A glimpse of Emotion, Feeling, Thought

FEELINGS VS. EMOTIONS VS. THOUGHTS

Introduction

For us, it is our natural curiosity about the working of our mind and body to process emotions and feelings versus thoughts. `It is also curious about which is happening first emotion or feelings. and which has the greater impact on our decisions, life path, and overall quality of life? As we have observed that by gaining insights into these different nuances, we can put that knowledge to use in making better choices. We can change our thoughts and ultimately create positive change in our lives.

We can make a breakdown to offer some clarity:

EMOTIONS

Without knowing about emotion, we can not control our mood, feeling, sensation, and behavior. So we should know about it . Emotions are?experiences such as love,?anger, trust, joy,?fear, etc. It is very sudden and may be called our first reaction to anything that happened to us. Emotions are related to, but different from, mood. Emotions are specific reactions to a specific incidence but it is short-lived. Our mood?is our general and normal?feeling such as happiness, sadness, frustration, contentment, anxiety, etc. which is something that depicts the nature of people as it governs their?behavior?longer.?

Physical responses is somehow easy to describe because scientists have developed special tools to measure them.?It can be our heartbeat, blood pressure, etc which happens due to certain hormones. For example,?the release of adrenaline?in the body?in response to a situation that creates intense emotion can all be measured with scientific accuracy. People have very similar internal responses to the same emotion. For example, regardless of age, race, or gender, when people are under stress, their bodies release adrenaline; this hormone helps prepare the body to either run away or fight, which is called the "fight or flight" reaction.?The behavior we express?is the outward signal?that an emotion is being experienced.?It is like fainting, facial expression, tone of voice, uneasiness, etc.?

Based on the above three characteristics, scientists have developed several theories about how emotions are working. The facial muscles involved in emotional expression are governed by nerves following a complex system of direct and indirect pathways to and from the voluntary smile circuit under conscious control and the limbic system and spontaneous smile circuit not under conscious control. It can be easily observed while displaying happiness, fear,?boredom, etc without their being aware of it.?

SOME WELL KNOW THEORY?

The James-Lange theory?

American scientist William James (1842-1910) and Danish scientist Carl Lange (1834-1900) both studied the relationship between emotion and physical changes in the body. In about 1885, they independently proposed that feeling an emotion is dependent on two factors: the physical changes that occur in the body and the person's understanding of the body's changes after the emotional event. James and Lange believed that physical changes occur first, and then interpretation of those physical changes occurs. Together, they create emotion.

?The Cannon-Bard theory

In 1927, about 40 years after the James-Lange theory was developed, Harvard physiologist Walter Cannon (1871-1945) and his colleague Philip Bard (1898-1977) developed a new theory that related the workings of the nervous system to the expression of emotions. Cannon and Bard found that people could experience emotion without getting physical feedback from chemical messengers. They proposed that upon experiencing a stimulating event, information about the event is collected by the body's senses and is sent through the nervous system to the brain. In the brain, the message is sent two places at the same time. The message is sent to the cortex * , which creates emotions fear. At the same time, the message also goes to the hypothalamus which is the part of the brain that controls automatic body responses. It tells the body to send out chemical messengers that cause the body to respond. Some of these responses are experienced as behaviors such as shaking, rapid breathing, and crying.?

?The Schacter-Singer model

In 1962, American scientists Stanley Schacter (1922-1997) and Jerome Singer (still teaching at Yale University in 2000) took elements of both the James-Lange and the Cannon-Bard theories and modified them to try to better explain the relationship between physical responses and emotional experience. The?cortex is the part of the brain that controls conscious thought; it is where people experience 'thinking and feeling. Both physical changes and conscious mental processing are needed to fully experience any emotion. The frontal lobes and the amygdala are among the most important brain structures affecting emotions. Feelings of happiness and pleasure are connected to the prefrontal cortex. Anger, fear, sadness, and other negative emotions are linked to the amygdala.?

Emotions appear to serve several physical and psychological purposes. Emotions are one of the fundamental traits associated with being human. It makes color to people’s lives and give them depth and differentiation. For many people, strong emotions are linked to creativity and expression. Great art, music, and literature deal on a fundamental level with arousing emotions and creating an emotional connection between the artist and the public. It also serves as motivation to behave in specific ways. Physiologically, emotions aid in survival. For example, sudden fear often causes a person to freeze like a deer caught by a car's headlights. Because animals usually attack in response to motion, at its simplest level, fear reduces the chances of attack. When Mandy froze in response to a car racing by her, this was an example of a physical response to an emotion that improved her chances of survival.

?Emotions also help people monitor their social behavior and regulate their interactions with others. Every person unconsciously learns to "read" the outward expressions of other people and apply past experience to determine what these outward signs indicate about what the other person is feeling. If a person sees a man approaching who is walking very aggressively, holding his body stiffly and frowning, the person might correctly assume that the man is angry. Using this information, the person can decide whether to leave or to stay or what tone of voice and body language to use when approaching the man. Some outward expressions of emotions (body language) mean different things in different cultures. For example, if a ng person avoids looking directly at a person in authority, it is taken as a sign of respect in some cultures. In other cultures, this expression suggests guilt or a lack of trustworthiness.?

?What is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional intelligence refers to people's ability to monitor their own and other people's emotional states and to use this information to act wisely in relationships. It contains five parts:

(1) Self-awareness: recognizing internal feelings.?

(2) Managing emotions: finding ways to handle emotions that are appropriate to the situation

(3) Motivation: using self-control to channel emotions toward a goal

(4) Empathy: understanding the emotional perspective of other people

(5) Handling relationships: using personal information and information about others to handle social relationships and to develop interpersonal skills

But still work is going on?to develop tests that can measure emotional intelligence with precise accurateness. It is observed that emotions generally believe that people with high emotional intelligence usually work well in cooperative situations and are good at motivating and managing others. People with low emotional intelligence often misinterpret emotional signals and have difficulty with relationships. Although emotional intelligence probably has an inherited component, many psychologists believe that people can be guided into making better use of the emotional intelligence. Many more aspect of emotion is still unraveled. It is very necessary as if we control our emotion, we can control our life more well. It will help us in social interaction and make a good impact on other.We can also face hard situation more well.

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Emotions are mental reactions, often stemming from an outside feeling. ?Sometimes these stems from internal experiences, such as being spurred by a memory rather than an immediate outside influence. Since emotions affect our bodies at a physical level, these are objectively measurable.?We can truly monitor brain activity, blood flow, body language, and facial micro-expressions. According to Debbie Hampton (author of the book?Beat Depression and Anxiety by Changing r Brain), “Emotions are lower level responses occurring in the?subcortical regions of the brain, the amygdala, and the ventromedial prefrontal cortices, creating biochemical reactions in r body altering r physical state.” They precede feelings and are more instinctual and physical in scope. Example: we’re out hiking, and the only way to cross a river in our path is to What differences are there between feelings and emotions, and what impact do our thoughts have? We tend to use the words “feelings” and “emotions” interchangeably.?Though related, there are distinct differences worth understanding. Traverse an old rickety bridge. Our body may have an instinctualal ?rreaction, resulting in the emotion FEAR. Never allow emotion takes command of intellectual.

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FEELINGS

According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, a feeling is "a self-contained phenomenal experience"; and feelings are "subjective, evaluative, and independent of the sensations, thoughts, or images evoking them”. Accordingly, Feelings are the result of our thoughts interpreting our personal experiences, and their associations with emotional experiences. Emotional responses are biologically based and more instinctual, so there isn’t much variation from person to person.?With feelings, on the other hand, results vary greatly between individuals since these are linked to our unique associations and memories. Feelings are subjective, evaluative, and independent of the sensations, thoughts, or images evoking them.

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What’s particularly interesting is that emotions and feelings can create somewhat of a “loop.”?An emotional experience can cause a feeling.?Over time, the concentration on that feeling creates linked emotions that stem internally from the associated feelings.Feelings are just visitors let it comes and goes.

(Example: Once crossed the bridge mentioned earlier, ?focused on what other obstacles might lay in ?path.?This may result in the FEELING of being afraid.??This is similar to the fearful emotion, but distinctly different in that it is the THOUGHTS about the EMOTION that create the FEELING.)

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS

Emotions and feelings are all traits we share as humans. According to an article in the publication Psychology Today, “emotions are multi-faceted experiences” of “internal subjective experiences, facial expressions and physiological reactions.” Teasing out the feelings and emotions that people have, and learning why they have them, is an important role for mental health professionals. Those interested in exploring the difference between feelings and emotions — and understanding the mind, human behavior, and strategic ways of helping mental health patients — usually complete?advanced programs of study?such as a master’s in counseling. This education is necessary to understand the difference between feelings and emotions from a clinical perspective. Let’s explore that difference, along with how emotions can impact daily life for many individuals.

Feelings versus Emotions

Many people use the terms “feeling” and “emotion” as synonyms, but they are not interchangeable. While they have similar elements, there is a marked difference between feelings and emotions.

Feelings. Both emotional experiences and physical sensations — such as hunger or pain — bring about feelings, according to Psychology Today. Feelings are a conscious experience, although not every conscious experience, such as seeing or believing, is a feeling.

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Emotions.?According to Psychology Today, an emotion “can only ever be felt…through the emotional experiences it gives rise to, even though it might be discovered through its associated thoughts, beliefs, desires, and actions.” Emotions are not conscious but instead manifest in the unconscious mind. These emotions can be brought to the surface of the conscious state through extended psychotherapy.

A fundamental difference between feelings and emotions is that feelings are experienced consciously, while emotions manifest either consciously or subconsciously. Some people may spend years, or even a lifetime, not understanding the depths of their emotions.

Range of Emotions

Throughout life, humans experience many emotions. This range of emotions is impacted by such factors as their behavior, the culture they come from, and their previous traumatic experiences.

How Emotions Impact Behavior

According to a study published in Personality and Social Psychology Review (PSPR), emotion is a “feedback system whose influence on behavior is indirect.” While according to the PSPR study, the behavior is used to “pursue (or avoid) anticipated emotional outcomes,” behavior also “provides feedback and stimulating retrospective appraisal of actions, conscious emotional states [which] can promote learning and alter guidelines for future behavior.”

How Culture Shapes Emotions

According to an article from the Association for Psychological Science (APS), research conducted by APS Fellow Jeanne Tsai at Stanford University shows most people want to “feel more positive than negative.” Yet the emotions that cause a positive experience are shown to change between cultures, according to the APS article. For example, the positive emotions that “European Americans typically preferred [were] excitement and elation” while Chinese populations “preferred calm and relaxation more.” This difference is seen in media such as advertising, which utilizes the positive experience emotions to craft messages for maximum impact.

How Traumatic Experiences Impact Emotions

Traumatic experiences impact emotions both in the moment and over the long term. According to Psychology Today, “whatever the source, trauma leaves its imprint on the brain.” For example, a study published in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews found a link between greater brain activity in areas that process fear and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to Psychology Today, traumatic experiences impact our emotions, causing PTSD flashbacks, nightmares and increased fear, anxiety, anger, sadness and guilt.

The Next Step in the Mental Health Journey

Learning the difference between feelings and emotions is vital knowledge for any professionals in the mental health field. Advanced education programs, such as Wake Forest University’s Online Master’s in Counseling?is?specifically designed to help professionals gain the knowledge and experience for a fulfilling and successful career. Discover today if a master’s degree in counseling is the right choice for you.

THOUGHTS

Thoughts are mental processes that serve as the link between our emotions and feelings. They represent our beliefs, opinions, ideas, and over time, our attitudes. How we THINK about an experience (one that has evoked an emotional response) will feed the associated resulting FEELING.

(Example: Using the bridge example again, after crossing, may have ruminated about how difficult r hiking path was.??Or may have thought about how many other obstacles could be ahead.??These THOUGHTS lead to FEELINGS – feeling afraid as one example.)?

How This Understanding Can Benefit

Our internal experiences are created by emotions, thoughts, and feelings – all working together in a connected way. Whether or not we can easily change our emotions is uncertain because limited research has been done to-date. However, research does exist to show that ?can change our ?thoughts and create new thought patterns. In changing r thoughts, by association, ?can alter rrom??feelings.

We can?CHOOSE?what ?focus on (for example, by choosing to think about the excitement of an adventure rather than what other obstacles may lie ahead). And can?CHOOSE?to feel brave rather than afraid. Changing our thoughts and feelings related to emotional experiences is not necessarily easy. How, CAN affect substantial positive change in our life by reframing our ?thoughts.?It merely takes practice. Ultimately, the truest benefit is an?enhanced life experience.

KEY POINTS

·??????Emotions and feelings are not the same thing, despite people using the words interchangeably.

·??????Emotions are real-time data sparked by sensations in the body. Feelings can be more biased, altered by mental misconceptions.

·??????Developing emotional awareness can help prevent reactivity and false beliefs.

Many people agree that it’s healthy to be in touch with our feelings. Whether they regularly do so is a different matter. But what about being in touch with emotions? Despite the words being used interchangeably,?emotions?and?feelings?are actually two different but connected phenomena. Emotions originate as sensations in the body. Feelings are influenced by our emotions but are generated from our mental thoughts.

Why does the difference between emotions and feelings matter?

Our emotions are like the engine of the car; our feelings are the frame. ?wouldn’t tune up r car and skip over the engine, right? The same goes for our emotions, which can give us a more accurate diagnosis of how we’re doing in the moment. Emotions are the raw data, a reaction to the present reality, whereas feelings can be diluted by stories we’ve created in our head based on events of the past or fears of the future—not necessarily the truth of the situation. Listening to our bodily emotions, informed by our sense perception, helps us connect to the reality of our present experience rather than to stories made of potentially inaccurate beliefs. From our truth, we can make decisions that are right for us. Recognizing and responding to r emotions is a beautiful way to practice self-agency. Once ’re familiar with what r emotions are telling , ?can go straight to the source in r body to stay balanced. This might include practices like breathing exercises, releasing with movement, giving rself a hug or getting one from someone else, finding a quiet space, and so forth.

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Though it is very important part of our life, but still scientist is not fully understood it. But they opine that it occurs on three levels like subjective feeling, our physical change to a sensation and stimulus and result into our behavior. The subjective feelings are very complex to describe as it is different for different people.?