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The Ultimate List of Emotions To Better Understand Yourself and Others

emotions Feb 19, 2022

Have you ever wondered why you have emotions? And why they influence you in such a way that sometimes takes you by surprise?

Why do you feel joy or depression? Why do you experience wonder or sympathy?

Sometimes, it’s hard to define your emotions or to put into words exactly how you’re feeling. 

That’s why I’ve put together this list of emotions — to give clarity to the assortment of feelings you and those around you may have.

Let’s explore the reason this list of emotions and feelings can be useful for you.

Why Do We Need Words to describe your Feelings?

The words we use to describe our emotions help us identify and communicate the various components of a feeling.

Sometimes our emotions are so confusing, intense, or overwhelming that we’re at a loss as to how to express them or even categorise them. Feeling words may not entirely reflect the depth and breadth of our innermost feelings, but they are the best tools we have for harnessing our feelings, understanding them, and sharing them with others.

 They can also help us better understand and empathise with others. A list of feeling words can be the perfect resource when:

  • You want to communicate with someone (verbally or in writing) what you are feeling.
  • You want to improve your emotional intelligence to better understand yourself and others.
  • You are telling a story, writing a book/poem/play/blog/song and need just the right word.
  • You can’t identify exactly what you are feeling and need the right word to describe it.

 Identifying, recognising, and sharing emotions are essential to our self-awareness and personal growth. It’s essential for healthy relationships in our personal and professional lives.

Emotions are inconsistent and unpredictable. Words harness emotions so that we can interpret and share them.

You may remember saying either being told by your parents or telling your own children when they were flooded with emotion, “Use your words.” Using words can help children and adults alike prevent conflict, misunderstandings, and hurt feelings.

When our physical expressions of emotion betray us, words can come to the rescue with their solid and practical presence. Learning and understanding more words that could best describe your feelings will help you to not only understand how you are feeling better but also help you to better describe how you are feeling to others.

What Are The 8 Basic Emotions?

Renowned psychologist and emotion researcher, Robert Plutchik, suggested there are just eight basic emotions:

  • Anger
  • Fear
  • Sadness
  • Disgust
  • Surprise
  • Anticipation
  • Trust
  • Joy

 He argued that each of these emotions triggers behaviour with a high survival value, such as our fight or flight response to fear.

But these eight emotional words don’t express the range of all the feelings we experience. They don’t reflect the subtleties of our complex feelings, and our emotions can be very subtle and complex.

There are actually over 400 words to better help you grasp the variety of emotions you and those around you are experiencing.

What Are Emotions and Why Do We Need Them?

Emotions are biological states that are connected to your nervous system. They are triggered by physical and mental stimulus such as experiences and thoughts.

Emotions let you know what to do in any given situation. They can help you avoid danger or a potential threat. They let you know when you are in love and to build friendships.

If your heart skips a beat, when you are in a perceived, dangerous, situation. That’s your cue to take action to remove yourself from that dangerous situation. Your emotions are trying to give you clues as to what to do.

  • Emotions also motivate you to take action. If you are in an abusive relationship and you start to see the warning signs, that’s your cue to set boundaries (or, in the worst-case scenario, get out of the relationship).
  • Emotions also clue you in on your likes and dislikes. If you feel angry because your colleague is taking credit for your hard work, you may want to sign the projects and make them a PDF the next time you send them to your boss.
  • Emotions also help others to understand you and what you feel. Your expressions, body language, and words all reflect your inner world to those around you.
  • Emotions are crucial to effective communication. You can let someone know whether their behaviour is acceptable by displaying a specific nonverbal cue, like walking away. By the same token, others can let you know how they feel using similar nonverbal cues.

 Granted, emotions manifest differently for different people. Some may show enthusiasm for sports and music but not video games or writing poetry, while others may be the opposite.

Horror movies may genuinely scare you, while others may see them as pure entertainment.

In any case, being aware of how you feel at any time is a vital skill.

When you can name your emotion and understand them before they get the better of you, your feelings and emotions can serve as a guide (rather than a hindrance) to living your daily life. I will be going more in future blogs when I explain what the 11 Universal Laws are and what the 10 energy bodies are and how they can influence and enhance your life.

How to talk about your Feelings

Emotions are an essential part of who you are, but they can be disorganised, problematic, and downright confusing sometimes. Knowing how to name them and talk about them — with both yourself and others — is a key part of developing your emotional intelligence

You don’t have to navigate this process on your own. Fortunately Paul Ekman, a psychologist and leading researcher on emotions, surveyed more than 100 scientists and used their findings to develop what’s known as the Atlas of Emotions.

This online interactive tool breaks down emotions into five main categories:

  • anger
  • fear
  • sadness
  • disgust
  • enjoyment

Keep in mind that this is just one way of categorising emotions. For example, a recent study suggests that there are 27 categories of emotion. But Ekman’s concept of five main types of emotion offers a good framework for breaking down the complexity of all the feels.

Here’s a look at what each of these five categories involves.

  1. Enjoyment

People generally like to feel happy, calm, and safe. You might express these feelings by smiling, laughing, or indulging yourself.

You might feel enjoyment when:

  • you feel close and connected to people you care about
  • you feel safe and secure
  • you’re doing something that triggers sensory pleasure
  • you’re engaged in an activity
  • you feel relaxed and at peace

Some words you can use to describe different kinds of enjoyment include:

  • happiness
  • love
  • relief
  • contentment
  • amusement
  • joy
  • pride
  • excitement
  • peace
  • satisfaction
  • compassion

If enjoyment and its related feelings feel hard to put your finger on, try to take a look at other emotions or feelings that may be getting in the way, such as:

  • trouble focusing on what’s happening in the present
  • worry
  • stress
  • a low or anxious mood
  1. Sadness

Everyone feels sad from time to time. This emotion might relate to a specific event, such as a loss or rejection. But in other cases, you might have no idea why you feel sad.

How to talk about it

When you’re sad, you might describe yourself as feeling:

  • lonely
  • heartbroken
  • gloomy
  • disappointed
  • hopeless
  • grieved
  • unhappy
  • lost
  • troubled
  • resigned
  • miserable

Sadness can be hard to shake, but depending on your situation, these tips might help:

  • Do something meaningful. Doing something to help others or give back to society can help you feel more connected to other people.
  • Reach out for support. This is easier said than done when you’re in a low point. Try to remember the people in your life who care for you and likely want to help you. The pain of heartache does ease in time, even if you can’t imagine that at the moment.

If your sadness lingers or begins to have a significant impact on daily life and makes it hard to work, go to school, or maintain your relationships, it may help to talk to a therapist.

Fear

Fear happens when you sense any type of threat. Depending on that perceived threat, fear can range from mild to severe. But I am talking about “real” fear here from a situation like a car/train or plane accident or fear from being attacked. Not the fear that we can we put on ourselves which is a whole other topic which is False Evidence Appearing Real.

Keep in mind that the level of fear you feel doesn’t always match up with the intensity of the threat. For example, if you live with anxiety, you might feel fear around situations that don’t actually pose much of a threat — though that doesn’t make the fear any less real.

How to talk about it

Fear can make you feel:

  • worried
  • doubtful
  • nervous
  • anxious
  • terrified
  • panicked
  • horrified
  • desperate
  • confused
  • stressed

Fear is a totally normal emotion — and one that likely kept your ancestors from being eaten alive — but there are things you can do to combat it:

  • Distract yourself from your fear. Sometimes fear can become so overwhelming that it’s hard to think about anything else. But ruminating, or letting the same thoughts play out over and over again, can have a negative impact on your emotional state. It can also make fear worse. If you feel yourself fixating on a worry or source of stress, try something distracting. Listen to an audiobook or podcast, cook with a new recipe you have to concentrate on, or go for a walk or jog with some energising music.
  • Confront fear instead of avoiding it. If you’re afraid of something, whether it’s a serious discussion, meeting new people, or driving, it’s natural to want to stay away from the source of your fear. But this can often just make your fear worse. Instead, try to face your fear safely. For example, if you suddenly develop a fear of driving, get back in your car and drive again right away. Stick close to home at first if it helps, but don’t avoid it.
  • Consider the fear logically. Take a moment to think about your fear. Is there anything you can do about it? Can it actually harm you? What’s the worst thing that could happen if your fear came true? What would you do in that scenario? Knowing how you would deal with your fear can help you feel less afraid.

Don’t get discouraged if these tips seem impossible or overwhelming — they can be hard to accomplish on your own. Consider working with a therapist, for more server conditions who can help you navigate panic attacks, phobias, anxiety, and other mental health issues around fear. Or a life coach for more, self-development work.

  1. Anger

Anger usually happens when you experience some type of injustice. This experience can make you feel threatened, helpless, and unable to defend yourself. Many people think of anger as a negative thing, but it’s a normal emotion that can help you know when a situation has become toxic. It can make you freeze either to the spot or knowing what to say. This happens when anger is in control of you rather when you are in control of it.

How to talk about it

Words you might use when you feel angry include:

  • annoyed
  • frustrated
  • peeved
  • contrary
  • bitter
  • infuriated
  • irritated
  • mad
  • cheated
  • vengeful
  • insulted

There are a lot of ways to deal with anger, many of which can cause problems for you and those around you.

The next time you find yourself in this state, try these tips for managing anger in a more productive way:

  • Take a break. When you feel frustrated, putting some distance between yourself and the situation upsetting you can help you avoid angry outbursts and in-the-moment reactions. Meditating, taking a walk or listening to calming music. While away, take a few minutes to consider what’s causing your anger. Does the situation have another perspective? Can you do anything to make it better? Remember that when someone is angry towards you, it is themselves that they are really angry with or jealous of, you are just the person that happens to be in front of them at the time of their outburst.
  • Express your anger constructively. You might avoid talking about your anger to help prevent conflict. Internalising can seem like a safe strategy, but your anger can fester and you may end up nursing a grudge. This can affect your interpersonal relationships as well as your emotional well-being. Instead, take time to cool off if you need it, then try expressing your feelings calmly and respectfully. Being creative in an artistic way can help you process your emotions and in those moments a solution to the conflict will be easier to recognise.
  • Focus on finding a solution. Anger is often difficult to deal with because it makes you feel helpless. This is because when you are in a state of anger all reasoning leaves you and you go on the defensive. Working to solve the problem that’s causing your anger can help relieve this frustration.  There are many ways you can do this on an external level like, doing something to bring about some improvement. You can also try asking your loved ones for their input. Different perspectives can help you consider solutions you may not have seen yourself. But going within to find a place of calm and understanding should always be your first step, as this allows you to think with a clear mind.

Everyone gets angry from time to time. But if you feel like you have anger issues, a therapist or coach can help you develop effective tools for dealing with these emotions.

  1. Disgust

You typically experience disgust as a reaction to unpleasant or unwanted situations. Like anger, feelings of disgust can help to protect from things you want to avoid. Disgust can also show you your values, what you are prepared or not prepared to put up with from someone else behaviour.

It can also pose problems if it leads you to dislike certain people, including yourself, or situations that aren’t necessarily bad for you.

How to talk about it

Disgust might cause you to feel:

  • dislike
  • revulsion
  • loathing
  • disapproving
  • offended
  • horrified
  • uncomfortable
  • nauseated
  • disturbed
  • withdrawal
  • aversion

Disgust can happen as a natural response to something you dislike. In some situations, you might want to work through or overcome your disgust. These strategies can help:

  • Focus on the behaviour, not the person. If someone you care for does something that offends or disgusts you, you may disapprove and react by withdrawing, pushing them away, or getting angry. But instead, you might try talking to that person. For example, if your sister smokes, avoid coughing loudly or making pointed comments about the smell of stale tobacco. Instead, tell her that cigarette smoke makes you feel sick and that you’re concerned for her health. Offer to help her quit or work with her on finding support.
  • Practice compassion. It’s common to feel uncomfortable when facing things you don’t understand. Many people dislike being around sick people, this is an underlying feeling of your own mortality, for example. If you feel disturbed when thinking about sick people, try spending some time with an unwell friend or loved one or offering to help them out. It’s important to take steps to protect your own health, so make sure they aren’t contagious first. Showing compassion to others also helps you show compassion to yourself.

If you feel strong dislike toward a group of people, a specific person, or toward yourself, consider talking to a life coach about your feelings (noticing a theme here?).

Even if you aren’t sure exactly what’s behind your disgust, they can help you work through the emotion and explore positive ways of coping with it.

Putting it all together

Emotions can be complicated. Some might feel intense, while others seem mild in comparison. You might feel conflicting emotions at any given time.

But our emotions are there to serve a purpose, even when they’re negative. They are a sign post for you to follow whether they are positive or negative

Instead of trying to change the emotions you experience, consider how you react to them. It’s usually the reactions that create challenges, not the emotions themselves.

If you want to learn more about your emotions then I invite you to join the waitlist for my program The Elemental Journey

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