How to learn to distinguish between emotions and feelings

Learn to distinguish between emotions and feelings it is one of the most important parts of developing Emotional Intelligence.

And it is that understanding the nature and characteristics of these psychological phenomena helps us better understand ourselves and others, and better modulate our mental states.

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What are emotions and feelings?

Let's start with the basic definitions to understand what emotions and feelings are.

emotions are considered changes in the physical state of the body, with changes in both the release of hormones and neurotransmitters in the nervous system, which predisposes us to react in a certain way to the stimuli generated by a specific situation. That is, they arise from stimuli that, once they have been "registered" in the body, activate certain mechanisms in the body, and these increase the chances that we will behave in a way specific. For example, when approaching a precipice, our senses (especially sight) give birth to a fear that prompts us to react quickly by moving away from that danger zone, the edge of a several-dozen drop. meters.

Instead, feelings are affective states arising from our interpretation of what goes through our heads, whether they are mental representations of what happens around us, memories, or imagined situations. For this reason, it is often said that feelings shape emotions when we are aware of them and interpret them in a specific way.

So that… What comes before, the emotion or the feeling? The best answer is that both and at the same time neither. It would be very intuitive to assume that since emotions arise from the most primitive structures of our neuroendocrine system they enter the scene earlier, but in reality they are They are constantly influenced by feelings practically since we have the ability to think, so a circle of constant interaction between both is established. elements.

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The keys to distinguish between emotions and feelings in everyday life

These are the main key ideas to keep in mind to learn to distinguish between feelings and emotions.

1. Emotions arise beyond consciousness

As we have seen, emotions emerge from mechanisms intimately linked to the general functioning of the organism. Therefore, exist independently of our consciousness, being present in all kinds of animals.

On the other hand, from the first moment we are much more aware of the feelings we experience, although that does not mean that it is easy to understand them.

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2. Emotions are universal

Another distinctive feature of emotions is that they are universal, that is, they exist in the same way. mode in human beings of all cultures, and are reflected as such in facial expressions spontaneous. What's more, all human beings recognize and identify well the facial expressions associated with each emotion.

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3. Microexpressions reflect emotions more than feelings

As emotions have deep roots in our evolution, the muscles of our face reflect them very well, so we communicate them unconsciously and automatically. Instead, feelings are expressed more consciously and through cultural filters, as movements whose meaning has been agreed upon beforehand.

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4. Feelings are harder to understand

As feelings are very varied (because they are a mixture of many abstract psychological processes and depend on the characteristics of each culture), it is more difficult to identify them and know their scope.

In contrast, emotions are more predictable and, as there are fewer of them and have adaptations to recognizing them quickly (also in others, detecting subtle changes in facial expressions), we are better at recognize them.

5. We have a greater ability to regulate feelings

Finally, another key to distinguish between emotions and feelings that have more applications practices is the fact that human beings are more likely to control and manage seconds than others. first.

This is due to something we have already seen: emotions emerge from automatic and unwilling physical changes that take place throughout our body, while feelings are products of the interaction of abstract thoughts guided, in part, through our will. We decide to feed one or another idea, reflect on something, explore the implications of a belief or a hypothesis about reality, etc.

It is true that we also have a certain margin of maneuver to manage emotions, but it is always in a more indirect way than the way we do it with feelings: we must create contexts and situations that affect the rhythm of our heart, our breathing, the degree to which our senses receive stimulation, etc. And the results we get with this kind of strategies are more imprecise. Therefore it is recommended to modify emotions through feelings, given that in this way greater stability is achieved in the mental state reached, by starting with what we can handle in a voluntary way and influence from there in the visceral, giving consistency to the emotion-feeling-emotion cycle.

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