Medically reviewed by Marney A. White, PhD, MS, Psychology — Written by Crystal Raypole — Updated on May 25, 2022
You can talk about your emotions with practice, even if it feels uncomfortable at first. Emotions are an essential part of who you are, but they can be messy, complicated, and downright confusing at times. Knowing how to name your emotions and talk about them — with both yourself and others — is a key part of developing emotional health. You don’t have to navigate the process of identifying your emotions alone. Paul Ekman, a psychologist and leading researcher on emotions, surveyed more than 100 scientists and used their input to develop what’s known as the Atlas of Emotions. This online interactive tool breaks down emotions into five main categories:
Keep in mind that this is just one way of categorizing emotions. For example, a 2017 study suggests there are 27 categories of emotion. But Ekman’s concept of five main types of emotion offers a good framework for breaking down the complexity of all the feels. Here’s a look at what each of these five categories involves. People generally like to feel happy, calm, and good. You might express these feelings by smiling, laughing, or indulging yourself. You might feel enjoyment when:
If enjoyment and its related feelings seem out of reach, try to take a look at how other emotions or feelings may be getting in the way, such as:
Everyone feels sad from time to time. This emotion might relate to a specific event, such as a loss or rejection. But in other cases, you might have no idea why you feel sad. Sadness can be hard to shake, but depending on your situation, these tips might help:
It may help to talk with a therapist if your sadness lingers or begins to have a significant impact on daily life and makes it hard to work, go to school, or maintain your relationships. Fear happens when you sense any type of threat. Depending on that perceived threat, fear can range from mild to severe. Keep in mind that the level of fear you feel doesn’t always match up with the intensity of the threat. For example, if you live with anxiety, you might feel fear around situations that don’t actually pose much of a threat — though that doesn’t make the fear any less real. Fear is a totally normal emotion — and one that likely kept your ancestors from being eaten alive. There are things you can do to manage this feeling:
It’s important to not get discouraged if these tips seem impossible or overwhelming — they can be hard to accomplish on your own. Consider working with a therapist, who can help you navigate mental health issues around fear, such as:
Anger usually happens when you experience some type of injustice. This experience can make you feel threatened, trapped, and unable to defend yourself. Many people think of anger as a negative thing, but it’s a normal emotion that can help you know when a situation has become toxic. There are a lot of ways to deal with anger, many of which can cause problems for you and those around you. The next time you find yourself in a huff, try these tips for managing anger more productively:
Everyone gets angry from time to time. But if you feel like you have anger issues, a therapist can help you develop effective tools for dealing with these emotions. You typically experience disgust as a reaction to unpleasant or unwanted situations. Like anger, feelings of disgust can help protect you from things you want to avoid. It can also pose problems if it leads you to dislike certain people, including yourself, or situations that aren’t necessarily bad for you. Disgust can happen as a natural response to something you dislike. In some situations, you might want to work through or overcome your disgust. These strategies can help:
If you feel strong dislike toward a group of people, a specific person, or yourself, consider talking with a therapist about your feelings (noticing a theme here?). Even if you are not sure exactly what’s behind your disgust, a therapist can help you work through the emotion and explore positive ways of coping with it. Emotions can be complicated. Some might feel intense, while others seem mild in comparison. You might feel conflicting emotions at any given time. But emotions can serve a purpose, even when they’re negative. Instead of trying to change the emotions you experience, consider how you react to them. It’s usually the reactions that create challenges, not the emotions themselves. Last medically reviewed on May 25, 2022 |