Both feelings and emotions affect our psychological state, but they differ significantly.
A feeling is a conscious emotional experience (an outburst of anger, for example).
Emotions arise against the will of a person, give rise to specific feelings and are often too complex to be aware of them (for example, falling in love).
For example, faded amazement and horror can give rise to awe, and annoyance and boredom can turn into contempt.
At the same time, they can and should be analyzed in order to be able to separate yourself from your negative experience or mood and maintain a pleasant emotional background.
In 1972, psychologist Paul Ekman compiled a list of six basic emotions, including anger, disgust, surprise, happiness, sadness, and fear.
Ekman later added embarrassment, infatuation, contempt, shame, pride, satisfaction, and excitement. Robert Plutchik proposed another classification of emotions, the so-called wheel.
In his opinion, there are 8 main emotional spaces that can intersect and give rise to new emotions.
To distinguish a feeling from an emotion, it is enough to ask ourselves whether we are experiencing some kind of experience at the present moment or whether it is deep, constant, it is always with us. Emotion is what happens to us here and now. The feeling lasts a long time and takes up much more space in our lives.
However, these concepts are interrelated: for example, there is an opinion that feeling is a complex, multi-component emotion. In addition, a feeling can cause different emotions, and certain feelings are hidden behind emotions. For example, love can be expressed not only through joy, but also through anger, annoyance, surprise.
How to learn to recognize your feelings?
It is generally accepted that there is a standard set of emotions - anger, sadness, fear, disgust, interest and joy. And that each of them corresponds to a certain type of brain activity. According to neuroscientist Lisa Barrett, we separate one emotion from another not only by differences in physiological responses, but also by context and personal experience.
Depending on the circumstances, we may call our reaction “surprise” at one moment and “fear” at another. But how can we learn to better understand ourselves and our reactions?
One of the most relevant and understandable models is the wheel of emotions, developed by psychologist Robert Plutchik. Let's take a look at this model in more detail.
The model is presented in the form of a flower with multi-colored zones, each of which corresponds to a specific emotion and its intensity.
Feeling is placed in such a way that on the other side of it is the complete opposite. We can say that in such a simple and clear way, the model demonstrates a psychological balance. When one side begins to prevail, there is disharmony.
In the Wheel of Emotions, not only content is important, but also design. Each "petal" is painted in a specific color. The brighter the experience, the more intense the background. The strongest emotions are located in the center of the model. They can be called pure or concentrated.
The second circle contains a basic set of feelings of medium intensity. They are more familiar to a person who is in a normal state without overexcitation. The last option lists the smoothest and lightest emotions that a peaceful or cool person shows.
Each circle should be analyzed separately. After all, the model also contains intermediate derivatives. These are complex feelings that form at the junctions of typical sensations, but more on that later ...
The first level of the wheel of emotions by Robert Plutchik.
It reflects the strongest and most clearly limited reactions of a person to a particular event. These are simple and specific emotions that people will most often use in relation to themselves if asked to describe their current state. They are characterized by strong intensity and a distinct external manifestation. Feelings like this are almost impossible to hide.
Rapture (yellow).
The most positively colored emotion. It occurs when a person sees something very pleasant to his mind. It mainly accompanies the state of falling in love, when the partners are next to each other, developing into a feeling of ecstasy and reverence.
Admiration (light green).
This emotion often coexists with delight. It usually occurs when a person observes something that exceeds the generally accepted norms. Closely intertwined with the approval of other people for their extraordinary abilities. However, it easily turns into envy.
Horror (dark green).
Characteristic condition if there is a serious threat. The body receives a powerful signal of impending danger. Assumes the beginning of actions for self-preservation. Sometimes a feeling of absolute horror can lead a person into an emotional stupor.
Amazement (dark blue).
This is how you most often react to something completely new and unusual. Sometimes emotion borders on excitement and slight fear, as it is not always clear what to expect from the current situation. If security is confirmed, the feeling gets an exclusively positive color, and you will move into a state of inner peace.
Grief (blue).
A heavy and negative emotion associated with the loss of something very significant for a particular person. Moreover, the scale of what happened is completely different. It all depends on personal preferences. Can become a trigger for more active interaction with the environment.
Disgust (purple).
This sensation occurs when you see or hear something unpleasant. Usually associated with the desire to isolate oneself from potential danger. It can be directed both at inanimate objects and another person.
Anger (red).
The standard reaction of the body to the obstacle that has arisen in the form of an “enemy”. The main goal of this emotion is the complete elimination of the problem. Often has destructive consequences. Able to turn off fear and self-preservation.
Alertness (orange).
A negatively colored emotion associated with distrust of a particular person or situation as a whole. Quickly loses a negative charge, turning into curiosity and interest, subject to a complete sense of security.
And these are only the most vivid emotions that appear at the peak of psychological stress. Movement along the intensity scale can be either towards the center or vice versa. That is, anger can turn into annoyance mixed with disappointment, and a serene state is more likely to be replaced by delight.
List of basic emotions:
According to the model under consideration, this is a calmer manifestation of the above-described reactions of the body to a stimulus. They often occur in everyday life, since the first round is the peak state of the body, which occurs solely under the influence of a strong impression. The list of basic emotions includes the following personal experiences:
Joy. A softer degree of delight. This is a sincere feeling associated with pleasant sensations.
Confidence. It comes from admiration. It has very fragile edges that are easy to break. In this case, there will be a transition to suspicion or anxiety.
Fear. Based on horror, but in a milder degree of manifestation. This is a typical reaction to frightening objects. Fear is not associated with phobias and sometimes arises from a sense of the unknown.
Astonishment. The second point in the direction of amazement. This emotion rarely goes unnoticed, as facial expressions on automation demonstrate a person's reaction.
Sadness. No longer grief, but still a strong negative emotion. Most often hidden behind indifference or feigned joy. It has a devastating effect, but not in relation to others, but to the person himself. This is especially pronounced when the movement occurs from the edges to the center of the model.
Displeasure. It grows out of disgust, but usually does not involve any physical action.
Anger. Less destructive emotion compared to anger. However, there is still a negative connotation. It is difficult to hide it, such emotion often manifests itself in the form of non-verbal gestures and certain facial expressions.
Expectation. It comes from alertness, if the situation is generally comfortable and there is no danger. Easily transforms both in the negative and in the positive direction.
Intermediate emotions:
Robert Plutchik also provided for a variety of transitions from one pronounced basic feeling to another. Usually they occur already on the third circle, when emotions become softer:
the serenity that springs from joy borders on love;
acceptance that comes after justified trust can evoke feelings of resignation or resignation;
anxiety that comes after fear is the progenitor of inner trembling;
excitement, into which surprise with a positive color sooner or later turns, has common boundaries with disappointment;
sadness as an aftertaste of sadness can lead to remorse;
the boredom that comes from displeasure quite often flows into thinly concealed contempt;
Annoyance arising from anger almost always becomes the basis for passive aggression.
As you can see, the emotional palette is very diverse. The feelings of a single person cannot be called simple and obvious, since they almost always mix and change intensity in a matter of seconds. Understanding this makes it easier to perceive yourself and others, and also helps you manage your emotions.
Exercise for work with emotions
STEP #1
As often as possible, look at Robert Plutchik's wheel of emotions and try to determine exactly what emotions you are currently experiencing.
It won't always work - no big deal. If you can't figure out what emotion you're feeling, note that you're uncomfortable. Notice how intense, how strong this discomfort is - weak, medium or strong, and in which area of the body it is felt most intensely - maybe in the throat, chest or stomach? The main task of this stage is not to define the emotion as precisely as possible, but to appropriate it. Realize that it belongs to you. To feel that it is you who has chosen, in one way or another, to experience it - and that means YOU CAN MANAGE IT.
STEP #2
Now that you've managed to describe the emotion you're experiencing, you can decide what to do with it.
To do this, try to answer yourself two questions:
1. Do you feel more like being alone or with someone now?
When we experience negative emotions, we may experience different needs. It may be a need for peace, inner and outer silence, loneliness. It may be the need for support, the feeling that there is someone nearby who cares about what is happening to us. Listen to yourself and try to determine what you are more inclined to now.
2. Do you now want to distract yourself from this emotion more, reduce the intensity of its experience, or, conversely, increase the intensity of its experience?
An important point - neither one nor the other is "wrong", everything that you now need is necessary for your psyche in order to cope with this experience.
STEP #3
When you answer these two questions for yourself, find the desired quadrant at the intersection of the "Intensity and Focus" scales below and select any type of activity that seems appropriate to you. You can also come up with your own alternative activity that will help you live and cope with emotions.
The experienced emotion itself can cause different, opposite in modality, needs. Sometimes these sensations seem simply unbearable - everything falls out of your hands, and you want to stop feeling it at least for a while, stop feeling yourself. That's when we resort to food, alcohol, smoking, and other ways to drown out the experience. But it can be otherwise - despite the fact that the experienced emotion is negative, we want to concentrate on its experience, to deepen it even more. Paradoxically, for this we can also use food, alcohol, smoking, and other methods - in this case, they allow us to "ground", focus on the experience and strengthen it.
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