Types of emotions

Emotions are psychological states occurring due to neurological changes primarily associated with feelings, thoughts, degree of displeasure and pleasure and behavioural changes. There is no exact definition for emotions in the scientific world but emotions are majorly used to express mood, our temperament at the time, sometimes personality traits or even creativity. Across different cultures, facial expressions and certain reactions from our bodies are associated with basic emotions.

There are also different theories defining varieties of emotions, one such theory is discrete emotion theory. According to this theory, there are a small limited number of core emotions that are biologically determined emotional responses and their response is the same for any person regardless of their culture and ethnicity.

Some scientists believe that emotions not only consist of our feelings but also represent our bodily movements. and bodily reactions, for example, our heart start racing when we become excited. Other scientists believe that emotions are in between the range of two properties valence and arousal. Arousal is the degree to which a person can feel calm or excited and valence is the degree to which a person feels good or bad. Emotions are an important part of who we are and they play a crucial role in psychiatric illnesses.

Emotions have a wide range and there are five or six emotions that are most widely suggested emotions are:

  • Anger: This emotion is characterised by antagonism, it can be towards someone or about something that one feels is done deliberately wrong. This emotion gives you a way to address the negative feelings and may lead to them finding a solution to the problem.
  • Disgust: This emotion is a response to revulsion or rejection of something offensive, unpleasant, or distasteful. It is a very strong feeling and it sometimes provokes loathing or repugnance. 
  • Fear: It is an intensely unpleasant feeling which is basically a response to recognizing or perceiving a threat or danger. It is also a very strong emotion that causes physiological changes which in turn produce behavioural reactions such as fleeing the threat or an aggressive response.
  • Happiness: It is an emotional state characterized by feelings of satisfaction, joy, contentment and fulfilment. Happiness can not be defined in some exact words but it is definitely associated with positive feelings and satisfaction. When feeling happy, one experiences positive emotions more than negative emotions.
  • Sadness: Sadness is an unpleasant emotion, it is a kind of emotional pain associated with loss, despair, some kind of disadvantages, grief, helplessness, sorrow and disappointment.

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