Emotions resonate - this is their property. This universal language allows one to understand each other people of different nationalities, age, sex. After all, we are by nature capable of experiencing the same emotions and expressing them equally. Not surprisingly, we can just as easily "get infected" with them. Our ancestors knew about this unique feature of emotions. In times of distant Antiquity, they gathered on the stone steps of the theater in order to empathize with the heroes of tragedies, along with other viewers, to experience catharsis (the highest point of emotional tension). Modern technologies give our emotions a worldwide scale: satellites, parabolic antennas and the Internet - thanks to them emotions came out of the intimate sphere, from the sphere of private life and became established in public life.
How to identify them
So what are our emotions? There is no complete unity of opinion even among specialists. This, perhaps, is the only concept that is not defined by psychologists unequivocally, but is used more often than others. Since the time of Charles Darwin, researchers agree on one thing: there are several basic emotions that all people on earth experience and express in a similar way. Joy, anger, sadness, arah, surprise, disgust - to feel them, do not need to be trained, they are given to us from the very beginning. By the time of birth, the simplest neural networks have been formed in the baby's brain, which allow them to experience, manifest and recognize these emotions. Some psychologists consider the base only the first four emotions, others add shame, hope, pride. To be awarded the title "basic", the emotion must be universal, recognizable at first sight and equally manifest at the physiological level. It should also be observed in our close relatives - anthropoid apes. In addition, the manifestation of emotions is always spontaneous and short-lived. For example, a feeling like love does not answer all these signs. Hence the eternal question: "Do you love me?"
"I exist, because I feel ... I feel it, and, therefore, it's true." The infectiousness of our emotions is obvious, they spread faster than the flu epidemic. The feeling of immediate contact with other people's experiences unconsciously brings us back to our early childhood: other people's emotions touch the child right away, grabbing him whole. From our early years, we smile, seeing the mother's smile, weep, if others cry nearby. We very early begin to identify ourselves with those who laugh or suffer, mentally put ourselves in their place. We involuntarily react to the intensity of the experience. But in the reaction "everyone ran, and I ran" there is nothing personal. To understand your priorities, you need to be able to reflect on this in peace, solitude, alone. And this is the best way to avoid the trap of other people's emotions.
Sincere or deceptive?
But how much emotion can you trust? Recall that actors are able to represent them, not really testing. And in many experiments, psychologists easily evoke joy, sorrow or anger artificially, with the help of funny films or sad music from the volunteers *. True emotions are not always easy for us to recognize. When the 32-year-old Julia began to learn horse riding, she was three times trying to bite a horse,
Discoveries and surprises
Surprise is the shortest of all emotions. To replace it instantly come other - delight, joy, interest. As a child, a brief moment of surprise can change the whole life of the child. I would never have thought that the discomfort that I constantly feel, in fact, hides the energy of my anger. Emotions tell us the most important information about ourselves, and therefore trust them, of course, is worth it. But when something particularly affects us, it is important to understand what this feeling says - about us or about the situation. It is necessary to distinguish: what worries me now is connected with my former experience, some life situations from the past, or the situation itself. Trust in your emotions can be brought up, trained, learned to "put yourself in brackets." And to do this self-knowledge, have the courage to look into the depths of your soul, learn to treat yourself well, develop the ability to think and reflect. Emotions accompany us around the clock and at the same time are changeable and unpredictable, as the vagaries of the weather. They inspire us and drive us to action, bring them closer to other people and bring them closer to ourselves. In a sense, they control us. After all, it's impossible to plan an hour of joy at noon or strictly forbid yourself to get angry in the evenings. Emotional impact is difficult to control, and advertisers and marketers understand this perfectly: they purposefully use our emotions to increase sales.
Without them there is no life
Tired of excitement, we sometimes dream of getting rid of emotions once and for all ... But what will our life be like without them? And is life possible without emotion? According to Charles Darwin, it was sensual experiences that saved mankind from extinction. Fear, a signal of threatening danger, helped our ancestors in time to protect themselves from predators, aversion - to avoid potentially dangerous food, and anger doubled forces to fight the enemy ... And today we unconsciously consider those who have an expressive, emotional face to be more attractive: communicating with them, it is easier to understand what to expect, how to behave. The researchers found that when a person's brain is damaged due to a disease or accident, his emotional life fades away, but thinking also suffers. Without passion, we would turn into robots, devoid of sensitivity and intuition. Therefore it is so important, psychologists say, to develop their emotional intellect, the ability to understand and express emotions.
Excess or shortage
It is emotional intelligence that allows us to more accurately determine the form of emotional behavior in specific circumstances. Thanks to him, we feel when we can unrestrainedly rejoice with our colleagues (if, for example, the team for which we are ill wins), and when it is worth preserving composure and tranquility (at a working meeting). But sometimes the emotional mechanism starts to go astray. What if the emotions go off scale or, conversely, freeze? First of all, talk about them - the story about yourself has a therapeutic effect. It is important to allow yourself to live what we feel. Only then will it be possible to get along with our own fear, sorrows and joys. " In addition, when we express our emotions, we look more attractive - a person who trusts others, shares his feelings, always disposes to himself. But to suppress emotions ("Throw out of your head!" "Calm down!") Is ineffective and risky. Even if the feeling has disappeared from our consciousness, it remains in the unconscious and can even provoke the disease. In this there is nothing supernatural: the suppression of emotions depletes the nervous system and destroys our immunity. Suffer those who do not know how to recognize and express their emotions. Some of us are hampered by social stereotypes: "Men do not cry" or "It is indecent for an adult to rejoice or be surprised as a child". Then, paradoxically, in order to learn how to better control oneself, we must first understand our ideas, thoughts, and not feelings.