimes before it seems you even have time to think. For example, if you see a car speeding towards you as you cross the street, fear would motivate you to jump out of the way. If someone tried to hurt your children, anger would motivate you to defend them. Disgust might motivate you to throw away rotten food instead of eating it. However, emotions are fallible—meaning they do not always signal actual needs to act.

We have all experienced fear in the absence of danger—on thrill rides, watching scary movies, and being startled by loud noises. For this reason, emotional signals to act should not be treated as facts, but they can serve as one source of information.

Emotions can convey information to others about how you feel and how they might respond. Even without speaking, our facial expressions, posture, gestures, and other body language clues telegraph our emotions to other people. If a friend sees you crying, they will conclude that you are sad and be motivated to provide support and compassion. When a child sees that you are afraid of spiders, this conveys that spiders are dangerous, and the child will avoid them in the future.