Positive emotions: types, characteristics and effects on the human mind

We all love them, there are even those who could say that they crave them. There is no doubt that positive emotions are something that everyone wants but that we can rarely have.

The ideal for our mental health and adaptation to our social environment is to have the right balance between positive emotions and negative emotions, although it is true that the former contribute a lot to health in general.

Next we will see the positive emotions, emphasizing its importance in the good development and maintenance of good health, in addition to seeing some of the main ones.

• Related article: "Emotional psychology: main theories of emotion"

What are positive emotions?

Throughout the day we can feel many emotions. Whatever the reason, our mood can go up like a roller coaster and this is totally normal and healthy, as long as it is within healthy parameters. Theirs is not to have too low a mood (p. g., depression) or too high (p. g., euphoria), but to manifest the wide spectrum of human emotions within euthymia and adaptively facing our social and personal environment.

Very commonly, emotions are classified in terms of positive and negative. While this is correct, it can be misleading, interpreting that the former are intrinsically "good" while the latter would be "bad". This idea is wrong because, both positive and negative, all of them are useful in our daily lives, as long as we feel them when they correspond. All emotions are necessary, legitimate and valid.

But even though it is "okay" to feel any kind of emotion, it is clear that we prefer the positive ones over the negative ones. It is very important that there is an adequate balance between these two types of emotions but, also, and As long as we don't overdo the euphoria, positive emotions tend to do us more good than harm And doing everything you can to attract them into your life is a good way to achieve mental health. That is why we are going to focus on them, understanding their importance.

What are emotions?

But before going fully into positive emotions, let's go into parts, what are emotions? This question may be a bit obvious, but it is necessary to make a brief explanation of what they consist of. There are several definitions that we can give for emotions, being able to describe them as very intense feelings produced by a fact, a memory, an idea... something that we have perceived and felt very deeply in our to be.

The word "emotion" comes from the Latin "movere", which means "to move out". Understanding its etymological origin, we can see emotions as motors, something that gives us an impulse, a force to carry out a certain behavior.

When an emotion occurs, it leads us to take a path of action, moving away from another. If we are happy, we move towards pleasant things because we want them to last, while if we we are sad we move away from what has hurt us to reduce this feeling.

What are the positive emotions?

Basically positive emotions are all those that are related to pleasant feelings, those that arise as a consequence of our having interpreted or understood a certain situation as beneficial. Examples of these types of emotions are joy or happiness, emotions that generally last a short time and we want to stretch them as much as possible.

A positive mood is associated with multiple benefits. A happy, happy and motivated person is a person with better memory, attention, retention of information and awareness of living in the moment, allowing better handling of various concepts and tasks at the same time, which is why work psychology and education have so much interest in keeping the worker and the student in good health. humor. Positive emotions attract productivity and excellence.

Although before we have commented that the adaptive thing is the balance between positive and negative emotions, becoming people adapted to our context, it is true that it is considered that the presence and attraction of emotions positive is a good indicator of health. Positive emotions, the more present they are in our lives, the better mental health we will enjoy, as long as there is reason to feel them.

Having a positive emotional style plays a very important role in our health. We can understand this from the opposite side: sadness, anxiety and lack of motivation can make the person do not take your physical health so seriously, do not play sports, do not control what you eat or take risks that are harmful to your integrity. On the other hand, if you are happy and have a desire to live, you can take a healthy lifestyle, better handle adversity and take care of your body and mind.

Finally we will mention the main positive emotions that we can manifest. Actually, the list of emotions of this type can be made as long as desired, depending on the criteria used to consider a genuine emotion as a state of mind. Next we will see a few of them in addition to giving their definition:

1. Acceptance

Acceptance is the availability to approve a specific situation, not obsessing over fighting her.

• You may be interested in: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): principles and characteristics

2. Joy

Joy is the feeling that arises as the result of a good mood and that is triggers other positive emotions.

3. Fun

Fun is that emotion that arises when we interpret an action or event as pleasant and entertaining or, simply, it causes us well-being.

4. Hope

Hope is the feeling that what we want to happen will happen.

5. Delusion

The illusion it is the fact of being very excited about something that will happen in the future.

6. Motivation

Motivation is the energy that stimulates us to carry out a beneficial action in the short or long term.

7. Gratitude

Gratitude is the feeling of esteem towards another person for what he has done for us, an action that we would like to return to him.

8. Love

Love is the feeling of affection towards someone. It can be classified into various types, influenced by culture.

• You may be interested in: "The 4 types of love: what different kinds of love are there?"

9. Happiness

Happiness is the feeling of complete satisfaction.

10. Passion

Passion is a derivative of love **, especially related to sexual life. **