You are not your feelings

[reeay]

so when one experiences an emotion, it is like a signalling for something.

what is the next step then, do you think?

how can we dig deeper, and locate the thing that is being signalled by the emotion?

Examine how we interpret the emotional experience.

We interpret experience thru our beliefs, our broader world views, our biases & assumptions and so forth. This organizing principles of how we interpret/understand the world is called 'emotional schemes'. I think this is akin to what Jungians call 'complexes' of the personal unconscious. Same thing basically, but emotional schemes are very specifically tied into how certain emotions affect how we process information.

e.g. (hypothetical), I notice this sense of sadness --> I believe sadness is a sign of weakness --> anger seems to be more effective in resolving this type of situation; I'm more comfortable showing anger than sadness --> people just don't understand me; maybe I'm not likable; I'm always going to be alone --> maybe I am weak and not lovable.

There's a lot of meaning making here. Lots of things to look at. Lots of misunderstandings to examine. In the example, person is not comfortable being honest & not OK w/ being sad. The person learned somewhere that sadness means he/she is weak. Maybe the person associated sadness with being alone and not understood. Therefore person can come to a conclusion that he/she is alone, misunderstood, and flawed. We then have a problem.

Emotions can trigger the emotional schemes to make all sorts of assumptions about the situation & self & relationship w/ other self.

Theoretically speaking, it's been hypothesized that the brain box can only notice & process one emotion at a time. In essence we can be experiencing a complex set of contrary emotions around one situation. Yet we picked up on that one emotion. Why?

I've personally found that emotions triggered in 'real time' or in real-life interactions can sort of 'stick' for a while in consciousness, but one is not able to process those emotions because one is in the middle of talking to someone, or one is required to devote the attention to continue one's task at work. In that case, the emotion might stay with me, or it might fade away as the mind moves elsewhere, but I make a mental note of the trigger and try to process it later when I have some free time.

Yeah definitely. We can recreate emotional situations even when we're not in the middle of something. If we were to push it away and it fades, it'll just be shelved in our unconscious. We might process that when we dream but it's still there... waiting.

People have different thresholds to tolerate painful experiences. Some have a tendency to internalize emotions (keep it in), some externalize (show it), some cut-off from emotions and attempt to stay more 'rational', some get swept off by emotions. If I am prone to emotional-flooding I may get swept off with the rushing waters and so processing the situation may be difficult. I would need to find ways to deal with emotional flooding so I can attend to understanding what my emotional response is saying to me. If I am more restricted in how I experience emotions and am comfy with thinking things thru, then I would want to figure out how to take a more balanced approach bc I might miss out on what the emotional signal is trying to tell me.

Recent research showed that when people respond to their emotions (interpret them) in a positive and growth-promoting light, there is more opportunity for creative problem solving.

So how do we interpret catalyst positively?