Let’s start with a simple riddle:

Below you will notice 6 different icons representing different emotions. Try to name each of them and then think about what an emotion is to you. What definition would you give to this term?

You have just managed to recognize 6 basic emotions: (in order: joy, sadness, anger, disgust, fear, and surprise).

Fortunately, joy prevails in our lives!

Happiness is one of the many emotions that accompany us throughout our lives. In theory, emotions can be divided into good and bad. This division means that some of them improve our quality of life and level of positive thinking, while others do the opposite. However, some people prefer not to distinguish between positive and negative emotions. I am also one of them.

Consider a situation in which you have a very important speech to give. You start to feel mildly stressed. How will your stress level affect your speech? I have asked this question to many people. If you have answered this question yourself, see what others think:

Agnieszka, age 23

Stress always paralyzes me. I get so nervous that my body becomes stiff and stops cooperating with me. I sweat and shake. A few months ago, my brother was getting married and I was supposed to do a short speech as a sister.

It turned out that I didn’t say anything. I just wouldn’t have been able to do it.

Adrian, 29

I feel a thrill when I have to perform in public. It motivates me to act and I feel more mobilized.

I perform in public quite often. I can safely say that if I didn’t feel stressed before I spoke – it would become indifferent to me, and that would kill all the passion.

This is exactly why I don’t like to categorize, it into bad and good. I think you can see from the above reviews what I mean. It is no coincidence that I have chosen these very voices. Here in the descriptions, there is the complete opposite of perception. This is exactly how it can be for us. Some people are motivated by stress, others are demotivated by it. One will gain confidence and mobilization, while the other will not be able to get a single word out.

This is why techniques to help deal with sudden surges of emotion are so important. We’ll get to them in a moment, but first I’d like to give you an idea of what emotions are. Earlier you were asked to think about your definition. Now you can read mine and see if they have anything in common.

Emotions are:

short, temporary states of our organism that trigger a variety of reactions.
they are conscious or unconscious feelings characterized by a strong power of experiencing
moments whose role is to release tension.
At moments when you feel that your emotions are starting to take control of you, it is worth using a few preventive methods. Emotions are, as I have already mentioned, states which provoke a variety of reactions. They also act in the area of physiological arousal, i.e. changes in the nervous and endocrine systems, and changes in the internal organs and muscles. This can be manifested by a faster heartbeat, higher blood pressure, sweating, or accelerated breathing.

How to deal with difficult emotions?

1. calmness, meditation, and breathing

Try to breathe deeply. Inhale slowly for 5 seconds and let the air out just as slowly for 5 seconds. Do several repetitions. Breathing deeply in this way will cause your body to quiet down and calm down. When this happens, begin to focus on your inner self. Feel how your heart works, and how your blood flows. Feel how you calm down. How the breath has affected the rest of your body? Set your mind to the fact that everything is at peace!

2. Visualize the emotion

Imagine the emotion as a small creature. Imagine what it looks like, what color it is, what shape it is, and what size it is. Think about what happens to it when an emotion that is hard for you creeps into your head. Is the little monster growing? At any time when you can’t cope with your emotions, imagine this monster. Imagine how, under the influence of emotion, he grows bigger and bigger until he finally explodes! And he is gone! You are free!

3. Give up some energy

In a moment of strong emotional arousal, it is a good idea to discharge some of the emotions that are sitting inside you. Stand on your feet and stomp on the ground with all your strength. While doing this, you can shout the name of the emotion you want to get rid of. You can shout out the reason for your anger. Do this for a few minutes until you become tired. You will see how your whole body calms down after this simple yet intense exercise.

Emotion hierarchy task.

Think about what emotions are most important to you to have a successful day. On the other hand, write down the emotion that you would rather not experience because it makes you feel negative.

Divide the sheet of paper into two parts and write down these emotions. Mark which ones are most important to you and the ones you experience most often. Keep this exercise as you will need it for the later parts of the cycle.

The second part of the cycle will be based on recognizing emotions in others. We will consider together what emotions are most often experienced in the environment you surround yourself with. You will learn in this part how the emotions of others affect you and, conversely, how your emotions affect others. In this part we will focus on observation, you will have a very interesting and developmental task that will help you to understand other people. This understanding, in turn, will correlate with your emotions. You will find out for yourself.