What are human feelings

This article was developed under the heading: Psychology.

Section: Feelings.

Every person is a social being. Therefore, when interacting with other people, it is common for us to experience various kinds of feelings. Each feeling that arises describes and characterizes our attitude towards something - to work, study, family, friends, a loved one. But where do feelings come from? What are feelings in general? I propose to consider together the features of these emotional processes in the human mind and body.

Each person has their own range of emotions, feelings and their manifestations

Surely, a big problem for any person is the question of what feelings are and how they differ from human emotions. In fact, these are two completely different terms that are related as general and specific. It is worth starting from banal and understandable phenomena. Everyone has sense organs - sight, hearing, smell. It is with the help of them that we receive information about some equipment of the material world. A specific feeling can give rise to certain emotions in an individual. That is, feelings are the basis for the emergence of emotions. But what is the history of this term? How do psychologists define human feelings?

The term itself now has many definitions. Studying them is necessary if you really want to understand what the feeling is. Unfortunately, many in everyday understanding distort the essence and content of this concept. Let's look at the main positions on how the term “feelings” is defined in psychology:

Feelings are the results of the content of a phenomenon, based on sensory analysis, or the result of a sensory process. This definition was given in his works by Carl Jung, who discovered human personality types (extroversion and introversion)

Feelings in psychology, according to I. Kondakov, should be defined as a person’s emotional experience, which develop into a strong attitude of an individual to the world around him, people, processes

In a psychological dictionary you can find the following definition: a person’s feelings are a stable emotional attitude of an individual to surrounding phenomena, which reflects how a person relates to individual processes, taking into account his needs, character, and motives.

Thus, such a phenomenon as feelings are a complex concept that reflects our formed and stable attitude towards something. For example, our attitude towards family. In a family, relationships are built on a deep feeling of love, which reflects the attitude of family members towards each other. At the same time, sadness, disappointment, irritation, joy are separate emotions that can simultaneously act as the content of feelings.

What causes feelings in a person

So, we have determined that feelings arise as a result of a person’s persistent attitude towards the concert phenomenon. But what causes them? It is worth saying that they are based on social factors and processes, so they are caused by social actions. For example, feelings can be caused by a friend, partner, or family member. From the specific basis of occurrence, the corresponding types of feelings are distinguished, which we will consider later in this article.

Feelings have a social nature and origin, therefore they are closely related to the social connections of the individual

How are feelings different from emotions?

Emotions are also part of who we are as individuals. However, they are the elements that form our persistent feelings, for example, towards a person. In order to prevent confusion between these two psychological phenomena, let's look at how they differ from each other.

Emotions

Based on specific situations (situational) - you see a person, watch a movie, smell a smell, and all this evokes a specific emotion in you (joy, fear, hostility, anger, etc.);

They are fleeting and short-lived - an emotion that arises unexpectedly can disappear within a few minutes;

They don't change your attitude towards anything. For example, your friend was rude to you, you are offended and disappointed (these are emotions). At the same time, the person remains your friend, and you feel warm, friendly feelings towards him;

They relate more to basic human reactions - you experience, for example, fear, because this is a basic human emotion and a basic reaction to a specific stimulus;

Most often unconscious;

Feelings arise earlier - a complex of specific emotions over time forms an attitude towards a person, and, accordingly, a feeling towards him;

There is no specific subject (object) of emotions;

Common to both humans and animals

Feelings

Stable character - they have permanence, as they arise as a result of prolonged interaction with a person, object, etc.;

They persist for a long time - it is typical for such social processes that they last a long time, unlike emotions, which can disappear after 10 minutes, an hour, and so on;

Are realized by a person - the person experiences certain sensations, he is aware of these sensations, they are formed;

They have the ability to develop - one feeling can develop into another, while the object remains unchanged;

Contradictory - this is due to the fact that they are filled with emotions that can be opposed to each other (for example, “I love this person, but he makes me so angry”, “I am happy about spending time with her, but I am so sad without her” and etc.);

Arise based on emotions;

Have a specific subject - objective and defined (person, group of people);

Only people experience

The following situations can be a good example. You are standing in the corridor, and suddenly someone taps you on the shoulder from behind. You get scared and think “I was so scared!” In this case, fear or fright is an emotion. When you see a person who is behaving deviantly, suspiciously, then you think, “I am afraid of this person.” In this case, we are talking about a feeling of fear, and not about emotion. Because the next time you meet this person, you will continue to feel fear and fear towards him.

Two poles of empathy

Another important topic is empathy, the ability to empathize and feel emotionally for another person.

In addictive families, the empathy mechanism is not optimal, and polarities usually appear.

Lack of empathy, emotional coldness and callousness

True feelings are suppressed, empathy is presented as something threatening. But in some cases, the empathy mechanism was simply not developed enough in early childhood. If a child's environment has not been empathic, he cannot learn empathy. The age of up to one and a half years is especially important here.

Empathy is excessive, the boundary is blurred, a symbiotic relationship arises

Other people's feelings and pain are perceived as their own. This is the so-called “contact without borders”, in which it is easy to lose yourself. Most often, this type of contact is a consequence of fixation in the oral symbiotic period, when the child and mother seem to be a single whole.

Dependent personalities often develop along the path of insufficient empathy; codependent individuals - along the path of excessive empathy

It is important to normalize the mechanism of empathy, to come to a balance between feeling another person and being attuned to oneself

How many feelings does a person have?

Surely, you have often wondered what exactly you feel. Did you know that in reality the types of feelings are not limited in number? And also the fact that each individual person has his own range of feelings and emotions. It is important here to separate our physiological and psychological feelings.

There are a lot of feelings of an emotional and psychological nature - it is impossible to count them with accuracy. And with physiological ones everything is more specific. At the moment, there are 9 main and basic physiological senses of a person:

Vision is a sensory organ that is responsible for perceiving the world around us;
Touch - analysis of reality through tactile sensations;
Smell - the perception of odors, which allow us to make an analysis in relation to a certain object of the material world;
Hearing – receiving information through the perception of sound;
Taste is the work of human taste buds;
Equibrioception – a person’s ability to maintain balance;
Thermoception is the ability of the human body to perceive temperature;
Nociception is the feeling of pain arising from specific stimuli;
Proprioception is the ability of each individual to sense himself in a specific space.

There are a large number of human social feelings

Slave morality

Lionel Trilling, author and literary critic, described a technique used by parents in middle and early grades. Not working and overworking their children's feelings causes them to seek approval for their feelings in the future. When children of lower-class and working-class families join the workforce, they are less prepared for emotional management than middle-class children. However, the working class and middle class complain of over-managing or micro-managing feelings that distract them from the real work. After all, what are these feelings? This is, first of all, our main way of interacting with the surrounding reality.

List of the most common human feelings

But what feelings do you and I experience almost every day? What processes in our consciousness are constant and most widespread? Let's look at the most popular of them.

Love

The feeling of love is the most common and characteristic of humans. It is characteristic of people from the moment of birth. The first such feeling and attachment arises towards parents, that is, a small child realizes closeness to his parents and relatives. It is also characteristic of us throughout our lives - love for animals, love for nature, friendly love, love for a partner. Therefore, it is multifaceted and integral to any personality.

Guilt

This already characterizes the negative manifestations of the sensual side of the individual. Feeling guilty is a normal phenomenon, the main thing is that it does not develop into psychological trauma, a problem that affects the process of socialization in society.

Feeling of fear

Throughout our lives we encounter various phenomena and people. For some we develop a strong and positive attachment. For others – fear, reluctance to communicate. This feeling arises on the basis of various factors, both social and psychological, and behavioral. For example, fear may arise based on life experience, or because a particular person behaves deviantly towards you.

Delight and joy

These are positive manifestations of our personality. When we are in good company, among friends and loved ones, we laugh, rejoice at what is happening and try to enjoy the pastime.

Confidence

It is this feeling that is the basis for the emergence of strong interpersonal connections - friendship, love, cooperation at work. Trust allows you to say that you can rely on another person. It is important that such a feeling is very easily destroyed, that is, a “loss of trust” occurs.

Each person has their own range of feelings and emotions that arise most often

Diagnostics

Emotions in psychology, classification and their functional role, are studied with the aim of determining the mood and general state of a person, identifying brightly colored negative reactions and finding ways out of them, self-control of one’s emotional background and its stability.

Diagnosis of emotions is carried out in several areas:

Observation - physiological changes in the body are analyzed (blood pressure, pulse, skin temperature, analysis of facial expressions, speech).
Questionnaires are the most common and informative diagnostic method aimed at identifying a person’s leading emotions using specially designed tests. The method is also used to determine self-assessment of emotional state.
To establish the leading emotions, the differential scale of K. Izard (1976) was developed. It consists of 10 fundamental emotions, characterized by 3 meanings, with which one’s own feelings are compared. These values are assigned points, after which the well-being coefficient is calculated.
M. Luscher color test (1949) – connects the emotional state with the light sensitivity of the eyes. It assumes that certain emotions are associated with certain colors, and a person must correlate 1 of 8 colors with a given question. Warm shades (red-yellow) indicate the presence of positive emotions and good mood, cold tones signal the presence of negative emotions.
The scale for assessing the significance of emotions according to B.I. Dodonov (1977) is a ranking of preferences in emotions according to 10 criteria (from the most significant to the least significant) in order to determine the prevailing needs (biological, cognitive, social).

For young children, the most commonly used method for assessing emotional stability using drawings (methods Cactus, Family Drawing).

Questioning is a type of survey conducted in writing by filling out questionnaire forms. It is often used to survey a group of people both statically (once) and dynamically (repeated survey after a certain time).

You can undergo a clinical psychological or neuropsychological examination in Moscow at the following clinics:

M-Vita, st. Zelenogradskaya, 39, building 1 – from 1500 to 2500 rubles;
ABC medicine, st. Stoletova, 19 – 1100 rubles;
Alliancek KRK, st. Tsyurupy, 1, building 6 – 4000 rubles;
Family clinic, st. Pervomaiskaya, 42 – 3300 rubles;
Treatment center, st. Timur Frunze, 15/1 – 2900 rub.

You can consult a psychotherapist at a private doctor or at one of the clinics in Moscow:

Capital, Prospekt Mira, 12, building 3 – 3000 rubles;
M-Vita, st. Zelenogradskaya, 39, building 1 – 2000 rubles;
Fomina Clinic, st. Dolgorukovskaya, 17, building 1 – 6000 rubles;
Alliancek KRK, st. Tsyurupy, 1, building 6 – 3000 rub.

Why is it sometimes difficult to express your feelings?

Many people have a problem with difficulty expressing what they are experiencing. Quite often this occurs in fairly closed and withdrawn people. You cannot explain to your loved one the range of your feelings and emotions. You can't express what exactly upset you. Why is this happening? There may be several reasons:

You are afraid of misunderstandings and quarrels. For example, you do not express how you feel because you are afraid that your friend will not understand you, or that what you say may lead to open conflict and confrontation;
Showing feelings and emotions is a human weakness. Such thoughts more often arise in men (sometimes due to the patriarchal way of life and upbringing). Also, the reasons for such attitudes may be the fact that a person was raised in a cold and strict family, where discussion of emotions and experiences was not encouraged. The child did not receive proper emotional support, which affected his perception in adulthood;
Loneliness, or fear of being alone. Many people have a distorted perception of human relationships. In their opinion, people should bring each other only positive and positive emotions. Which, as a result, causes fear that sadness, sadness, disappointment expressed to a friend will lead to total loneliness;
Emotional masochism. This phenomenon is quite common in the modern world. Perhaps you are the same person who likes to torture yourself, worry, and cry. This is why you are not eager to share and express your feelings.

Thoughts and attitudes imposed by your environment may be the reason why you cannot express what you are experiencing.

Functions and meaning

The task of the senses is to receive and classify information about objects. They also have separate functions:

reflective - helps to assess the level of danger and usefulness of objects in order to respond to the threat in time;
stimulating - encourages you to take active actions, make plans for the future, look for ways to solve complex problems, motivation;
reinforcing - helps to assess the significance of an event for an individual, to remember important things;
switching - tells you which category to classify objects, actions into, and set priorities;
adaptive - forms a ready-made base of manifestations that a person has already experienced;
communicative - affects relationships with others, the need for communication, helps to establish emotional contacts.

Only a positive social environment can ensure normal functioning of functions. If a function malfunctions, a person’s emotional intelligence does not develop. A low level of emotional intelligence is characteristic of children who were raised in a disadvantaged environment.

An extreme degree of manifestation of pedagogical neglect in Mowgli children who grew up away from people. They do not distinguish between the manifestations of other people and do not know how to express feelings. Their psychological development is at the level of a baby monkey.

How to learn to express your feelings

The ability to correctly express your thoughts and feelings is necessary. This is primarily due to the fact that this skill will allow you to build healthy relationships with other people, build strong friendships, romantic relationships and establish relationships in the family. Correct expression of feelings also helps to defend your boundaries, show your position and self-respect. But how to learn to do this? Let's look at the most important steps:

Try to analyze what exactly you are experiencing - write down on a piece of paper what emotions a person or event evokes in you;
Tell the person how you feel about him. Even if it sounds a little complicated and confusing, the main thing is to start expressing it in words;
If you still find it difficult to talk about feelings, keep a personal diary. You can use either a paper diary or write notes on your phone;
It is important to understand that you are not obligated to express only good emotions to anyone; your feelings can also be negative. It is important to accept yourself and the possibility that you are not a robot and do not owe anything to anyone;
Use the “I signal” model, that is, report your feelings using the following examples - “I feel fear towards you because ...”, “I respect you very much”, etc.;
If you are still constrained in expressing your feelings and emotions, and your own methods do not help, contact a psychologist, he will definitely find the reasons for your fear.

A psychologist can help you learn how to express your feelings correctly and not be afraid to do so.

At the end it says

We now know how many basic senses humans have and how they can help people feel. In addition, we figured out what emotions are and how feelings relate to them. It is quite difficult to count the exact number of emotions and feelings, since there are a large number of them. Some say that there are only 5 of them. Some people think that there are more than 15, and others cannot decide on the number at all, thinking that there are many more of them. But, based on scientific research, we can safely say that there are 5 main organs. They allow us humans to feel. Although there are some contradictions on this issue, these are just modern assumptions.

How to manage your feelings

Do you want to learn how to manage your feelings? Are you experiencing problems from being overly emotional? Then this section is for you.

At the moment, there are a large number of techniques that are aimed at developing control, both emotional and sensory. Let's look at the main existing control techniques.

It is important to understand why you feel a particular emotion or feeling. To do this, you need to understand the reasons. For example, take a piece of paper and write down exactly what you feel. Write down the reasons, reconstruct the course of events to understand where exactly the trigger is. After this, try to understand why this particular trigger caused a certain feeling;
After identifying the causes, try to get rid of the irritants. Especially if it is a feeling of a negative nature. For example, anger or disappointment;
In everyday situations when external stimuli arise, before giving vent to your emotions, try to give yourself a few minutes to “think.” For example, you were told something that really annoys you. Try to stay calm. Work this trigger conditionally in the same way as with a piece of paper;
Do some self-reflection. It is important to understand here that this should be a healthy analysis of one’s character and behavior, and not “soul-searching.” You must be clearly aware of your good and bad sides;
Determine why you want to control yourself. It is the awareness of this reason that will help you achieve quick and effective results;
Keep diaries.

Moderate control of feelings and emotions allows you to minimize the number of conflict situations in your life, as well as learn to listen and accept the position of another person.

Adequacy

Feelings are considered adequate if they correspond to the current situation. Because people want to fit into society and be considered normal, they constantly work on their feelings to fit the situation. Emotional labor is more about how people want to feel or how they want other people to see them. Feelings are not permanent, but continue because people constantly try to educate, suppress or manage them.

Suppression of feelings

Suppression of feelings is a special type of control that is aimed at making a person simply become emotionless. Before we consider methods of suppressing feelings and emotions, I would like to clarify that this can lead to harmful consequences for you and your environment. Therefore, we recommend that you weigh the pros and cons when this question arises before you.

Is it possible to learn to suppress feelings?

Yes, there are many techniques for suppressing feelings. People come to this question for many reasons, some of which are:

Unrequited love;
A loss;
Betrayal;
Constant accusations from others of being too emotional;
Psychological trauma.

Should you suppress your feelings?

In reality, extreme suppression of your feelings and emotions is not necessary. Firstly, it is important to always remain yourself, express yourself and your emotions. Secondly, you don’t need to convince yourself that “no one will accept an emotional person like me.” There will always be that person who will appreciate you. Thirdly, unemotionality is only a temporary measure; it is not a panacea for all problems that arise.

Therefore, the answer to the question “Is it necessary to suppress your feelings” is unequivocal - no, it is not necessary.

How to suppress your feelings

In rare and exceptional situations, you can use a short-term technique to suppress your emotional and sensual urges. This may be due to stress, overload (physical and moral), problems in life. Therefore, we can recommend two main ways to suppress feelings – psychological and medicinal.

Some people tend to minimize their feelings in a stressful situation

Psychological methods of suppression

“How to kill emotions in yourself?”, “How to completely turn off emotions and feelings?” – these are quite common questions among the population, especially in the period 14-30 years old. Before you use any methods, remember that suppression can lead to psychological problems and psychosomatics (the appearance of physiological diseases). Scientists have proven that the connection between the psychological state and the body is inseparable. In the absence of ways to release emotions, many problems can arise - headaches, migraines, blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, heart disease, etc.

So, what steps can you take to suppress your sensual side:

Again, an important stage is awareness of your emotions. Before you “disable” them, you will have to understand their reasons;
Remember that self-suppression should be done in a healthy way - do not overdo it;
Accept your emotional background - admit that you may experience this or that feeling, that this is normal and does not indicate your vulnerability;
Find a way to release your emotions. For example, you like to draw - draw and depict your feelings on a piece of paper;
Find a place where you feel safe, which will allow you to talk and talk to yourself about the interrupted emotional experience without remorse;
Keep diaries. Diaries are a good way of control; in them you can learn about the reasons and direct methods of suppressing yourself;
Keep yourself busy. Have you been wanting to make a change for a long time? Want to do some spring cleaning? Maybe you have long dreamed of playing sports on a regular basis? Then it's time for this. Try to keep yourself busy so that unnecessary thoughts do not distract you;
Engage in reflection - this is a really effective way to understand yourself and what you feel about yourself and other people;
Maintain emotional distance from all people. Do not allow yourself to be frank, become attached, or depend on anyone;
Meditation can also be a good and effective method;
Do these 10 techniques over a long period of time so that this emotional distancing becomes a habit.

To control emotions and feelings, you need to keep diaries - record your condition daily

Medicinal methods of suppression

There is no cure called “Switching off emotions” because it is not possible on a pharmacological level. However, some remedies help dampen their intensity.

You should not use any medications without a doctor's prescription. Be careful what you use and in what doses.

There are several groups of drugs that can reduce the intensity of feelings and emotions:

Nootropics;
Neuroleptics;
Antidepressants;
Tranquilizers.

All these drugs must be prescribed by a doctor. They are dangerous in overdoses. For the most part, a psychotherapist can prescribe a drug to you if he believes that your emotional state can only be normalized with the help of it. For example, antidepressants are often prescribed. But this is also not a panacea, since all drugs have a long “Withdrawal” period.

Age stages of development

The development of feelings in early childhood is an important, complex process. It happens in stages:

Newborn baby. Once born, a child masters the basic forms of manifestations necessary for survival: hunger, pleasure, pain, fear. The emotional state depends on physical sensations. A newborn does not know how to distinguish between feelings. His main interest and need is physical contact with his mother. The baby reacts to her mood and copies it.
From 0 to 6 months. The baby understands what sensations he experiences when in contact with adults. His perception is fragmentary: he sees the world in parts. By six months, he learns to distinguish between family and strangers; anxiety and wariness appear in his arsenal. While exploring the world, he tries to touch everything he sees. If this fails, the baby experiences anger and discomfort.
6–12 months Six-month-old babies know how to be surprised and show interest. In addition to physical needs, the child has mental ones. Interests gradually form: the child divides toys into favorites and unloved ones. At the age of 8 months, fear of separation from the mother appears, the child experiences anxiety and becomes restless.
1–1.5 years. Own desires appear, the need to realize them. The child learns to make independent decisions, but often faces prohibitions from adults. An obstacle causes anger and a desire to get what is yours. At this age, it is important to learn to separate desires and actions. The main achievement of 1.5 years is that the child develops an idea of himself, the baby identifies himself with his name.
1.5–2 years The child is no longer helpless. He moves confidently, can pick up a toy himself, and has more freedom and needs. He strives to prove independence, the right to his own opinion. At this age, he already shares feelings, but cannot name them.
2–2.5 years Two-year-old children see themselves as the center of the world; they have no understanding of danger. Also, the feeling of compassion and pity has not yet been formed: if the child does not like another baby, he may hit him or bite him, expressing hostility.
2.5–3 years. With successful development, by the age of three the child will have formed a holistic idea of himself. There is pride in one’s independence and shame in case of failure. Interest in other children awakens, the desire to take their place in the team.

The development of feelings continues until the end of adolescence. The first years of life form the foundation that will help a child differentiate feelings from emotions.

Adaptation of a child in a team