Our daily obligations can lead us to very deep levels of stress and discomfort. Despite not being going through a good time, we decided to move forward as if nothing was happening, with the mistaken idea that we will forget about the negative sensations. However, the truth is that anger, anguish, discomfort, uncertainty and/or impulsivity will not disappear on their own and will manifest in a way unknown to us. In these cases, reflecting on the effect of the events that have happened to us and to other people can be an important help.
In this Psychology-Online article we will explain how to identify emotions.
How to identify your own emotions
Understanding internal sensations can be of great help to be able to carry out all types of activities without major inconveniences. Next, we explain how you can identify your emotions:
Keep a record of thoughts, emotions and behaviors
First of all, a good way to identify your own emotions is write on some document about the situations that have caused certain sensations in you. This way, you will be able to identify how exactly you felt in a particular situation.
Furthermore, implicitly, this method will also help you gain greater self-knowledge.
Appeal to thought prior to action
This technique corresponds to the fact that reflect on something that happened and understand what emotion it has generated in us. When thinking prior to action is appealed to, an identification of the emotion occurs to avoid conflicts.
Find the source of the problem
Sometimes we tend to displace an emotion onto other people even though it has nothing to do with our problem. In this way, personal aspects that usually cause discomfort are externalized. In these cases, it is convenient find the source of the problem to understand the emotions have come to light.
Perform psychological therapy
If the situations that arise in your life generate worries that you are not able to control yourself, go to a health professional mental It can be a valuable tool when facing difficulties. However, in some cases this step involves recognizing our responsibility for what happens to us.
Practice mindfulness
Finally, this type of approach focuses on the thoughts and emotions that a person has in the present to produce a greater register of one’s emotions. If you want to know more about this technique, you will find in the following article.
How to identify the emotions of others
Beyond the personal knowledge that a person may have of himself, understanding the environment is a fundamental step to be able to live together in harmony. In the following items, we will develop how to identify the emotions of others:
Develop empathy
A good way to identify the emotions of others is put yourself in the other person’s shoes. In general terms, it is achieved when someone asks themselves what emotion they would feel in a certain situation.
Pay attention to non-verbal language
Communication is not limited to words alone. Gestures, in fact, are a crucial aspect that must be taken into account when trying to understand other people’s emotions. For that reason, know the gestures and behaviors that accompany words is a very effective tool.
Understand the context
When entering into a dialogue with another person, the environment that surrounds them should not be left aside since it will determine the predominant type of emotion. For this reason, understanding the context will help you more easily identify other people’s emotions.
Think about similar personal situations
Sometimes other people’s gestures and words can be familiar to us and seem similar to our own. Therefore, establish a internal comparison between the emotions of others and personal emotions can help identify the emotions of others.
Listen to the tone of voice
The way we express situations also plays a transcendental role when we relate to others. Therefore, if we learn to listen to the tone of voice that arises in the story of a certain situation, we will be able to better identify the other person’s emotions.
Benefits of learning to identify emotions
As you have seen in the previous sections, emotional recognition can help you improve both personally and in social interaction. Some benefits of learning to identify emotions are:
- Allows you to build better social ties: This comes from the ability to reflect and generate the necessary empathy with the interlocutor.
- Greater self-control: If people know themselves internally, there is a high probability of acquiring high levels of self-control in complex situations.
- Strength development: based on the necessary reflection on the points to improve, it is possible to develop strengths that allow for healthy and lasting bonds over time.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Melamed, A.F. (2016). Theories of emotions and their relationship with cognition: an analysis from the philosophy of mind. Notebooks of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences – National University of Jujuy1 (49), 13-38.