Positive Emotions: Types, Characteristics And Effects On The Human Mind
We all want them, there are even those who could be said to crave them. There is no doubt that positive emotions are something desired by everyone but that we can rarely have.
The ideal thing for our mental health and adaptation to our social environment is to have the right balance between positive emotions and negative emotions, although it is true that the former contribute a lot to general health.
Next we will see the positive emotions emphasizing its importance in the proper development and maintenance of a good state of health, in addition to seeing some of the main ones.
Throughout the day we can feel many emotions. Whatever the reason, Our mood can go up like a roller coaster and this is totally normal and healthy, as long as it is within healthy parameters Their thing is not to have a mood that is too low (e.g., depression) or too high (e.g., euphoria), but rather to express the wide spectrum of human emotions within euthymia and in an adaptive way in the face of our environment. social and personal.
Very commonly, emotions are usually classified in terms of positive and negative. Although this is correct, it can lead to an error, interpreting that the former are intrinsically “good” while the latter would be “bad.” This idea is wrong because, both positive and negative, all of them are useful in our daily lives, as long as we feel them when appropriate. All emotions are necessary, legitimate and valid.
But even though it is “correct” to feel any type of emotion, it is clear that we prefer positive ones over negative ones. It is very important that there is an adequate balance between these two types of emotions but, also, and As long as we don’t overdo it with euphoria, positive emotions usually do us more good than harm and doing everything possible to attract them into our lives is a good way to achieve mental health. That is why we are going to focus on them, understanding their importance.
What are emotions?
But before going fully into positive emotions, let’s go in parts: what are emotions? This question may seem somewhat obvious, but it is necessary to briefly explain what they consist of. There are several definitions that we can give for emotions, describing them as very intense feelings produced by an event, a memory, an idea… something that we have perceived and felt very deeply in our being.
The word “emotion” comes from the Latin “movere,” which means “to move outward.” Understanding their etymological origin, we can see emotions as motors, something that gives us an impulse, a force to carry out a certain behavior.
When an emotion occurs, it leads us to take a path of action, distancing ourselves from another If we are happy, we move towards pleasant things because we want them to last, while if we are sad we move away from what has hurt us to reduce this feeling as soon as possible.
What are the positive emotions?
Basically, positive emotions are all those that are related to pleasant feelings, those that arise as a consequence of the fact that we have interpreted or understood a certain situation as beneficial. Examples of this type of emotions are joy or happiness, emotions that generally last a short time and we want to stretch them as long as possible.
A positive mood is related to multiple benefits. A happy, happy and motivated person is a person with better memory, attention, retention of information and awareness of living in the moment, allowing for better management of several concepts and tasks at the same time, which is why from the psychology of work and education There is so much interest in keeping the worker and the student in a good mood. positive emotions attract productivity and excellence
Although we have previously commented that adaptive is the balance between positive and negative emotions, making us people adapted to our context, it is true that the presence and attraction of positive emotions is considered to be a good indicator of health Positive emotions, the more present they are in our lives, the better mental health we will enjoy, as long as there is reason to feel them.
Having a positive emotional style plays a very important role in our health. We can understand this from the opposite side: sadness, anxiety and demotivation can make a person not take their physical health so seriously, not play sports, not control what they eat or take risks that are harmful to their integrity. On the other hand, if you are happy and have a desire to live, you can lead a healthy lifestyle, handle adversity better and take care of your body and mind.
Finally we will mention the main positive emotions that we can manifest. Actually, the list of emotions of this type can be made as long as desired, depending on the criteria used to consider a genuine emotion as a mood. Below we will see a few of them in addition to giving their definition:
