Feelings: How often have you let your emotions take over?

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart” 

― Helen Keller

Feeling is the nominalization of the verb to feel. The word was first used in the English language to describe the physical sensation of touch through either experience or perception. The word is also used to describe experiences other than the physical sensation of touch, such as "a feeling of warmth" and of sentence in general. In Latin, sentiremeant to feel, hear or smell. In psychology, the word is usually reserved for the conscious subjective experience of emotion. Phenomenology and heterophenomenology are philosophical approaches that provide some basis for knowledge of feelings. Many schools of psychotherapy depend on the therapist achieving some kind of understanding of the client's feelings, for which methodologies exist.

Perception of the physical world does not necessarily result in a universal reaction among receivers (see emotions), but varies depending on one's tendency to handle the situation, how the situation relates to the receiver's past experiences, and any number of other factors. Feelings are also known as a state of consciousness, such as that resulting from emotions, sentiments or desires.

People buy products in hopes that this certain product will make them feel a certain way happy, excited or beautiful. Some women buy beauty products in hopes of achieving a state of happiness or a sense of self beauty. Past events are used in our lives to form schemas in our minds and based on those past experiences we expect our lives to follow a certain script just because of a past event.

A social psychologist, Daniel Gilbert alongside other researchers conducted a study on the influence of feelings on events. The results showed that when the participants predicted a positive feeling for an event, the higher the chances that they wanted to relive the event. Predicted feelings were either short lived or did not correlate to what the participant expected.

How often have you let your emotions take over? Do you remember the last time you felt so strongly about an idea, situation, or another person that your emotions made you to almost lose it? Relax, you’re not alone.

Anger, fear, jealousy, shame, frustration, feeling lonely, and stress are all powerful feelings. Sometimes you might feel like your feelings control you, instead of the other way around.

People often drink alcohol or use drugs to try and hide their feelings and run away from their emotions. Remember, emotions are natural feelings. It’s okay to express your feelings in healthy ways. That might mean calling a friend or family member when you feel lonely, or going for a walk when you feel stressed. Once you can understand your feelings, you can learn to accept and control them.

Fear

​​​​People can't live without fear. If you never have fear, you can't learn courage. If you aren’t ever scared, you probably aren't learning about yourself.

Fear is the body's way of warning you of a possible threat. A threat is anything you aren't sure you can handle successfully. Not handling a threat successfully can be bad. Examples of threats are being hurt, robbed, or embarrassed. A threat makes you feel scared that people will think less of you if you mess up.

When you’re threatened, you might need to act fast. You have to be alert before trouble starts. So, your body and mind get ready to take on the threat. Your heart beats faster, your muscles tense, your breathing speeds up, and your mind gets sharper. Most of the time you won't need all this alertness, but your body makes you ready just in case. That's why you have fear. Fear makes you alert, focused, and ready.

Dealing with Stress

​​​​​​​​All people have some stress in their life. Some people just deal with it better than others. Here are some simple things you can do to manage stress better.

Get Organized

Take better control of the ways you spend your time and energy.

Take Control

Stay away from people who make you doubt your decision to quit drinking, using drugs, or gambling.

Stay in Touch

Feeling alone or distant from other people can cause stress. Stay in touch with people who support your decision to quit.

Get Strong

Being in good shape can help you deal with stress. Exercise is also good for getting rid of stress.

Have a Laugh

Every day, find something that makes you laugh. Laughter releases tension.

REMEMBER . . . It’s important not to feel ashamed or embarrassed about our feelings because everyone has them, they are normal and no feeling can be right or wrong. The important thing to remember about feelings is that they don’t stay exactly the same forever, very few things in life do! In fact, they will always pass or change over time.