Emotional Autopsy: Feelings

Per Wikipedia, an autopsy is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present for research or educational purposes.

I want to spend the next few blog posts doing an “autopsy” of sorts on what makes up our emotions and to offer some insight on how to manage emotions and how emotions manage us. 

In the terms of Counseling (and again per Wikipedia), emotions are understood as psychological states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. These emotions are broken down into 12 basic emotions which are: Interest, Joy, Surprise, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, Contempt, Self-Hostility, Fear, Shame, Shyness, and Guilt.  Through these basic emotions we filter our understanding of situations as well as how we respond to those situations. 

Feelings help us in several ways.  They help us understand what is going on inside our mind, heart, and body.  They help us communicate to others how we feel, but they also do one other thing that is not thought of very often and that is they try to push us toward action.  For example, Frustration pushes us to solve a problem, or to take a step back from the problem and think. If we can’t solve the problem and refuse to take a step back Frustration hands the situation over to Anger which pushes us to make something stop.  Sadness pushes us toward comfort, Joy pushes us toward interaction, Disgust pushes us toward judgement and external action. 

Understanding that Feelings afford us internal, external, and actional input for us to process in every situation and, from that, decide on what actions to take gives us an opportunity to understand more about who we are as an individual. And in some situations, it helps us know ourselves enough to predict our moods and redirect undesired feelings and actions toward desired ones. 

Did you know Feelings push us toward action?

Did you know we have 12 basic Feelings that mold our moods and behaviors?

How well can you manage your Feelings?  

Chat soon,

Joshua