Emotions impact your body’s physical responses and mental state. Managing them well can prevent negative health effects.
Emotions can be divided into two categories: basic and complex.
Basic emotions are associated with recognizable facial expressions and tend to happen automatically. The six basic emotions are:
Typically, these emotions are fundamental to human behavior and are often present from birth.
Complex emotions do not have universal or recognizable facial features. Some examples of complex emotions include:
There are many complex emotions not listed above. Complex emotions are typically a combination of two or more emotions. For instance, hate could be a combination of jealousy, anger, and disgust.
While emotions originate in your brain’s limbic system, their purpose is to activate your body. Some speculate that this activation happens through the vagus nerve—the nerve that connects your brain to your body.
Each emotion you feel is designed to provoke a certain reaction in your body through hard-wired sensations and impulses. These hard-wired responses are believed to be there to ensure your survival.
For instance, feeling angry may trigger a fight response, while feeling fearful may cause you to flee (a “flight” response).
These impulses can sometimes cause people to do or say things they wish they didn’t—especially if they are unable to recognize why they are feeling the way they do. It’s important to find ways not to act on every impulse and choose to respond in a different, healthy way.
No emotion is truly “bad” or negative. Instead, negative emotions are a signal that something is wrong and needs to be addressed.
That said, if you struggle to manage these negative emotions or attempt to ignore or repress them when they crop up, this could negatively affect your mental health.
When negative emotions persist for a long period of time—like chronic sadness, anger, or fear—this can lead to depression, anxiety, and substance use.
If you can recognize negative emotions, manage those feelings, and move beyond them, this is called resilience. Resilient people often have more positive emotions, reframe negative thought patterns, and feel a sense of purpose even when life is hard.
Though optimism and hope are linked to better health and personal success, they also can be damaging to your mental health if you only engage in positive thinking. This is known as toxic positivity.
When considering your emotions, strive for a balance between your negative and positive ones. Remember, negative emotions serve a purpose in your life and can even encourage you to make healthy and much-needed changes.
People who have a positive outlook on life tend to have better overall health, including lower blood pressure and blood sugar levels and a reduced risk for heart disease. Positive emotions may lead to better health, having good health may lead to positive emotions, or both.
Experiencing positive emotions may affect your recovery when you are sick or injured, and may even influence survival rates.
Meanwhile, people who have trouble managing their emotions effectively or have chronic high stress levels may be more likely to experience chronic health conditions and increase their risk of early death.
If you are looking for ways to better manage your emotions, here are some research-backed tips on what you could do:
- Acknowledge how you’re feeling: Acknowledging your feelings not only helps you notice your emotions but also helps you address any issues that may be causing them.
- Reframe your thinking: Changing the way you think about something can help you experience different emotions. For instance, when something makes you sad, you could look for the positive in it and focus on that instead. You may still be sad, but it won’t be as all-consuming, and may be easier to manage.
- Set a timer: Coping with negative emotions like sadness, grief, or even anger is not about denying or repressing your feelings, but about not letting them take over your life. If you find yourself consumed by a particular negative emotion, allow yourself to feel it fully, but put a time limit on it, say 30 minutes, and do your best to express it during this time.
- Spend time in nature: Spending time outside, especially in a park or another green space, improves mood. Even taking a moment to notice the trees in a busy city can help calm your mind.
- Make sleep a priority: Getting enough sleep is as important for your emotional health as it is for your physical health. It can be difficult to fall asleep when you’re experiencing stress or feeling heavy emotions. Try taking a warm bath, reading a book, or keeping your room cool before bed.
- Try mindful meditation: Meditation is a scientifically approved way to reduce stress and calm your mind. If you feel overcome with emotion, find a quiet place, take a few deep breaths, and focus on the present moment.
- Use relaxation techniques: Breathing exercises and other relaxation techniques (like stretching or yoga) can help calm negative emotions. Specifically, breathing slowly can help change your body’s physical response to negative emotions. It can also be particularly helpful for dealing with anger or fear.
- Engage in physical activity: Whether you go for a run to clear your head or take a boxing class to express some of your anger, being physically active can help you cope with negative emotions and manage them more effectively. The most important thing is to find exercises that you enjoy.
Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize not only your own emotions but also the emotions of others.
Emotionally intelligent people are self-aware and able to manage their emotions and impulses. They also tend to be empathetic and can read the room. In other words, they pick up on emotional cues and recognize the emotional dynamics of those around them, allowing them to communicate clearly and manage conflict effectively.
If you want to improve your emotional intelligence, the first step is to understand your own emotions. Pay attention to how you feel and why, and you will be better equipped to understand others’ emotions.
