In life, concepts such as emotions and feelings are often confused, but these phenomena are different and reflect different meanings.

Emotions are not always realized

Sometimes a person cannot quite clearly formulate what emotions he is experiencing, for example, people say “everything is boiling inside me,” what does this mean? What emotions? Anger? Fear? Despair? Anxiety? Annoyance?. A person cannot always identify a momentary emotion, but a person is almost always aware of a feeling: friendship, love, envy, hostility, happiness, pride.

Experts make a distinction between the concept of “ emotion" and the concepts " feeling», « affect», « mood" And " experience».

Unlike feelings, emotions do not have an object connection: they arise not in relation to someone or something, but in relation to the situation as a whole. " I'm scared"is an emotion, and " I'm afraid of this man" - this feeling.

The feelings and emotions listed here do not exhaust the entire palette, the entire variety of human emotional states. A comparison with the colors of the solar spectrum is appropriate here. There are 7 basic tones, but how many more intermediate colors do we know and how many shades can be obtained by mixing them!

It is difficult to say how many different emotional states there may be - but, in any case, there are immeasurably more than 70. Emotional states are highly specific, even if, with modern crude assessment methods, they have the same name. There seem to be many shades of anger, joy, sadness and other feelings.

Love for an older brother and love for a younger sister are similar, but far from identical feelings. The first is colored with admiration, pride, and sometimes envy; the second is a sense of self-superiority, a desire to provide patronage, sometimes pity and tenderness. A completely different feeling is love for parents, love for children. But to designate all these feelings we use one name.

The division of feelings into positive and negative is not done on ethical grounds, but solely on the basis of the pleasure or displeasure delivered. Therefore, gloating ended up in the column of positive feelings, and sympathy - in the negative feelings. There are, as you can see, much more negative ones than positive ones. Why? Several explanations can be offered.

Sometimes the idea is expressed that there are simply many more words in the language that express unpleasant feelings, because in good mood a person is generally less inclined to introspection. This explanation seems unsatisfactory to us.

Initial biological role emotions - signal, like “pleasant - unpleasant”, “safe - dangerous”. Apparently, the signaling “dangerous” and “unpleasant” is more significant for the animal; it is vitally important, more relevant, because it directs its behavior in critical situations.

It is clear that such information in the process of evolution should receive priority over information signaling “comfort”.

But what has developed historically can change historically. When a person masters the laws of social development, this will change his emotional life, moving the center of gravity towards positive, pleasant feelings.

Let's return to the list of feelings. If you carefully read all 70 names, you will notice that some of the listed feelings coincide in content and differ only in intensity. For example, surprise and amazement differ only in strength, that is, in degree of expression. The same is anger and rage, pleasure and bliss, etc. Therefore, some clarifications need to be made to the list.

Typically, feelings come in five main forms:

The definition of feeling was given above.

Affect- this is a very strong short-term feeling associated with a motor reaction (or with complete immobility - numbness. But numbness is also a motor reaction).

Passion called a strong and lasting feeling.

Mood- the resultant of many feelings. This state is distinguished by a certain duration, stability and serves as the background against which all other elements of mental activity take place.

Under experiences however, they usually understand exclusively the subjective mental side of emotional processes, without including physiological components.

Thus, if we consider surprise a feeling, then amazement is the same feeling in content, but brought to the level of affect (remember the final silent scene of “The Inspector General”).

Similarly, we call anger brought to the level of passion by rage, bliss is the affect of pleasure, delight is the affect of joy, despair is the affect of grief, horror is the affect of fear, adoration is love that has become passion in duration and strength, etc.

Displays of emotions

Emotional reactions are associated with nervous processes, they also manifest themselves in external movements, called `` expressive movements." Expressive movements are an important component of emotions, the external form of their existence. Expressions of emotions are universal, similar for all people, sets of expressive signs that reflect certain emotional states.

Towards expressive forms of emotions include the following:

Gestures (hand movements),

Facial expressions (movements of facial muscles),

Pantomime (movements of the whole body) - see,

Emotional components of speech (strength and timbre, voice intonation),

Autonomic changes (redness, paleness, sweating).

You can read more about how emotions are expressed

The human face has the greatest ability to express various emotional shades (see). And, of course, the mirror of emotions is often the eyes (see)

Emotions and feelings are unique mental states that leave an imprint on a person’s life, activities, actions and behavior. If emotional states mainly determine the external side of behavior and mental activity, then feelings influence the content and internal essence of experiences caused by a person’s spiritual needs.
Based on materials from openemo.com

One of the most interesting and mysterious areas of our psyche is the world of emotions. Studied for thousands of years by scientists from various fields of knowledge, it still keeps many of its secrets and mysteries. Emotions permeate our entire life, making it bright, rich, sometimes tremulous and tender, sometimes filled with unbearable burning pain. Yes, they are this life itself, because where feelings disappear, human existence ends.

It is psychology that most fully reveals the essence of this area of ​​the human psyche - the only science that has managed to organically link together physiological basis and manifestations of emotional states.

In psychology, the concept of “emotions” is used both in a broad sense, as emotional states, and in a narrow sense, as one of the types of these states, along with feelings, moods, affects, etc. Emotional states are a special class of mental phenomena that reflect attitudes man to the world.

Emotions and needs

Interacting with the outside world and with other people, a person is constantly faced with situations that challenge him. different attitude: joy or indignation, sadness or hatred, surprise or sympathy. That is, a person reflects the world and stores information in memory not only in images and concepts, but also in the form of sensory experiences - emotions.

Emotions are closely related to. Those life circumstances, situations or people that contribute to the satisfaction of needs cause us positive emotions, and those that interfere or hinder us cause negative emotions. It's so simple and complicated at the same time.

• Firstly, we are not always aware of our needs, but we always experience the emotions associated with them. Therefore, we often cannot even explain to ourselves why we don’t like this or that person, or why our mood suddenly deteriorated.
• Secondly, a person lives a complex and multifaceted life, and often his needs come into contact not only with the needs of other people, but also with his own desires. Therefore, understanding this confusing and chaotic whirlpool of emotions can be extremely difficult even for an experienced psychologist. You probably know that you can love and hate the same person at the same time, or be afraid and look forward to some event at the same time.

You can deal with your experiences only by realizing and bringing your confused desires and needs into at least relative order. Experienced psychotherapists can help a person with this. After all, only by understanding and accepting your needs or consciously abandoning them can you reduce the severity of negative experiences.

Psychophysiology of emotional states

Emotions are the oldest type of mental states; animals have them and are associated with the satisfaction of natural, and in higher animals, social needs.

• The antiquity of this type of mental state is confirmed by the fact that they are born in the old, from an evolutionary point of view, subcortical part of the brain - in the limbic system. By the way, the name is very telling. Limbo is purgatory, a place between heaven and hell, and even deeper lurks animal instincts and hidden, often dark desires and needs. They sometimes break through from the subconscious level, awakening in us strange emotions that frighten even ourselves.
• But the expression of emotions is controlled and controlled by the “youngest” and most rational part of the brain – the neocortex (“new cortex”). And when the rational part of the brain turns off, for example, during severe alcohol intoxication or in a state of passion, then emotions go out of our control, and behavior begins to be controlled by instincts, not reason.

Any external influence causes a focus of excitation in the cerebral cortex. If the irritation is weak, then the focus quickly fades, but the stronger the impact, the larger and more stable this focus is. Penetrating into the subcortical zone, it activates the centers of emotions.

Emotions, in turn, cause various changes in the physiological systems of the body, because emotions are a signal about the nature of the impact of the stimulus. And if they are negative, then our body is rebuilt, preparing to repel danger or run away from it. Moreover, for our brain, it turns out, it doesn’t matter whether the enemy is real or imaginary - the signal to restructure the body’s functioning is still received, and we experience various, often unpleasant, sensations. Thus, the emergence of a feeling of fear is accompanied by the following processes:

• Adrenaline is released into the blood, which should increase the supply of oxygen to the muscles and activate the sympathetic nervous system;
• blood and nutritional resources are directed to support the muscular system; this reduces the supply to other body systems, so a person feels cold, chills, his face turns pale, and due to lack of blood supply, dizziness and even loss of consciousness may occur;
• in order to cope with the increased needs for blood supply, the heart begins to beat faster, breathing quickens to supply the blood with oxygen and, as a result, difficulties arise with speech;
• rational control over behavior decreases, since the functions of the cerebral cortex are somewhat suppressed, and the person literally becomes stupid and does not think rationally well.

Changes in the functioning of various body systems under the influence of emotions are reflexive in nature, so we cannot consciously control them, but we can control emotions, at least at the initial stage of their occurrence. Our brain is quite capable of “persuading” the body not to succumb to feelings of fear or anger. And in psychotherapy there are special techniques and trainings that allow a person to learn even in the most critical situations.

Managing emotions is necessary not only to regulate behavior, but also to maintain physical health. The fact is that negative feelings (and they are experienced more strongly by a person than positive ones) have very unpleasant consequences. Their systematic experience can lead to the development, first of all, of cardiovascular and digestive systems. It is these systems that are most affected by adrenaline surges and other physiological changes. That is, the saying: “All diseases come from nerves” has a rational basis.

Types of emotions

The most ancient and primitive type of emotional states are states of pleasure and displeasure, which are classified as the simplest organic sensitivity. These experiences are associated with the satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) of natural needs and are felt by a person even more physiologically than psychologically. For example, when, after a long and tiring day spent on your feet, you sit down in a soft, comfortable chair.

But most of our emotional states are “humanized,” that is, they are conscious in nature and associated with activity and social relationships.

Moods

This is the most generalized type of emotional states. Moods, on the one hand, are weakly expressed, and on the other hand, they create the background of all our activities, as if coloring our life at one stage or another.

The mood is quite stable. Changing it depends not only on the situation, but also on personal characteristics. In people with a mobile nervous system, moods are less stable and change frequently.

The most important characteristic of mood is its non-objective character. This emotional state creates a background, but is not associated with a specific subject. Although a person may well be aware of the circumstance that spoiled his mood, the emotion itself extends not only to this circumstance, but also affects activity (everything is falling out of hand, you want to quit everything, etc.) and interpersonal relationships. Often we take our bad mood out on those who have nothing to do with it, or share our joyful well-being with the whole world.

Emotions

Actually, emotions (in the narrow sense) and feelings are quite close and similar, and psychologists are still arguing which of these emotional states can be classified as more high level, and which is more primitive. But this is important for science, but does not play a role in everyday life.

Emotions themselves are more short-lived than moods, but also more clearly expressed. The power of expression of emotions is also much higher than that of mood. Emotions are more conscious of a person, and he clearly differentiates them: joy and anger, fear and hatred, pleasure and hostility.

But the main difference between emotions and moods is that they are objective and aimed at a specific object or situation. These emotional states are social in nature, that is, they are part of the communication process; a person conveys his emotions (with the help of facial expressions, pantomime, intonation, gestures) to other people and is able to perceive them, empathize, and sympathize with others.

Emotions have another unique feature - we are able to experience them in relation not only to a real situation, but also to an imaginary one. Memories and adventures of the heroes of books and films can also evoke emotions.

Feelings

This type of emotional state, just like emotions, is associated with certain objects. We love or hate very specific people, phenomena and situations. It is generally impossible to love, to experience feelings of respect or hostility. But feelings are longer lasting, more stable than emotions, deeper and more varied. And we can also say that feelings are more socialized and depend on a person’s interaction with the people around him. Therefore, feelings are varied, and there are several types of them:

• objective feelings are the largest variety of feelings associated with various aspects of human existence; these include, for example, admiration and disgust, feelings of the sublime and a sense of humor (comic);
• moral feelings are associated with relationships in society (love, hatred, sense of duty, friendship, envy, etc.);
• intellectual feelings are associated with cognitive needs (curiosity, inquisitiveness, a sense of mystery, doubt, confidence, etc.);
• aesthetic feelings arise in response to the perception of the beautiful or ugly in nature and art; in general, they can be characterized as the experience of pleasure or displeasure, pleasure or disgust, etc.

This classification, of course, is not entirely accurate and complete, since any feeling is essentially subjective. But it reflects quite well the diverse and colorful palette of human feelings.

Affect and stress

Affect is a very strong and vivid emotional response to a sudden situation that threatens a person’s health and life. The effects are short-lived, but they are expressed in a sharp activation of all the protective functions of the body. We can say that all the strength and hidden reserves of a person are directed towards getting rid of the cause of such strong negative emotions.

Cases are described when, in a state of passion, people jumped over four-meter fences, climbed onto tall trees. There was even a case recorded when a woman, saving a child from under the wheels of a car, was able to turn it over into a ditch by hitting the side of a small truck with her hands.

The peculiarity of affect is that it is accompanied not only by a powerful release of physical and emotional energy, but also by a state of altered consciousness. It manifests itself in a person’s loss of rational control over his actions. The subject seems to fall out of reality, and then cannot remember what he did in a state of passion. In criminology, murders committed in this state are classified as special types of crimes, since the person is not aware of his actions and does not control them.

After the affect comes a “rollback” - having used up all his strength, even internal reserves, a person feels weak, his hands tremble, his legs become “wobbly,” and sometimes he even loses consciousness.

Stress is similar to a state of passion in that it occurs as a response to or a threatening situation. But it is less strong and longer lasting. What is important is that stress is not accompanied by a change in consciousness and a shutdown of rational control. Although a person immersed in the cycle of his problems may not realize that he lives in a state of stress.

Stress also activates the body’s strengths, not only physical, but also intellectual. But in the initial stages this is felt as increased tone and a kind of stimulation of activity, and internal reserves are not spent. Only prolonged stress is harmful to a person, which leads to overload of the nervous system, chronic fatigue syndrome, and even depression.

Functions of emotions

Emotional states bring us many moments of pleasure, but often seem unnecessary. We would like to get rid of negative experiences, not worry about loved ones, not experience feelings of anger or fear. But emotions, even the most unpleasant ones, perform very important functions in our lives.

• Controlling or regulating function. Emotions, like negative or positive experiences, control our behavior, form motives and are the strongest incentive. After all, any living creature strives for what brings pleasure and tries to avoid unpleasant sensations.
• Evaluation function. Emotions help us make sense of a complex world and bring order to our relationships. They evaluate everything that happens to us: both good and bad. This assessment allows us to divide people into friends and enemies, and events into pleasant and unpleasant.
• Protective and mobilizing function. Emotions warn us of danger, and they also turn on the defense mechanisms of our body and mobilize forces to solve the problem.
• Signal or expressive. Emotions play a huge role in communication, conveying information to other people about our state and attitude. Expressive movements that accompany emotions are an important part of nonverbal communication.
• Synthesizing function. Emotions are a kind of “cement mortar” that connects events, images, and phenomena in memory. It is emotions that create in memory single blocks-complexes of events connected by experiences.

But along with positive and undoubtedly important and necessary functions, emotional states can also play a disorganizing role, that is, interfere with a person’s normal actions. The feeling of fear can develop into panic, which prevents you from properly comprehending the situation and making the right decision. Anxiety prevents you from concentrating on activities, for example, solving a problem on a test. And love, too, sometimes makes one’s head so dizzy that a person can no longer think about anything and does not evaluate his actions sensibly.

However, there is a way out. A person may well learn to control emotions and subordinate them to the control of the mind.

Every person living on earth has a unique set of feelings. Feeling is the ability to express and perceive the world. This is a special emotional state that can prompt a person to take certain actions. Attitudes towards actions or actions are expressed by feelings and various emotional manifestations. Let's look at what feelings there are and how many of them a person has.

What kind of feelings does a person have? The ability to feel is a great gift that makes us different from inanimate beings, feeling something - we live. If we had no feelings, we would simply exist

How many feelings does a person have?

As has long been known, humans have five basic senses. This opinion has been shared by the majority of scientists and ordinary citizens, as well as psychologists, for many centuries. The main feelings are considered to be:

1. Vision;
2. Touch;
3. Hearing;
4. Taste;
5. Smell.

It is generally accepted that modern man, there are five main senses through which we can feel and experience the world around us, as well as ourselves. These organs are: Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin

All these feelings can be felt thanks to our organs. Today, a lot of controversy has arisen about this. Many people began to question the established fact that humans have five senses. This opinion has been around for a long time, and is based on what a person feels thanks to his senses.

How are feelings different from emotions?

All our sensations are our experiences and relationships to the world around us. We can feel something thanks to our senses; humans have five such sensors. With their help, we receive and can analyze information from the world around us and perceive what is happening. So how many primary senses do humans actually have? Each of us has five senses, namely:

• Nose. Allows you to distinguish odors, determine the distance to its source, and navigate the area. This sense is called Smell;
• Leather. Feel the temperature environment, air humidity, wind, we can feel with all our skin. Each of its cells reacts to stimuli and sends information to the brain, and we feel pain, heat or cold. This feeling is called touch;
• Ears. With their help, we can navigate space and hear what is happening around us. Hearing allows us to calculate the approximate distance from the sound source in order to react in time, for example, from falling snow from a roof or a falling tree;
• Language. It allows you to taste. The sense of taste helps to determine the degree of spoilage of food in order to consume the freshest food. Taste buds make it possible to distinguish between sour, sweet, salty, fried, and other tastes and flavors;
• Eyes. This complex biological device allows humans to see the world around them. Vision is the ability of a sighted person to receive information that enters the brain by converting electromagnetic radiation in the light range in the visual system of the body;

All the information that our brain processes comes through our senses, and then we form our perception and independent knowledge of ourselves and the world around us.

To understand how emotions differ from feelings, you need to spend a little time to study well this question. One thing can be said, Feelings are acquired human qualities that can be developed throughout life, and emotions are embedded in our genetic code and manifest themselves from birth

For each person, the senses may be differently developed or formed. This way, some people will be able to feel more, while others will feel less. Those moments that bring us more emotional energy are stored in our memory. This can be both negative and positive manifestations. As a result, a certain emotional sensation is formed from the feelings received. Together with events, feelings can evoke in a person good or bad memories that carry a certain emotional connotation.

List of human feelings and emotions

The highly developed sensitivity of the human body allows one to receive more intense emotionality from the influence of external as well as internal factors. It follows that feelings can cause different emotions in people. All our emotions can be divided into two groups, positive and negative, these include such emotional feelings as:

• Positive emotions include three main states:

1. Astonishment;
2. Interest;
3. Joy.

• And seven feelings that bring negative emotional coloring to people's lives. Such emotional manifestations can be classified as follows:

1. Guilt;
2. Charity;
3. Fear;
4. Suffering;
5. Anger;
6. Shame;
7. Disgust.

Let's take a closer look at each state separately to understand the depth of a person's emotional state. But first, check out the table of human emotions.

To understand what feelings overcome you most often, you must first study the entire palette of emotional states. If you do not do this, then you will never be able to know yourself and the world around you.

10 fundamental emotions according to the theory of American psychologist Carroll Izard

Despite a large number of attempts to separate feelings and the emotional state of a person, one of the most popular assumptions is still the theory of Carroll Izard, who outlined 10 basic emotional states. In his work on differential emotions, he divided emotions according to the quality of the experience.

Knowing your own feelings will lead to enormous changes in your life. Once you learn to control your emotions and listen to your feelings, you will become much happier, and your family will be delighted with the positive mood within your family environment.

Thus, it was possible to most effectively distinguish between ten fundamental emotions, starting with three positive ones:

• ASTONISHMENT. There is no specific definition whether the emotion is positive or negative. You can be surprised by both a negative attitude and a positive one. A feeling of surprise is formed from the sudden occurrence of any circumstances that may later cause a feeling interest to a new object or event;
• INTEREST. This state of emotionality helps a person to explore the world and gain new abilities through learning. By acquiring new knowledge and skills, a person becomes more literate and develops rapidly. Feeling curiosity motivates a person interest-excitement;
• JOY. This emotional component can only be caused when a person perceives a certain need for something, at a time when it seems to him that it is impossible to achieve this. This feeling always brings satisfaction in one’s own actions and the world around him. If it is not possible to achieve self-realization, then it is correspondingly impossible to feel a feeling of joy;
• GUILT. This feeling is considered to be a negative state of emotionality, which is expressed in our own actions when we realize that we have made the wrong decision. That is, when we do something that we subsequently begin to regret and repent of. These can be actions or deeds, or simply thoughts and feelings.
• CONTEMPT. This is another negative display of feelings that occurs when you consider the behavior or quality being demonstrated to be unacceptable. Since these actions, in most cases, are negatively perceived in social sphere. This may also be due to established rules of a personal nature, when a person considers any actions towards himself or other subjects of the surrounding world, as they contradict the morality or ethical principles of humanity. Thus, a person becomes negatively attuned to the manifestation of such actions in relation to the world around him or himself.
• FEAR. As soon as a person receives information in which he feels a danger to his own well-being, or sees that damage to something dear to him may be caused, then a feeling of fear arises. This feeling can be caused either by a clear danger to one’s own life, or by a false assumption that some damage will be caused to one. Very often, a feeling of fear may be unfounded and not be a reason for an anxious feeling. However, the mental state operates regardless of the rationality of what is happening. When experiencing a feeling of fear, the subject may be stressed or feel anxious and internally depressed. It may also feel terrifying.
• Suffering. One of the most common depressive feelings that lead a person or other living creature into a state of emotional dissatisfaction in which the subject feels a painful or painful state, both moral and physical. The least severe form of suffering causes short-term emotional stress. The more severe form is most often associated with the irreversible loss of someone or something, and lasts much longer. Thus, the person is in an emotional state of grief.
• ANGER. A feeling of enormous indignation or dissatisfaction in relation to certain actions and actions. In most cases, this condition occurs in the form of affect. It occurs at a time when a person is extremely dissatisfied with the actions of one person or groups of people. In such situations, people may feel anger towards individuals who interfere with the achievement of a goal or desired outcome.
• SHAME. An emotionally negative feeling that is caused by unacceptable behavior or action in front of other people who consider such actions unacceptable in society. Usually people who commit an act that can be noticed by anyone begin to feel this way. If there are no witnesses to such an act, then a feeling of guilt may arise, but a feeling of shame does not arise in this case. You may also feel ashamed in front of other people about your own appearance.
• DISGUST. Another negative state of emotionality that can be caused by certain people, actions, circumstances or objects. Despite the negative emotional state, disgust is very useful feeling, as it allows you to reject unacceptable objects, products or circumstances that can cause harm to your own body. Essentially, this is a protective function that helps separate beneficial factors from harmful effects. Disgust can be associated with moral or aesthetic principles, as well as with ideological views. When combined with anger, disgust can cause the subject to behave aggressively towards a subject or object.

All these feelings evoke certain emotions in a person, thus it is possible to characterize and predict the further behavior of a subject who experiences one of the ten feelings.

How to learn to manage your feelings

In order to effectively manage your feelings, you need to clearly classify your own emotional states. It is for this purpose that special criteria for classifying human feelings were developed.

To learn to control or manage your own emotions, you need to carefully study the criteria for choosing feelings and choose the most suitable option that can reflect your inner feeling or experience

Thus, a certain table of feelings was created that will allow each person to understand their own emotional states in order to determine and control their own feelings.

There are three main criteria by which feelings are divided, namely:

1. Sthenicity;
2. Valence;
3. Intensity.

This classification table will help to characterize and understand difficult experiences, and divide them into types:

If a person experiences a strong sthenic sensation, for example, love. That weak manifestation of it is ordinary sympathy towards another person. Not each of us can define our experiences and sensations, since the number of sensory emotions is large. The definition of feelings can only be guessed at. Most of us, with great difficulty, can identify no more than ten of our own feelings, although we experience no less every day.

According to American psychologist Paul Ekman, there are 7 basic emotions, namely:

• Contempt– negative feeling;
• Astonishment– an uncertain reaction from a sudden action or expectation;
• Anger– a negative feeling that can provoke a person to commit a bad act, even a serious crime;
• Joy– one of the best manifestations of emotionality in a person, which can push him to incredible discoveries;
• Sadness- the negative side of all human feelings. A person who is sad is usually inactive and unable to engage in productive activities;
• Fear– the internal state of a person’s soul, which is formed for self-preservation;
• Disgust– also has a negative connotation of emotionality. Just like fear, it helps a person preserve his own body.

High emotionality of a person can change a person’s attitude towards the world around him. In order to act correctly in a given situation, you first need to understand your inner state and then learn to avoid excessive emotional outbursts that can cause harm to you. No matter what feelings you have

The following table will help you find a name for the emotional experience of human feelings, based on the four basic emotions:

Using these tables, you can clearly understand what feelings cover you at a certain moment in life. In this way, you can understand your internal state and prevent negative influence on the people around you. You can also, after studying this list of emotional states, characterize another person, if necessary.

Division of feelings into three varieties

In order not to fall into a depressed state, a person must realize that how he will deal with his inner experiences depends only on him. Prolonged stay in oppression can develop into a chronic psychological illness

To understand what feelings exist, you can do a lot of guessing and guessing. After all, each of us can perceive certain feelings differently. Some people are capable of experiencing experiences very deeply and for a long time, while others are given the ability to have short-term emotional experiences. Each person is able to feel depending on his character, principle or accumulated experience in life, and the difference in feelings also depends on the person’s temperament.

Moral feelings

They manifest themselves in people in relation to each other or in relation to own actions. As a rule, the classification of feelings is determined by the subject’s sphere of residence in society. This gives rise to the following emotional manifestations:

• hatred;
• Love;
• sympathy;
• antipathy;
• charity;
• respect for other subjects;
• feeling of conscience, gratitude.

This also includes friendship and collective affection.

All these qualities manifest themselves depending on the norms of moral behavior accepted in social society. In addition, such sensations can be caused depending on a person’s worldview and his outlook on life and established beliefs. In the case when an action corresponds to accepted moral standards, a person will feel satisfaction, but if actions do not correspond to recognized canons, then people will feel dissatisfied.

Intellectual feelings

Mental experience caused by mental activity. When a person gets positive results from his work, he will feel joy, peace and joy. Such feelings encourage people to make new discoveries or improve their productive activity. But if you fail in your endeavors, then there will be a feeling of frustration and painful perception that will cause reduced efficiency or complete refusal to complete any tasks.

Aesthetic feelings

When you witness something beautiful, you will receive a lot of positive emotions. When contemplating beautiful scenery, objects of art, looking at talented people or creating beautiful creations, you begin to experience a feeling of delight and bliss that gives you strength for new discoveries and motivates you to do great things.

This is not a complete list; in fact, the palette of emotions and feelings is so vast that it is impossible to describe in words all emotional experiences. But, nevertheless, this is more than enough to classify the main emotional components.

What is the actual difference between feelings and emotions?

When experiencing certain emotional experiences, we feel positive or negative emotions with all the sensors of our body. Not everyone can express such worries in verbal form. However, understanding feelings allows us not only to identify them qualitatively, but also to completely control these emotional experiences.

It is very important not to confuse emotions and feelings, since there are many opinions on this matter. Many people believe that these are the same thing. But in reality this is completely wrong

As we have already found out, feelings are a set of certain experiences in relation to the people around us, as well as objects around us or some events.

Many individuals interpret the words “feelings” and “emotions” differently: Some believe that they are the same thing, others are sure that feelings are a type of human emotional state. But there are those who think that emotions are the mental state of a living organism, and feelings are properties of the mental state. Any opinion has a place to be, since in reality feelings and emotions are interconnected. Thanks to these spiritual experiences, we can enjoy our lives, but without them we would simply exist. This emotional palette makes our lives varied and exciting, and each of us finds the meaning of life thanks to these sensations.

It is very important to learn to control your own feelings and emotions so as not to fall into a state of depression or apathy. If a person remains in this state for a long time. then it will be very difficult to return him to normal life and make him happy

So what is the difference between feelings and emotions? In fact, there are specific differences, namely:

Each of us is filled with emotions from birth. These are instinctive reactions of people that change depending on changes in the world around us, and feelings develop throughout our lives in social society. We acquire the ability to feel as a result of our upbringing and knowledge, that is, training. As everyone knows, we have been able to express emotions since our birth, but people learn to feel throughout their lives.

Human feelings are easier to control, and emotional attitude cannot be controlled, since it is part of our instinctive beginning.

As a rule, feelings can change during a person’s life, they can either progress and develop, or completely disappear; their manifestation can take place in different ways and completely change their “polarity”. Emotion is always the same.

When a person experiences a negative feeling towards an object or another person, then such an attitude can change at any moment, and develop into the opposite feeling - for example, if you experience hatred, then such a feeling can change into a feeling of love for some object. But, the reason for fear always remains unchanged; if you experience this emotion, then there is no likelihood of it changing, since there is an instinctive reason for this. There are two options: either you are afraid of something or not.

The main motivation is a feeling, and emotion causes a short-term desire to do something and make it a reality.

How to learn to control your feelings

In those moments when emotional experiences capture our consciousness, regardless of whether they are positive or negative, the psychological shell of a person suffers. To experience well-being, you need to know how to properly cope with negative or positive feelings. Both of them can cause serious damage to a person’s moral and physical health. Therefore, you need to know the measure of joy and sorrow.

It is very important to understand the boundary between positive and negative emotions. The first step to learning to control your feelings and emotions is to study basic emotional manifestations. You just need to choose the most suitable option from the tables that are located above in the text

In order to control your inner experiences, you need to treat your emotional mood correctly. Therefore you need to consider the following:

1. First, you must identify the criteria for your feelings as indicated in the first table. These are sthenicity, valence and intensity. After this, move on to the second stage.
2. Select the initial emotion from the second table. Think about which feelings from this list suit you best.
3. And finally, determine the name of your emotional state, and independently understand what emotional disturbances are troubling you.

Very often our inner experiences overcome a person’s mind, such that he cannot live in peace. He loses his appetite, suffers from insomnia and the most negative thoughts which harm the entire body. The longer severe unrest lasts, the greater the likelihood of self-harm and being in a long-term depressive state. Long-term stress has a detrimental effect on a person, and accordingly, the people around him begin to suffer.

To learn how to manage your internal state, each person must choose his own table of feelings in order to become more successful and not endanger his life and the lives of his loved ones.

At the end it says

We now know how many basic senses humans have and how they can help people feel. In addition, we figured out what emotions are and how feelings relate to them. Exact amount It is quite difficult to count emotions and feelings, since there are a large number of them. Some say that there are only 5 of them. Some people think that there are more than 15, and others cannot decide on the number at all, thinking that there are many more. But based on scientific research, we can safely say that there are 5 main organs. They allow us humans to feel. Although there are some contradictions on this issue, these are just modern assumptions.

Human emotions

Snezhana Ivanova

Human emotions and feelings can be divided into two types: positive and negative...

The role of emotions in human life is extremely significant. Emotional sphere performs a very important function - it regulates behavioral reactions, helps to understand oneself and others. It is by our feelings that we determine how pleasant or not this or that situation is to us, and whether we want to become part of it.

Human emotions and feelings can be divided into two types: positive and negative. The first, no matter what we call them (joy, happiness, satisfaction) always feel good and cause an internal surge of strength. Positive emotions fill us with new energy. In the second case, there is a loss of energy, a feeling of powerlessness and an unwillingness to do anything. Negative emotions can destroy inner world personality, make it withdrawn or aggressive.

Types of emotions in psychology

• Feeling of joy can inspire a person, transform him into a short time contented and happy. Even if joy lasts only a few minutes, it is beneficial for both physical health and the psycho-emotional state of the individual. Sudden joy, discovered especially during a period of illness or depression, brings relief, gives rise to a feeling of well-being and confidence in life. own strength. In the case of expected joy, it is sometimes taken for granted, but even then it activates all healing processes in the body. That's why sometimes you need to please yourself by buying the thing you want to cheer yourself up.
• Feeling of surprise occurs at the moment when an external stimulus has a previously unfamiliar effect on a person. Let's say that in a store you came across a beautiful thing that was not there before. And then I immediately wanted to buy it. In the emotional sphere, there is a confluence of emotions of surprise, delight and joy from the fact that there is an opportunity to buy this thing. A person is surprised by everything unfamiliar, and this emotion can cause both positive and negative feelings.
• Feeling happy can be called the completeness of joy and the utmost positive emotion of a person. Having experienced happiness, a person will never confuse it with other emotions. Happiness can be either a fleeting state or accompany a person for quite a long time. The more holistic a person is, the easier it is for her to independently maintain a state of elation, enthusiasm, and highest satisfaction.
• Anger is the first destructive emotion of a person. Of course, each of us is susceptible to feelings of anger, and there is nothing reprehensible in this. It is much more dangerous to keep such an emotion inside - it can subjugate and destroy even the most stable mental organization. What to do with uncontrollable attack anger? Of course, give him a way out. It is not necessary to throw out complaints in your opponent’s face. If you value your relationship or simply cannot express your feelings directly, there are many ways. For example, you can write a letter to an imaginary recipient, but not send it. In our age information technologies It won’t be too difficult to type long text on your computer and then delete it painlessly. You cannot hush up anger or suppress it for a long time if you do not want the formation of abscesses on the skin and any inflammatory processes.
• Fear can unsettle even the calmest person. The feeling of fear, most often, is formed due to self-doubt or an emerging situation that the person cannot control. What are the symptoms of fear? On the physical plane, these are wet palms, a rapid heartbeat, a stuttering voice, and pupils dilated with horror. At the mental level, a person feels uncertainty, which begins to increase with increasing force. If you do nothing about fear, it becomes uncontrollable. A great way to overcome this feeling is to acknowledge your own emotions, confirm that they have the right to exist, and openly acknowledge them. Further building of prospects for improving the situation that causes panic, as a rule, occurs much more gently and effectively.
• Grief characterized by increased mobility of the nervous system and its fatigue from strong, exhausting experiences. The state of grief occurs when experiencing serious life shocks, be it loss loved one or disappointment in one's own abilities. Grief must be lived and experienced, otherwise it will not go away on its own. In order for the work of grief to be more effective, it is necessary to remember that one cannot hide one’s feelings: one must acknowledge them, at least when left alone with oneself. If possible, it is better to trust a loved one and tell him everything that hurts in your soul until complete relief.
• Dejection often arises from boredom or from the seeming impossibility of correcting a disturbing situation. While in this feeling, a person does not feel severe pain, however, cannot come to a state of joy and harmony. Dejection is often accompanied by disappointment and partial loss of interest in life.
• Guilt characterized by an awareness of one’s wrongness and a desire to correct the past picture of the past. Since this is not always possible for objective reasons, a person falls into severe melancholy and often begins to avoid everything connected with reminding him of this event.
• Envy is associated with a false sense of superiority over other people and strong resentment due to the seeming impossibility of having what others have. In fact, the person simply suppresses constructive ways to feel better. How to overcome envy? You need to learn to be honest with yourself, enjoy the success of your loved ones and friends.
• Resentment is the most destructive of all the above emotions. This feeling can accumulate inside a person for a long time and at some point give the effect of an emotional “explosion”. To get rid of resentment, you need to be aware of its origins and have a sincere desire to forgive your offender.

Functions of emotions in psychology

Human emotions perform a number of important functions that help us lead a full life and respond in a timely manner to current events.

• Evaluation function is designed to ensure the formation of an impression from communication with another person or as a result of observing some phenomenon. Whether we like it or not, we always subconsciously give a subjective assessment of everything that happens to us. Sometimes it can be quite difficult to force yourself to do without labeling.
• Mobilization function emotions is the ability to activate the internal forces of the body in order to overcome an obstacle or solve important task. It is known that under severe stress a person mobilizes his internal resources. At this moment, it seems that a “second wind” opens. In fact, the human body changes and begins to work in the mode stressful situation. In these moments we can do much more than in ordinary everyday life. However, such increased energy consumption also has a downside: after all difficulties have been resolved, severe fatigue is often felt, which can no longer be ignored or not noticed.
• Compensating function represents a person’s ability to rely on his own feelings in situations where he cannot make a full forecast of future events. Thus, in stressful moments, we are able to calm ourselves down, citing the fact that “today is a good day and therefore everything will turn out well”
• Communication function manifests itself in the fact that people around them have the ability to easily distinguish and notice the emotions of those who are close to them. Only a person knows how to empathize with his loved one so much that he begins to feel his pain, to try on the situation that caused the state of imbalance and moral oppression.
• Function of disorganization finds manifestation in the fact that under the influence of stress a person’s performance may deteriorate and the quality of life satisfaction may decrease. Any stress contributes to a person’s state of mind and takes a lot of energy. In small quantities, the state of internal mobilization helps to cope with difficulties, but in large quantities it knocks a person out of his usual rut.

Emotions occupy one of the main places in psychology. Without them, any interaction between people would become impossible.

Managing Emotions

Showing emotions actually takes a lot of strength: both physical and moral. That's why it's so important to be able to manage with your own feelings and even be able to control them. This doesn't mean you have to learn to suppress negative feelings and don't give them a way out. The fact is that in the lives of each of us, situations arise from time to time when we need to gather our will into a fist and act, despite our emotions. Then the following tips may come in handy.

Separate yourself from the situation

Often a person becomes so immersed in his own experiences that he begins to feel like the source of his inner pain. It seems to him as if he has “become close to her” and has become part of what is happening. In fact, this state means that emotions have overwhelmed the person and there are too many of them. He simply can't handle them. At such moments, it is extremely important to be able to distract yourself from what is happening and switch your attention. How to do it? You can do several physical exercise which you like the most or chat with a friend. But here it is necessary to remember the following: someone during a stressful situation wants to share their thoughts, while others urgently need to be in silence. Perhaps your companion will be annoyed by conversations at a time when he himself is nervous.

Whatever happens, know that this does not stop you from existing as a person. Your inner self will remain intact and will not be lost if you can abstract yourself from what happened and begin to look for resources within yourself. And these forces are always available.

Keep calm

Each of us from time to time has cases when events change the usual rhythm of life. It seems to us that something out of the ordinary is happening, which we are not able to adequately cope with. Meanwhile, this is an erroneous assumption and it is a big misconception. It is difficult to maintain a reasonable outlook on things when the situation is getting out of control. A failed exam, unplanned expenses, illness of a loved one - all this deprives us of moral and physical strength. How to cope with this tension?

In any case, you need to try to remain calm and keep positive things around you. Alternatively, you can try to think about something pleasant and bright. What brings you joy? Remember your pet how funny and affectionate he is. Mentally stroke the soft fur of your cat or dog. After some time, you will invariably feel noticeable relief.

Allow yourself to be weak

Today, many people are afraid to show others their true feelings, believing that by doing so they will demonstrate their weakness to everyone. But the role of emotions is precisely to reduce the destructive effect of negative attitudes and get rid of accumulated grievances, anger, disappointments, and failures. Sometimes you need to allow yourself to express your feelings. If you are embarrassed to do this in public, then at least discard any prejudices about your loved ones. The more natural you behave around your family, the simpler and easier it will be for you to strangers and colleagues. Remember, tears are not synonymous with weakness. Rather, they mean that you have unspoken feelings and words that want to be voiced.

Thus, emotions and feelings in psychology occupy a leading position among all systems and allow a person to promptly get rid of experienced moments. The emotional sphere is involved in the process of living everything that happens to a person, so it cannot be ignored. If you constantly “hush up” your feelings, then at one point there will be an “explosion” and then the person will say a lot more than he could say.