Most of us have gone about our lives recognizing the different emotions of others and ourselves. But have you ever stopped and asked yourself what emotions are or how they contribute to our mental well-being?
Emotions play a crucial role in our ability to understand human consciousness. We know that good news can bring about joyful emotions, whereas difficult situations can deliver stressful or distressing emotions. Since emotions tend to rule our lives and mental health, learning to understand them can drastically benefit our mental health.
There 3 key elements of emotions
Emotions can be understood and measured using three key elements: experiential experience, physiological response and behavioral response.
1. Experiential experience
Experiential experience, also known as subjective experience, recognizes that emotions are partly specific to the person experiencing them. Although humans may acknowledge a specific emotion based on their feelings, emotions are multi-dimensional and much more complex. For example, consider the emotion of joy. Joy can range from general contentment to intense excitement. Similarly, it is more likely that humans will identify with one specific emotion when in reality, they are feeling many emotions at once. For example, starting a new job may bring excitement, anxiety and relief all at once.
2. Physiological response
Physiological response requires an individual to participate in physical body scans. Emotions are inherently connected to our autonomic nervous system, which controls our bodies’ fight-or-flight response. Physiological responses account for physical sensations that accompany emotions, such as a racing heartbeat or an adrenaline rush. Emotions almost always cause strong physiological reactions.
3. Behavioral response
Behavioral response recognizes the true expression of emotion in ourselves and others. Although many emotional expressions are universal, they can also vary by culture, gender and subjective experience. A human’s ability to accurately perceive and understand the emotions of those around them is known as emotional intelligence.
How do emotions become feelings?
Emotions are often short-lived, although they can be quite intense. Our emotions tend to have an identifiable cause, as they are immediate reactions to a situation. On the other hand, feelings are what we experience as the result of an emotion. Emotions become feelings once we have engaged in reflection and introspection about a situation. This dynamic explains why the same emotion, such as anger, can invoke different feelings among several people experiencing it.
Are emotions real?
Numerous theories on emotions uniquely identify what emotions are, how they originate and how they shape our lives. However, emotions are generally biologically innate and, therefore, real. Emotions are primitive components of human existence. For thousands of years, they have helped us survive, strike or avoid danger, make decisions, understand others and take action when necessary.
While emotions are real, a more critical question may be whether or not what our emotions are trying to tell us are real. Regardless of how powerful emotions may be, they are not facts. Your feelings and emotions may feel genuine, and you may even believe they are accurate; however, they are just feelings.
For example, consider a scenario where you experience low self-confidence to the point where you feel inferior to anyone around you. However, your family members and friends consider you overqualified for several of the jobs you have worked. When you are offered a new employment position, you choose not to apply because you believe you are underqualified. In this case, you are submitting to feeling over fact. While you experience this internal conflict, you are neglecting to take advantage of an opportunity to learn and grow, not only in your career but also in your personal growth and confidence levels.
The link between mental health and emotions.
Mental health can be understood collectively through our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It helps us navigate stress and conflict, helps us relate to others and ourselves and ultimately encourages us to make healthy choices in our lives.
While there are many factors involved in developing mental wellness, our emotions tend to shift our cognitive processes one way or another. Our emotional health is one crucial aspect involved in our mental well-being.
While emotional health helps us assess how situations and experiences make us feel, mental health allows us to process all the collective information we encounter. The state of our mental health reflects how we can process information and experiences. If we struggle with poor mental health, we will likely feel at a standstill when faced with adversity. Oppositely, when we are in good mental health, we will feel motivated to persevere when faced with adversity.
In summary, emotions are real and can be helpful tools to motivate personal growth. However, when we allow our emotions and feelings to take over, it is only a matter of time before our mental health declines.
Associated Behavioral Health Care is a substance use and mental health treatment facility that understands how and why emotions affect mental wellbeing. We can help you create an individualized treatment plan to help you get in touch with your emotions more personally. To learn more about emotions and treatment, we encourage you to contact us today at (844) 335-7384.