Table of Contents
Introduction
Emotions are basic to communication and human beings. To a certain degree, emotions are usually socially constructed. The essay will mainly lay emphasis on the ways by which emotions are regulated and communicated. The concept of emotional intelligence is not only confined to understanding own feelings, but also involves expressing feelings in a constructive manner. The focus of this study will be to evaluate how effectively emotions are utilized in context of interpersonal communication.
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Discussion
What are emotions?
Emotions are basically processes that are gradually shaped by perceptions, physiology, social experiences and language. According to the concept of physiological influences, when there is occurrence of any event, one tends to respond physiologically (Izard, 2013). After this form of response, emotion is experienced by an individual. Emotions are nothing more than socially constructed feelings or perceptions.
How they are created and how are they operated in life
The purpose of emotions in one’s life is to express in front of others. Emotions are not only about expressing feelings, but it also forms a vital element while establishing relationships. It can be stated that a major purpose behind having emotions is to respond spontaneously to any good or bad incident. Emotions are basically created through three forms of influences, i.e. physiological, social and perceptional (Izard, 2013). For instance, emotions are created when one responds physiologically. They are even developed through subjective perceptions and societal influence on our interpretation about perceived things.
How emotions are regulated
There are several ways of regulating emotions. One needs to be quite introspective in order to understand the core feelings and thought process that he or she has. An individual can regulate emotions once he or she effectively shifts focus to some other larger goals of life. Emotions can also be regulated through preventing external influence on one’s level of perception. On the other hand, emotions can even be regulated through avoiding any form of spontaneous response to any event.
Ways to assertively and effectively express healthy emotions
The emotions which are strong are difficult to control. For instance, anger is extremely difficult to control in any type of scenario. If any situation triggers feelings of self-respect then restricting self to control anger is quite difficult. However, there are several healthy ways of channelizing anger. For example, one can sit for discussion with the other person when any conflict of interest arises. In fact, doing so can strengthen the relationship as well (Lindquist et al., 2012). Moreover, situations where differences of opinions arise are easy to encounter every now and then.
Symptoms
Undoubtedly, there are various symptoms for understanding that the emotions are suppressed for a longer of time than required. One of such symptom is losing interest in different daily activities. Other symptoms include trouble in sleeping, conflict in relationships, lack of workplace commitment, feeling tired all the times, feeling depressed, bursting into anger or crying without any major reason, etc. However, it is important to remember that suppressing emotions can manifest in psychosomatic diseases as well. As a result, finding a healthy outlet is extremely crucial.
One defense mechanism
One of such defense mechanism is denial. Not accepting that some unpleasant emotions are felt is a type of defense mechanism. Mostly, people deny that they are feeling something by engaging in various activities such as gardening, partying, singing, hanging out, chatting, etc. When an individual is not able to identify his or her own emotions and suppresses the pain deep inside the heart it can actually hurt him or her every now and then. As a result, denial is not at all mentally healthy for anyone.
Identification and expression
The clients can be helped by exposing them to multiple counseling sessions. In fact, the therapist can actually discuss the issue with him or her and encourage expressing heartfelt emotions. Even client may be hypnotized in order to delve deeper into his or her thought process (Lindquist et al., 2012). Tuning in and listening to the body is also crucial in order to identify emotions by a client. For example, several relaxing methods will be instrumental for this.
Benefits
Once an individual is encouraged to express suppressed emotions it will be extremely helpful to live life peacefully and at ease. Moreover, the person may also then feel new enthusiasm to spring back to various activities while he felt disheartened to do the same by suppressing his emotions. Other than these, awareness of emotions also triggers coping ability of the individual as well.
Conclusion
It can be inferred from the above essay how strong emotions can make everyday living for an individual extremely challenging. For instance, suppressing emotions will lead to psychosomatic diseases, depression, etc. As a result, it is important for a person to find healthy ways for discharging the same. One of such effective ways of channelizing is through discussions and psychotherapy sessions.
- Izard, C. E. (2013). Human emotions. New York: Springer Science & Business Media.
- Lindquist, K. A., Wager, T. D., Kober, H., Bliss-Moreau, E., and Barrett, L. F. (2012). The brain basis of emotion: a meta-analytic review. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 35(03), 121-143.