3 Facts about Emotions (That Will Make You Feel Better)

Amy Taylor October 02, 2014

Quick – how are you feeling right now? Are you happy, sad, annoyed, irritated, or mad? It’s not every day that we love what we feel. Sometimes, we hate it so much that we wish we were numb. We might even have trouble identifying what we’re feeling in the first place.

And when we don’t like our emotions, we often choose to hide it or conceal it from others. When we’re angry, we choose to behave appropriately and professionally to avoid conflicts with our social relationships. Some people get anxious about their emotions, afraid that it indicates something is wrong or they’ve gone crazy. Some people fear that they may get rejected or perceived as needy or foolish.

Hopefully, the following facts about emotions can make you feel better and more confident about acknowledging and accepting your feelings just the way they are.

Emotions have functions.

There’s a reason why you are experiencing such emotion, no matter how uncomfortable it is. Even negative emotions, such as sadness, anxiety and anger, can be illuminating. For example, if you are constantly feeling sad when you are at work, or when you feel empty and distracted, it could mean that you don’t find your current job rewarding. Instead of avoiding the feeling, it is often helpful to analyse it until you uncover its real cause. This may motivate you to think about career changes. And if you share your feelings to people you trust, the transition might become easier for you.

You need not act on your feelings every time.

It’s not every time that you have to act on your emotion because sometimes, these feelings are inaccurate. For example, after a few years of trying to work it out with your partner, you felt rejected. If you interpret this feeling as it is, you might stop taking care of yourself, and prevent yourself from loving and being loved again. You may start being afraid to welcome a new relationship, which can make you less happy in the end.

Yet, emotions require validating.

Validating emotions is not judging them. It means accepting them. Validating your feelings is simply saying “Okay, I’m feeling angry with this person right now”, or “Alright, this has been a bad day for me.” Instead of focusing on why you felt this way, focus on making yourself better, and resolving the issue that led to this unwanted emotion.

We often store our feelings inside in the form of physical symptoms, such as muscle tension, back pain, stomach ache, and so on. You need not be afraid of experiencing negative behaviours. There’s no need to conceal them, or ignore them. Running from our emotions can keep us stuck, whereas sitting with them leads to growth and learning.