home > Psychology of self-development > How to get good emotions. How to evoke positive emotions in other people. How is a person different from an animal? Attention

How to get good emotions. How to evoke positive emotions in other people. How is a person different from an animal? Attention

Hello, my dear!

Again I wanted to start the article by saying that today we have a very interesting and important topic! Well, what can I do if almost all topics related to self-knowledge, self-development, achievement of Goals and other issues of Success are so important and interesting?! :))

The main types of positive emotions

Also, random things that we experience do not happen. Each of them has a very specific purpose. As Antonio Damasio states: Emotions are actions that require neurological programs. By this he means that emotions are a function of the nervous system. Thus, they have evolved over millions of years as a means of interpreting environmental signals and giving you the information you need to survive and behave appropriately in a social environment.

A shameless person cannot do this. And the one who doesn't listen to their guilt could end up even worse - perhaps without friends. Similarly, a fearless person doesn't necessarily deserve your respect. Instead, they may not even make it through their teenagers. These so-called negative emotions are extremely important. You could even call them a lifesaver, or dare I say positively!

So, today we will talk about emotions!

Some people think that emotions are something insignificant. Especially our strong men sin with this, believing that emotions are a purely female privilege. Sort of a real man must be stern and restrained, as if he does not experience any emotions at all. This is for us, gentle ladies, we can admire, gasp, groan, worry, cry and faint! :)) But in principle, these are all MANIFESTATIONS of emotions that everyone is free to vary in strength and expression himself, as he wants.

Well, now - educational program

Viewed in this light, emotions work in the same way as other neurological programs in your body: hunger and thirst. It's your body's fuel gauge - a little warning signal that tells you to eat. You may ignore hunger for a while, but if you feel it, it will come back later, perhaps with more intensity. Hunger won't go away until you eat. In the same way, emotions arise when it is needed, communicate some need - and suggest some course of action.

If you ignore them, they may "disappear" temporarily. Eventually, however, they will reappear. And they will continue to grow - with increased urgency - until you respond accordingly. For example, imagine asking your son to put his socks in the laundry room. You probably felt some irritation when you saw the socks, but now you might be tempted to bury your growing irritation. If you do this, the initial irritation is likely to get worse.

But in themselves, we experience emotions regardless of gender, age and social status. Anger, joy, fear, boredom, inspiration, delight, sadness, peace… All this arises within us and affects our life in the most directly! Yes, yes, how they influence!

What to do in order to increase positive vibrations, to climb up the spiral?

The inability to deal with your son's neurological program is heightened, resulting in aggravation, irritation, and ultimately hostility or rage. This emotional escalation may seem absurd or shameful. But you can't blame emotions. You were the one who didn't answer properly.

Viewing emotions as negative makes the same sense as negative hunger. And just as it would be crazy to want your hunger away, insanity dismisses emotions—because no emotion can do the work of another. Happiness will not tell you when you are in a dangerous situation. Anger will not tell you when something in your life is not working. Satisfaction will not let you know when you are not prepared enough.

Don't underestimate the importance of emotions. The fact is that they occupy a very important place in the process of our movement towards our Goal! Firstly, they serve as a kind of "compass", showing the correctness of your movement. And secondly, they are a “magnet” for attracting either positive or negative events into your life.

Let's take a closer look at both options.

From this point of view, dividing your emotions into positive and negative does not make sense. It would be like a master insisting that there are only two or three good tools and that the rest should be locked up. And that's exactly what happens when you view an emotion as "negative." After all, why are you listening to an emotion that is "bad" or seemingly without purpose?

Emotions, despite what you've heard, are as necessary as hunger and survival. They provide you with information about what is happening in the world and they help keep you safe and well. That is why it is so important to stop perceiving emotions as positive and negative. It is much more helpful to view them simply as messengers, because then you can begin to hear your emotions and respond to the messages they are trying to communicate.

So, compass. When you set a Goal for yourself, the Universe immediately "blazes a path" to that Goal for you. This is the shortest and easiest way of all possible. Why? Yes, because the Universe sees ALL possible ways in which you can get to your Goal. And chooses the best for you!

So, your emotions are an indicator of whether you are on the right track. If you accurately follow all the prompts of the Universe and do not deviate from its intended route, positive emotions prevail in you. You feel good, light and happy! But if for some reason you turned the wrong way, troubles begin, your mood drops, and negativity appears in your emotions.

It is a natural, normal part of a person. Indeed, these are tough programs that have been honed over millions of years and usually come about for good reasons. Without fear, for example, you are likely to act like a maniac, choose Iraq or Syria for your holiday, and generally neglect your health and safety. Fear may arise when you encounter a spider or a speaking engagement. It just means it's inconvenient as it should be.

We call emotions "negative" when they make us feel uncomfortable. But feeling uncomfortable is not inevitable. Without the discomfort of hunger, you would be starving. Without the pain of injury, you would bleed or destroy your body. Being uncomfortable keeps you alive. Why not view your unwanted emotions in the same light? If you're feeling overwhelmed with emotion, remember that this is just a messenger and probably helpful. You can monitor emotions without telling yourself that it's bad or that you don't feel well.

By your emotional state, you can determine whether you are going your own way. Try right now to remember which emotions were predominant in you. recent times. Well, for example, the last 4-5 days. It is clear that in a day we can experience many different emotions. But I'm not asking you to accurately remember them all. Remember, if I may say so, emotional background. What prevailed, was dominant in your emotional state - positive or negative?

So this is the first step: paraphrase your emotions as messengers or warning signs. Now, what else can you do to become your mood master? Imagine what it would be like if you had one of these emotions?

What if you could dial any of your emotions up or down to find a balanced and harmonious state of mind? In truth, it may take a little. Emotions are powerful and cannot really be controlled. Even the Dalai Lama is angry. However, while the ability to control your emotions is limited, you can certainly respond to them in ways that affect their expression. Emotions are not just switches that turn on or off. They are more like dials that cover the entire spectrum, just like colors.

If you are generally satisfied with yourself and life, your heart is light, look into the future with interest and anticipation of something good, then I can congratulate you - everything is just fine with you! You belong to those lucky ones who live in harmony with their souls, which means they follow their own Path!

But if your perception of the world is dominated by anxiety, discontent, fear of the future, aggression, then it is highly advisable for you to think carefully and analyze how you live! All these negative emotions indicate that you are clearly going the wrong way. You do not hear (or ignore) the voice of your soul, acting not as it wants, but as circumstances or decency require. But you should know that ignoring the demands of your soul is the surest way to ruin your life! The soul leads you to Happiness (and it absolutely knows that it is the embodiment of this concept EXACTLY for you!), so the call “Follow the dictates of your soul!” - this is not an empty phrase! Every time you do NOT what your soul tells you, you are one step further away from your Happiness.

They come in different intensities. Red can be deep, rich, bright and intense. Or it could be a regular red stop sign. Or it may be a dull, pale, soft red. Indeed, all colors can be so washed out that they are difficult to distinguish from each other.

The same thing happens with emotions. If you don't visit them, they tend to get richer and more intense. When volume is turned up, emotions become inevitable, overwhelming, and obvious to you. If you get to know your emotions better, you might notice them sooner, say when you feel a little blue or a little green with envy. But emotions often hang in much more subtle flavors. They are present right at the lower end of the spectrum, where they are difficult to distinguish. They may look like something else, much like a very red or peach color at red wavelengths, but look nothing like burgundy or scarlet.

As soon as you do something that coincides with the dictates of your soul, you immediately experience joy, delight, peace, and spiritual uplift. All these positive emotions instantly show you that you did the right thing!

Use this "compass", my friends! This is an absolutely accurate tool that is given to every person, but which not everyone knows about!

Once you have decided not to label your emotions as good or bad, the next step may be to learn how to be aware of them at different levels. Check out Carl McLaren's emotional vocabulary list for a list of words that help in this regard. Interestingly, research has shown that if you can accurately name your emotions, you can regulate them.

And because emotions are with you all the time, you can learn to check them in regularly, instead of waiting until they become overwhelming. We're used to just listening to emotions when they get to moods and tensions, but they're much easier to work with when they're in a soft, flowing state that most of us don't associate with emotions at all.

Now let's talk about the second function of our emotions. I wrote a little about this in my article. The bottom line is that when you experience positive emotions, you attract good things into your life. And when negative, then bad. It is also not necessary to forget that our desires are fulfilled only on the wave of positive emotions. If you are staying in good mood, then everything that you requested from the Universe is realized in physical reality. As soon as the mood spoils, the implementation stops. Do you understand? You are in control of what you want in your life. The longer you keep yourself in a good mood, the faster you will get what you want. But if a bad mood is predominant in you 99% of the time, you risk never getting what you want at all! That's it! It is unprofitable to be a beech!

I have mixed emotions about emotions. It wasn't just bad writing, it was a purposeful illustration of how emotions work. Rarely do you experience emotions in a pure, unadulterated form. They often travel in tandem or in trios. Feeling more than one emotion at the same time is normal. Unfortunately, we don't have many words that adequately describe the subtle, dynamic, heightened interplay of emotions. Sometimes a poem or a song or an image can better encapsulate what you are feeling.

In addition, since emotions are integrated into every decision we make or action we take, they often operate under our understanding. If you want to be good with emotions, it's good to know that you can't even know they're there. Meditation and mindfulness help in this regard because by taking time out to listen to your thoughts and emotions, you can develop a finer and more accurate appreciation of what is in the emotional cocktail.

They can tell me, yes, everything looks very good in words, but what about real life when there are problems on all sides and you just can’t be positive?!

Good question! I asked myself very often at the beginning of my journey. And, to be honest, I really hoped that there was some kind of magic tool that would help, without any effort on my part, to make “everything in chocolate”. But no, there is no such tool. To get something, you must first give something, invest. And in this case it will be our efforts, mental work. First, you need to understand and ACCEPT the fact that EVERYTHING that is now in your life was made by YOU and no one else! But stop stop stop!!! This is by no means an accusation, like “You yourself are to blame for living like this!”. Don't blame yourself for this! You are not to blame, you are RESPONSIBLE! That is, it depends on you what kind of life you will have in the future. Feel the difference? Responsibility is the right to CHOOSE what you want and embody it in your reality through your thoughts!

As long as you are alive, you will have emotions. Some of them will like it. Some of them will be more difficult to handle. And some of them will probably throw you off balance completely. As a human, you will probably prefer the former, but like it or not, they will all appear at some point. If you are like most people, you probably suppress your emotions in some situations and express them in others. Repression and expression can be useful strategies, but a third - and perhaps more skillful - option is also available.

You can learn to channel your emotions. As a conductor or choreographer, you can work with the emotions you feel so that when they arise, they are listened to and acted upon in a conscious, empathic and respectful manner. As a "director" you understand that while you can't control your emotions, you can choose how you respond to them, and you can learn to create them in new and more rewarding ways. Realizing that emotions have their own own lives, it can also be helpful to stop trying to resist or reject those emotions that are uncomfortable.

So, if you have accepted responsibility for everything that you have done in your life to date and realized that in the same way you can do EVERYTHING that you want to have in the future, then start creating! And your tools will be your thoughts and emotions. Change negative thoughts to positive ones (this will definitely be a separate article). Improve your mood with positive thoughts. Just do not try to immediately jump from terry negativity to rainbow euphoria! It still won't work, you'll just be disappointed. Change your mood level towards positive gradually. Make sure that your efforts (thinking a positive thought is also an effort) make you feel a little better. So on the steps you slowly but surely rise to a good mood.

Counterintuitively, acknowledging that you are uncomfortable with emotions means you can accept them more. This makes them seem less oppressive. This is not surprising, because most of us have not been taught anything about emotions, either in school or at home.

What we studied was accepted by family, friends, and peers and was likely to be largely dysfunctional, perhaps as a result of the general "negative" light in which emotions are viewed in our culture. "You are so emotional" is not a compliment and we are encouraged to use our intelligence rather than our emotions when making decisions about any import. Recent studies have shown that such a thing cannot be done. Our so-called rational and emotional brains are employees of a tightly integrated team - and people who have damaged the emotional centers in the brain cannot make decisions at all.

Everyone has their own recipe to improve mood. Don't neglect them! Eat ice cream, watch your favorite movie, go shopping, chat with friends, pet the cat! :))

Set the task of maintaining a good mood in the category of the main ones and remember it all the time! As soon as someone or something tries to spoil your mood, immediately track this fact and neutralize it with a simple but completely “killer” question: “Is it worth it that I give up my Goal for it?” We remember that as soon as our mood deteriorates, the process of implementing our Goals in the physical world stops. Is it worth it that spoils your mood for such a sacrifice on your part?! Believe me, more often than not, 99% of what we get annoyed, sad, angry from, in fact, is not at all worth even a hundredth of the attention given by you! Get in the habit of consciously reacting to events around you.

I will give a simple example to make it clearer. A man is driving in a car, suddenly another car overtakes him (does not even “cut”, but simply rushes past). And it starts! "Here's a goat! Where is it going?! He will kill himself and kill someone else! Because of such accidents and happen! There are no traffic cops on him! I hate them!!!" And now the emotions are over the edge! The negative is already pouring out of your ears! Moreover, on top of that, thoughts about accidents were voiced on such emotions ... And WHAT will this person attract into his life ?! There are people who are able to “turn on” literally from nonsense, and “wind themselves up” so much that this “charge” is enough for them for several days! Can you imagine how much rubbish you can "drag" into your life for a few days of being in such a state?!!!

But in this situation it is possible to act in a completely different way! Well, a car rushed past you, and suddenly the person in it is really in a hurry somewhere! Wish him good luck in the future and send mentally a little encouragement and support. Believe me, it will come back to you for sure!

These are the little things we create our reality. Remember this, friends! Live consciously, watch your emotions and try not to let go of your good mood!

And remember - positive not only prolongs life, but also significantly improves it! :)))

Subscribe to the most interesting news of my site and GET THREE GREAT AUDIOBOOKS on Success and Self-development as a GIFT!

A man bought himself a new house - a large, beautiful one, and a garden with fruit trees near the house. And nearby, in an old house, lived an envious neighbor who constantly tried to spoil his mood: either he would throw garbage under the gate, or he would do some other nasty things.

Once a man woke up in a good mood, went out onto the porch, and there was a bucket of slop. The man took a bucket, poured out the slop, cleaned the bucket to a shine, collected the largest, ripest and most delicious apples into it and went to a neighbor.

The neighbor, hearing a knock on the door, gloatingly thought: “Finally, I got it!”. He opens the door in the hope of a scandal, and the man handed him a bucket of apples and said:

Whoever is rich, he shares it!

Everything in this world is interconnected. The health and longevity of any person directly depend on what emotions accompany him throughout his life. It has long been noted that the positive improves the condition of a sick person and even leads to the recovery of patients. Well, and the negative - worsens the state of health and lays out the road to serious diseases.

A person who does good in any of its manifestations not only improves the quality of his life, but also creates a positive aura around him. Imagine, scientists have proven it. We are all capable of radically changing our lives for the better. How? Yes, you need to stop seeing solid dirt around.

Look at the world with wide open eyes. And how he will surprise you! According to scientists, our emotions are an accurate reflection of the metabolic processes occurring in the body.

Positive and joyful - carry a positive attitude.

And the negative energy that arises in us during outbursts of rage, with an unfriendly attitude towards others, in a state of resentment, or simply when bad mood- necessarily sooner or later materialize in the disease. And all because resentment carries a deviation from the norm at all levels from the molecular to the system-functional. But we always have a chance.

Unlike animals, a person can be aware of his emotions and feelings, and, of course, the reasons that caused them. The leading role in the emergence of various feelings is played by the cerebral cortex.

The outstanding Russian physiologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov once proved that it is the cortex that regulates the flow and expression of emotions. She keeps under her control all the phenomena occurring in the body, has an inhibitory effect on the subcortical centers and controls them. Arising in the cerebral cortex, the physiological process extends to the underlying subcortical centers. Although the whole brain is involved in the emergence of emotional states, electrophysiological studies have shown the great importance of special formations of the nervous system. They are also called the centers of emotions.

The most important of these brain structures is the hypothalamus. Many experiments have shown that by stimulating various parts of the hypothalamus with implanted electrodes, one can artificially evoke emotions of pleasure, fear, and anger. Can you imagine?! Sit in your mustache without blowing and suddenly you start to cry, then laugh, then fall into thought. All this is the hypothalamus. This substance is closely related to the cerebral cortex. And therefore, the influences of the environment experienced by a person are reflected in the cortex and have the same effect on the physiological centers of emotions as their direct stimulation.

On the other hand, the hypothalamus is closely related to the pituitary gland, other brain structures and endocrine organs. Excitation of the emotional centers causes changes throughout the body. Important data for revealing the essence of emotional reactions were obtained by studying the functional asymmetry of the brain. Namely: it was found that the left hemisphere is more associated with the emergence and maintenance of positive emotions, and the right - negative ones. Experiments show that positive emotions restore all physiological processes. They are able to suppress pain. During laughter, joy, happiness, catecholamine hormones are released. It is they that prevent inflammation, and endorphins generally act like morphine. In addition, a beneficial effect of positive emotions on changes in blood composition was noted.

With emotional experiences, blood circulation changes: the heartbeat quickens or slows down, the tone of blood vessels changes, blood pressure decreases or rises. As a result, during some experiences a person blushes, and during others - turns pale. With positive emotions, blood flow to the skin increases. She blushes and warms up.

In addition, the rhythm of breathing changes. At strong excitement the person may suffocate. The functioning of the secretory glands is also disturbed - grief causes profuse lacrimation, excitement - drying out in the mouth, fear - cold sweat. The tone of the muscles of the body also changes. Well, despondency, depression, injustice, fear, insecurity in tomorrow deprive a person of strength, health, opportunities for self-affirmation, and a man even of sexual power.

A direct connection can be traced between a strong shock and, as a result, a stomach ulcer and myocardial infarction. In addition, the upper respiratory tract is exposed to infectious diseases more often in those people who constantly experience stressful situations or lack tenderness and attention in their lives.

A charge of positive emotions

Positive emotions in children develop their creativity

Positive emotions and laughter have a positive effect on human health at any age, and children also help develop creative abilities.

Children smile and laugh about 300 times per day, while adults do it only 15-20 times. Babies just need laughter in the early stages of development.

American scientists have found that laughter activates areas of the brain that are responsible for the development of creativity and creativity. The more positive emotions a child experiences, the more it develops more harmoniously .

Pay more attention entertainment for the child : take him to the circus, to children's events, watch cartoons together, be creative.

physical activity and positive emotions

We all have our favorite things to do and our least favorite ones. We almost always have time and energy for our favorite activities. Unloved activities - even if they are “tasty-healthy” - take a lot of energy, are gladly postponed, postponed, and canceled at any opportunity. It is clear that we get not only benefit from our favorite activities, but, above all, pleasure. Positive emotions. On the other hand, if something very useful, for example, morning exercises, does not give us enough positive emotions, such an activity does not have much chance to gain a foothold in our lives.

in order for training to become a habit, so that it does not cause negative emotions, you need to positively reinforce yourself with something immediately after training.

As a positive reinforcement, anything that leads to pleasant emotions will do. And each athlete intuitively looks for ways for himself - someone goes to the shower, someone lies down on the massage table, someone drinks a sweet protein shake, etc.

Benefits of positive feelings and emotions

Joy, love, calmness, awe, pride - all these positive feelings and emotions can change our thoughts and actions in better side. For example, when we are under the influence of positive emotions and feelings, our level of awareness of what is happening around us increases. We literally see and notice more: the boundaries of the field of peripheral vision are expanding. Negative emotions, on the contrary, narrow the boundaries of our thinking.

People who try to find reasons to be happy more often and experience more positive emotions every day, compared to those who do nothing to experience such emotions more often, develop close relationships with other people more easily, their flexibility and optimism increase, and they become less depressed and more satisfied with their lives.

This does not mean that you need to strive for a constant experience of euphoria, even not very pronounced positive emotions can eventually affect the development and worldview of a person. Also, negative emotions do not need to get rid of: it can be harmful to health. A person needs both positive and negative emotions in a certain ratio, on average, we need at least 3 positive emotions for one negative one. Almost most of us have a quantitative ratio of experienced positive emotions to negative ones - 2 to 1, or even less. The good news is that you can increase the amount of positive emotions in your life, or reduce the amount of negative ones, or both. A lot can help in this, and everyone can determine for himself what causes positive emotions in him, what negative ones, and organize his life taking into account this knowledge.

Why do positive emotions slow down brain aging?

I heard that positive emotions are very useful for the brain of older people - they slow down its aging. What mechanism is at work here?

– Positive emotions lead to the fact that in our body we produce endorphins, the so-called hormones of joy, which protect the brain from the damaging effects of stress. With age, receptors for stress hormones atrophy. If the stress level is high and there are a lot of stress hormones in the body, the brain becomes acidic, free radicals are formed - compounds that destroy any cells, including brain cells.

But you can’t stock up on endorphins for the future. That is why happiness does not last long. Positive emotions need to be fed constantly.

Well if you have philosophical view for life, which allows you to move away from small everyday troubles, not to take them to heart and quickly forget about troubles.

Laugh to your health!

So simple - I laughed for 5 minutes, as if I had slept for 30 minutes. In any case, such a state is experienced by a person. Laughter prolongs life. We noticed that cheerful people endure any stress painlessly. Easily go through life, even get sick less.

Western clinics have long adopted this simple method. The Birmingham International Society for the Study of Laughter has come to a startling conclusion - in a study of cancer patients, the recovery rate was an order of magnitude higher in those who underwent laughter therapy sessions.

Doctors claim that when laughing, endorphins, natural painkillers, are released into the bloodstream, which automatically leads to a decrease in pain threshold. Laughter perfectly helps patients suffering from neuralgic, cardiovascular diseases, prone to frequent mood swings. Laughter relaxes muscle tension. Laugh even when it's not funny.

Have you noticed how contagious someone's laughter is? As soon as one starts laughing heartily, everyone around him immediately picks up his laughter. Excellent therapy. My friends and I in our weekly bath procedures practice laughter therapy for ten to fifteen minutes. Such a spectacle deserves applause. Steamed, imposing bodies in towels, laughing effervescently over someone's prepared joke. After such a bath, you feel rejuvenated and healed for a few more days. Three in one.

Scientists have made another interesting conclusion - the babies of laughing mothers practically do not get colds. That is, dangerous viruses are replaced by healthy laughter. In fact, laughter is a certain breathing exercises. The deeper and richer the laughter, the more forward movements our organs make. The emotional background changes, the entire protective system of the body is regulated.

AT different countries Laughter therapy has been successfully used to treat a variety of diseases. In Japan, tuberculosis is treated with laughter, in India - the heart, lungs and blood vessels, in England - fears are cast out. Positive emotions change the composition of the blood, the human body itself regulates all internal processes and a person is cured of many ailments.

When my friend had her first stroke, she was only 40… They brought the best doctors to their feet, bought the most modern medicines, and she began to get better. But in our hospitals people get sick, but they should get well ... It was decided to hold a session of laughter therapy. There were several more sick women in the ward after suffering strokes. Everyone was on the mend, but full recovery was far away. For the first time, within 15 minutes, I told them funny stories from my life. Everyone showed interest, the mood improved, laughed, asked questions.

The next day, the session (no one called him that, of course!) Increased to 30 minutes. At the end of the week - up to an hour. After 10 days, my friend was discharged. The time of rehabilitation and full recovery was noticeably reduced. All her other friends in the ward were also discharged, a week earlier than usual. She still believes that only laughter raised her to her feet. Now enjoys laughter therapy

Aristotle once uttered the great phrase: "Of all living beings, only man is capable of laughter." In ancient times, this automatically placed man above all other creatures and gave certain privileges. Today, hepotology, a science that studies the effect of laughter on a person, is developing at a tremendous pace. How convenient - no chemicals, no unpleasant procedures. You listen to jokes, comedians (that's who, it turns out, is the best doctor!) And you get healthier. You get pleasant emotions, laugh, have fun and look younger.

Humor is a friend of beauty, health and a beautiful figure. 10 minutes of loud laughter will help burn off the calories gained from eating an impressive chocolate bar. You want and lose weight!

Today in all countries of the world there are clubs of lovers of laughter. Is it not in your city yet? Why don't you personally organize this club? There is even such a direction as medical clowning. A group of specially trained clowns gives their performances in hospitals. Recovery rates in such medical institutions are many times higher than in conventional ones.

Laughing, really, is not a sin ... And what to laugh at - everyone will find for himself!

Positive and negative emotions

Emotion is the source out. It is a way of expressing yourself in life. This is a characteristic of a person's attitude to life.
The emotions people express can be divided into two broad categories. We can think of them as opposites of each other, or we can simply say that there is a dividing line where emotions of one type turn into emotions of another type.
We can call these two types of emotions "negative" and "positive". This is not so much a value judgment, but rather a description of the main action of each group. Ratings as "good" or "bad" are not particularly helpful.
Negative emotions express an attempt or intention to "exclude". Strengthening one's own position at the expense of others. Stay away from bad things, destroy what is perceived as a threat. Negative emotions are fueled by a deep fear of the unknown, a fear of the actions of others, a need to control and hold others so as not to be harmed by them.
Positive emotions express an attempt or intention to "turn on". Consider something in its entirety. Work on learning new points of view, interact more with others, enjoy being better at something. Positive emotions are fueled by a deep desire for enjoyment and unity.
Negative emotions are, for example: indifference, grief, fear, hatred, shame, guilt, regret, indignation, anger, hostility.
Positive emotions are, for example: interest, enthusiasm, boredom, laughter, sympathy, action, curiosity.
Each category has a range of different emotions. We can say that some of them are more positive or more negative than others. But they do not need to be placed on a linear scale for convenience, since each of them is a mixture of several elements.
Some emotions masquerade as positive or negative, but are actually something completely different. There is a kind of pity that seems like genuine concern for others, but is more of a consolation that someone else is worse off. There is an underlying hostility that masquerades as friendliness that may be difficult to recognize at first. Likewise, some types of anger or tears may look negative, but may actually be an expression of concern and concern for the whole. It is not the superficial appearance that matters, but the underlying mechanism and motives.
It may seem that you just need to get rid of negative emotions. But it's not that easy. They have an important purpose. In fact, they show that there is something that a person does not know and cannot cope with. If negative emotions become a stimulus for learning and dealing with something, they are very helpful. If a person is always joyful, he may not notice what is wrong.
Positive and negative emotions are opposites. It is impossible to get rid of one and leave only the other. Ultimately, they need to be combined into one whole.
The client's negative emotion usually directs us to areas that need to be worked on. It shows us that there is something here that the individual cannot cope with. We make it so that she can handle it and transform it into something more useful and joyful.
Negative emotions are useful as an incentive to get away from unwanted things. Positive emotions are useful as an incentive to move towards the desired.
Trouble comes when parts of this system get stuck. Especially when the functions of emotions are reversed and the person begins to move towards what she does not want. Therefore, stuck negative emotions are a prime target for processing.
People can express all sorts of combinations of these emotions. Some people remain stuck in a negative emotion almost all the time, such as grief. Others remain stuck in the positive, such as contentment, and fail to experience negative emotions even when they need to.
Some people in stressful situations react according to certain emotional patterns. For example, a person may have hidden grief or fear that is triggered by certain circumstances. A casual remark can push a button that releases pent-up anger.
The purpose of processing is to make people more fluid in their emotions, able to use any most suitable emotion, and able to use their full range if necessary. A flexible and mobile person is likely to prefer to live in a positive frame of mind. But in fact, the goal is to unite into one whole, to go beyond the scope of the positive/negative idea in general.

AT last years There are more and more studies demonstrating the connection between positive emotions and human health. Their results convincingly prove that overall good physical condition is closely related to life satisfaction and positive emotions, normal self-esteem. Overall, these findings are in line with long-standing observations and intuitions that positive emotions “fuel” good health. Today, scientists around the world are trying to understand the mechanism of this “feeding” and answer the question: how do positive emotions manifest themselves at the physical level.

Positive emotions and heart

Numerous studies have shown that people who suffer from depression and anxiety are at greater risk of heart disease.

The same study showed that positive emotions can protect against coronary disease (ischemic or coronary heart disease - a violation of the blood supply to the heart muscle due to damage to the coronary arteries of the heart) and reduce the risk of premature death by 50%.

A large-scale study on this topic was conducted at the Center for Cardiovascular Health at the Columbia University Medical Center. For ten years, the specialists of the center observed the participants in the experiment. The group of 1739 people included men (862) and women (877), whose average age was 46.2 years. All participants were healthy at the start of the experiment, no one had previously had problems with the heart and blood vessels. Participants were also tested for emotional condition. Ratings ranged from 1 (no positive emotions expressed) to 5 (very strong positive emotions).

During ten years of observation, 145 cases of coronary heart disease were registered in the group, of which 9 were fatal.

Next, the experts involved statistical methods and conducted a regression analysis linking the level positive emotions and the risk of coronary heart disease. It turned out that the proportion of diseases decreases by 22% with an increase in the level positive emotions for every unit. That is, those who received 1 point (zero positive emotions) are 22% more likely to get sick than those who get 2, and those who get 22% more than those who get 3, and so on.

Scientists explain the results obtained by several mechanisms.

First, high level positive emotions provides best work parasympathetic nervous system (it reduces the frequency and strength of heart contractions at rest).
Secondly, such individuals cope with stress faster, without bringing the body to physical exhaustion.
Thirdly, positive emotions provide healthy sleep.

Based on the data obtained, scientists advise those who want to maintain health to saturate their lives positive emotions. To do this, you need to follow simple recommendations: do something that brings joy more often, whether it is an interesting hobby, chatting with friends, reading, traveling, sports, even a little good alcohol will not hurt.

How it works

The leading role in the emergence of various feelings belongs to the cerebral cortex. This discovery belongs to the outstanding Russian physiologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, who once proved that it is the cortex that regulates the flow and expression of emotions. She keeps under her control all the phenomena occurring in the body, has an inhibitory effect on the subcortical centers and controls them. Arising in the cerebral cortex, the physiological process extends to the underlying subcortical centers. Although the whole brain is involved in the emergence of emotional states, electrophysiological studies have shown the great importance of special formations of the nervous system. They are also called the centers of emotions. The most important of these brain structures is the hypothalamus.

On the other hand, the hypothalamus is closely related to the pituitary gland, other brain structures and endocrine organs. Therefore, the excitation of the emotional centers causes changes throughout the body.

As the experiments show, positive emotions restore all physiological processes. During laughter, joy, happiness, the so-called "hormones of happiness" - catecholamines - are released. It is they that prevent inflammation, and other hormones, endorphins, generally act like morphine and are able to suppress pain.

With emotional experiences, blood circulation changes: the heartbeat quickens or slows down, the tone of blood vessels changes, blood pressure decreases or rises. As a result, during some experiences a person blushes, and during others - turns pale. At positive emotions blood flow to the skin is increased. She blushes and warms up. Besides, positive emotions are beneficial on the composition of the blood.

Under the influence of emotions, the rhythm of breathing also changes. With strong excitement, a person can suffocate. In addition, the upper respiratory tract is exposed to infectious diseases more often in those people who constantly experience stressful situations or lack tenderness and attention in their lives. Conversely, with positive emotions, breathing becomes more frequent, deep and light, which activates the work of the heart.

Under the influence of stress, the functioning of the secretory glands is also disrupted - grief causes profuse lacrimation, excitement - drying out in the mouth, fear - cold sweat. The tone of the muscles of the body also changes.

Positive emotions reduce stress and its consequences, while reducing the concentration of stress hormones - norepinephrine, cortisol and dopamine, trigger processes that strengthen the immune system and increase our resistance to various diseases. It is known, for example, that optimistic people are less likely to get colds, and, conversely, those people who are deprived of emotional balance are more at risk of catching a cold. American scientists who studied the relationship between stress and colds found that a period of severe stress often coincides exactly with the incubation period of a cold.

In fact, everything is more complicated here, and when reaching the goal, when getting what a person wanted, both spiritual emptiness and disappointment can be an experience - due to the fact, the experience is determined not so much by the situation as by the personal characteristics of a person.

Positive emotions, apparently, should be distinguished from "positive" emotions and feelings. Positive emotions and states are those that receive a positive assessment from the person himself and / or others. Most positive emotions are quite the same as positive ones, and "joy at meeting" is usually both a positive and a positive emotion. However, sometimes there is an obvious discrepancy between positive and positive emotions.

The pleasure of eating is a positive emotion, but the pleasure of eating can irritate someone who wants to lose weight, and a person can consider food pleasure as a negative, harmful experience for himself.

On the other hand, if self-dissatisfaction prompts a person to get up off the couch and start doing something, he will evaluate the negative experience of "self-dissatisfaction" as a positive state for himself.

It is difficult to give a list of positive emotions. It can be joy, enthusiasm, fun, interest, daydreaming, pleasure, etc., but children also often like to be afraid, like to suffer and feel sorry for themselves. There are people who take special pleasure in inflicting pain on themselves ...

The benefits and harms of positive emotions

Oddly enough, the question of the benefits and harms of positive emotions is very difficult. We recommend reading serious articles both about the benefits of positive emotions and their harm, more precisely about the greater benefits of negative emotions. Speaking about the meaning of positive emotions, in any case, it is worth highlighting the following points.

This is the feeding of others: I charge the others with my joy, I buy them with my joy.
It's a way to get attention. I help solve their problems with my energy, my confidence and cheerfulness.
This is normal trading, when I solve other people's problems with my positive emotions, show them joy. Therefore, positive (positive) emotions are welcome in every possible way, if it is not only attracting attention, taking away and diverting attention from what is important to you.