emotional states

When I am anxious I am living in the future. When I am depressed I am living in the past.

Each emotional state colours perception, thought and behaviour so extensively that each is a separate personality with its own favourite interests, capabilities, viewpoints, memories, habits and ways of thinking and moving.

evolution
Humans inherit the biochemical and neural mechanisms of emotions that have been evolving over hundreds of millions of years. The biochemical precursors of our emotions are still found in invertebrates today.

Mobile organisms have evolved under irresistible environmental pressures to decide whether to approach, avoid or stay put. Negative emotions orchestrate avoidance, positive ones engagement and neutral ones getting on with life, digesting, growing and pondering. They are essential for decision-making and survival. Individuals perish if they don't get it right.

mood
The intensity of emotional responses to internal and external experiences range from almost imperceptible to overwhelming.

Mood is often used to describe the enduring background feeling or emotional state underlying changing emotional states.

primary emotions
Depending on how you count them the 5 or 8 hardwired primary emotional states are the same across races and cultures and similar to other social animals.

Emotions that are essential for life in the wild are often harmful in civilisation.

Anger sends blood to the arms. It indicates a feeling of loss of power or control. A standard is being violated. We may be repeating an approach which does not work or trying to control something that is beyond our capacity. It may be time to rethink our expectations and let go. Anger is often used to mask a feeling of guilt and retain control or not lose face. Out of control anger often precedes loss of a role, status or possessions.

Anger and vigilance are switched on by vassopressin a similar hormone to oxytocin but with almost the opposite effect. It is produced from the male hormone androgen and is set off more easily in males. Physiological resources are diverted from intellectual activity and body maintenance and the body is highly mobilised for physical activity. If there is no physical activity the body still has to deal with the metabolic by products of this arousal but without the activity needed to dispose of them and to tire and wind down. Anger and arousal interfere with social and other complex activities if they persist longer than the crisis that triggered them.

Surprise alerts us. It comes and goes quickly.

Fear sends blood to the feet. It keeps us from danger but also from experience. It can save us or destroy us. The underlying fear is of being overwhelmed by uncomfortable feelings.

complex emotions
Other emotions are mixtures of the primary emotions and may be elaborated by other sensations and feelings. There are innumerable shades and combinations, each with its own particular meaning and message.

If we are disappointed our expectations or goals are not in step with the real the world. If we are anxious and over-perfectionist our aims and activities are out of step with our needs.

Feelings of hurt can indicate unmet and possibly unrealistic expectations.

Feeling lonely is a signal to look for satisfying connections. Yearning or longing may motivate us to change something in our life.

Guilt is one of the social sign posts that tell us when we have transgressed a social rule. Guilt indicates a regret at violation of one’s standards and might be dealt with by reparation or rethinking standards.

Other states like concentration, orgasm, pain, stress or sexual arousal use similar neural and hormonal mechanisms as emotions. Other feelings and sensations guide us. Perhaps they could be included. The love pages explore some of the complexities of states associated with conflict and love.