Feelings and Emotions
PAGE IN PROGRESS
What you see here is a page of my hypertext book Me, Looking for Meaning. Initially empty, it will slowly be filled with thoughts, notes, and quotes. One day, I will use them to write a coherent entry, similar to these completed pages. See this post to better understand my creative process. Thank you for your interest and patience! :)
What you see here is a page of my hypertext book Me, Looking for Meaning. Initially empty, it will slowly be filled with thoughts, notes, and quotes. One day, I will use them to write a coherent entry, similar to these completed pages. See this post to better understand my creative process. Thank you for your interest and patience! :)
feelings vs emotions : https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-pleasure-is-all-yours/202202/the-important-difference-between-emotions-and-feelings
human beings experience everything through emotions
to explore emotions: listen to a piece of music you like or think about a situation that you are anxious about
when we say that we are anxious, how do we know that? We experience something in our bodies that we describe as anxiety
More than a feeling" - podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/more-than-a-feeling/id1605198596
Intro podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/prologue-whats-more-than-a-feeling/id1605198596?i=1000557145844
” Human emotions, and our expressions of emotions, are highly subjective and variable. There are cultural and individual differences in the way we interpret our sensations. Our emotions cannot be inferred from physiological measures stripped bare of contextual information (an old enemy, a new lover, and caffeine can all make our heart thump harder). This holds true even if more extensive physiological measures than body temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate are monitored. It even holds true when facial movements are monitored. Scientists like psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett are finding that—contrary to long held belief—even emotions like sadness and anger are not universal.”
from https://www.currentaffairs.org/2022/07/the-dangerous-populist-science-of-yuval-noah-harari
Understanding anxiety
Emotional pain
We commonly divide our feelings into "positive" and "negative" ones. "Positive" feelings usually include happiness, excitement, and relief. Typical "negative" feelings are familiar to everybody: fear, anger, sadness, confusion. However, this division may not be the most helpful approach. A better division, according to proponents of Nonviolent Communication, would be into feelings when our needs are met vs. feelings when our needs are unmet. According to practitioners of mindfulness meditation, it is possible to meet out own feelings and emotions with kindness, no matter what they are. This is not easy, as it requires better understanding ourselves, which is surprisingly hard to do.
separate emotions (focus on them) and what itty bitty shitty committee in our heads is saying (stories that we tell ourselves, dismiss them)
Describing emotions:
- butterfly in the bellY
- it warms my heart
- heaetache
- heartbroken
- комок в горле
my heart is heavy
-my face was burning
-ligh-headed
-ten feel off the ground
-my heart was pounding
emotions are like waves in the ocean. We are standing in the ocean and the waves come one after another, and we feel going up and down, sometimes we almost fall, sometimes it’s calmer and sometimes it’s tougher, and we generally feel we cannot control these waves or what they do to us
Labeling our feelings can be surprisingly difficult. During my second semester in the PhD program, I was having obsessive thoughts about getting bad grades and losing my fellowship. For the first time in my life, I did some group therapy on campus. I remember listening to one person in my group as she was describing her struggles anxiety. I knew the word “anxiety”, but I could not image what it would feel like. It sounded so medical and serious. Now, looking back at this situation, my confusion seems ridiculous. I myself was clearly feeling extremely anxious back then, but I was unable to properly describe my feelings, realize that my problem was anxiety, and look for appropriate solutions.
From "Undomesticate your brain": https://www.tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/undomesticate-your-mind?utm_source=TPW&utm_medium=share
"...feelings contain important messages about our welfare. They have things to say about what we deeply want and need. When we turn towards them with a sense of respect, we’re learning how to care for and honor ourselves in a deep way. This kind of compassion makes it easier to connect with everyone else we share this planet with."
"Whatever it is that you're feeling, know that it's totally natural. This isn’t something that only happens to you, or something that you need to fix or get rid of. Anger, shame, fear, joy, wonder, sadness – all are parts of being a human. They are worthy of being experienced."
My piece of medium: "My mantra for dealing with overwhelming emotions"
https://www.tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/listening?utm_source=TPW&utm_medium=share
"To take a second example, it’s often difficult to listen attentively when you’re having a strong emotional reaction. Unsettling emotions such as frustration, fear, anger, embarrassment, disgust, sadness, and defensiveness are among the numerous reactions that can interfere with your listening ability. So, skillful listening includes noticing when emotions are coloring your perceptions, and assessing how well you can listen when you’re feeling emotionally reactive."
SOURCES:
Center for Nonviolent Communication. (n.d.). Feelings inventory. https://www.cnvc.org/training/resource/feelings-inventorywww.cnvc.org/training/resource/feelings-inventory
About this project: Start page
human beings experience everything through emotions
to explore emotions: listen to a piece of music you like or think about a situation that you are anxious about
when we say that we are anxious, how do we know that? We experience something in our bodies that we describe as anxiety
More than a feeling" - podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/more-than-a-feeling/id1605198596
Intro podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/prologue-whats-more-than-a-feeling/id1605198596?i=1000557145844
” Human emotions, and our expressions of emotions, are highly subjective and variable. There are cultural and individual differences in the way we interpret our sensations. Our emotions cannot be inferred from physiological measures stripped bare of contextual information (an old enemy, a new lover, and caffeine can all make our heart thump harder). This holds true even if more extensive physiological measures than body temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate are monitored. It even holds true when facial movements are monitored. Scientists like psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett are finding that—contrary to long held belief—even emotions like sadness and anger are not universal.”
from https://www.currentaffairs.org/2022/07/the-dangerous-populist-science-of-yuval-noah-harari
Understanding anxiety
Emotional pain
We commonly divide our feelings into "positive" and "negative" ones. "Positive" feelings usually include happiness, excitement, and relief. Typical "negative" feelings are familiar to everybody: fear, anger, sadness, confusion. However, this division may not be the most helpful approach. A better division, according to proponents of Nonviolent Communication, would be into feelings when our needs are met vs. feelings when our needs are unmet. According to practitioners of mindfulness meditation, it is possible to meet out own feelings and emotions with kindness, no matter what they are. This is not easy, as it requires better understanding ourselves, which is surprisingly hard to do.
separate emotions (focus on them) and what itty bitty shitty committee in our heads is saying (stories that we tell ourselves, dismiss them)
Describing emotions:
- butterfly in the bellY
- it warms my heart
- heaetache
- heartbroken
- комок в горле
my heart is heavy
-my face was burning
-ligh-headed
-ten feel off the ground
-my heart was pounding
emotions are like waves in the ocean. We are standing in the ocean and the waves come one after another, and we feel going up and down, sometimes we almost fall, sometimes it’s calmer and sometimes it’s tougher, and we generally feel we cannot control these waves or what they do to us
Labeling our feelings can be surprisingly difficult. During my second semester in the PhD program, I was having obsessive thoughts about getting bad grades and losing my fellowship. For the first time in my life, I did some group therapy on campus. I remember listening to one person in my group as she was describing her struggles anxiety. I knew the word “anxiety”, but I could not image what it would feel like. It sounded so medical and serious. Now, looking back at this situation, my confusion seems ridiculous. I myself was clearly feeling extremely anxious back then, but I was unable to properly describe my feelings, realize that my problem was anxiety, and look for appropriate solutions.
From "Undomesticate your brain": https://www.tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/undomesticate-your-mind?utm_source=TPW&utm_medium=share
"...feelings contain important messages about our welfare. They have things to say about what we deeply want and need. When we turn towards them with a sense of respect, we’re learning how to care for and honor ourselves in a deep way. This kind of compassion makes it easier to connect with everyone else we share this planet with."
"Whatever it is that you're feeling, know that it's totally natural. This isn’t something that only happens to you, or something that you need to fix or get rid of. Anger, shame, fear, joy, wonder, sadness – all are parts of being a human. They are worthy of being experienced."
My piece of medium: "My mantra for dealing with overwhelming emotions"
https://www.tenpercent.com/meditationweeklyblog/listening?utm_source=TPW&utm_medium=share
"To take a second example, it’s often difficult to listen attentively when you’re having a strong emotional reaction. Unsettling emotions such as frustration, fear, anger, embarrassment, disgust, sadness, and defensiveness are among the numerous reactions that can interfere with your listening ability. So, skillful listening includes noticing when emotions are coloring your perceptions, and assessing how well you can listen when you’re feeling emotionally reactive."
SOURCES:
Center for Nonviolent Communication. (n.d.). Feelings inventory. https://www.cnvc.org/training/resource/feelings-inventorywww.cnvc.org/training/resource/feelings-inventory
About this project: Start page
