The process of recognizing emotions It is of great importance to provide us with a healthy quality of life, especially in terms of mental health. When we are able to recognize the emotions of others and our own, we become less distressed.
There are people who are good at the process of recognizing emotions. Others, on the contrary, need to learn to do it by trying harder; but that does not mean that they are incapable of mastering this psychological skill.
In this article we will see several tips and recommendations that can be very useful. for all those people who seek to know how to recognize emotions as well as some considerations to take into account.
Recognizing emotions consists of a person’s ability to identify and accept emotions, their own and others.
It’s basically like speaking a language. At first it is confusing and we may not understand the meaning of some things, but then, as we use this language on a daily basis, it becomes more understandable and we become able to handle it fluently.
To recognize our own emotions we need to be able to bring to the conscious part of our mind some aspects of our person that we often overlook or avoid thinking about. That is essential to develop Emotional Intelligence.
There are always topics regarding ourselves that we prefer to leave forgotten. However, the sooner we dare to review these aspects with objective criteria, the closer we will be to understanding how we feel.
How to recognize the emotions of others?
At the moment of recognizing other people’s emotions, it is necessary understand to some extent how body language works ; This is an aspect that is intrinsically related to emotionality.
When we feel sad our face expresses it through gestures and movements of the small muscles spread throughout the face, and even if we try to hide it, Non-verbal language responds largely to unconscious aspects of our personality ; Therefore, sadness could be noticed despite the effort to hide it. The same happens with other emotions and feelings: happiness, nostalgia, euphoria, etc.
In this way, when we are able to relate a person’s body language to their emotions, we are closer to understanding how they feel.
Another essential aspect to identify the emotions of others involves know how to properly interpret your speech.
A person can appear to be fine, and at the same time, when we talk to them, they give us signs that something is wrong, if we know how to listen carefully and interpret what they are telling us between the lines.
Tips to understand our emotional side
Now we will see some ways in which we can be more accurate when recognizing emotions, both our own and others.
1. Accept the real reason for the emotions
Every emotion responds to reasons that have a particular meaning for us, capable of altering our levels of consciousness.
If we accept the situation and are able to face it, no matter how irrational the cause may seem then in the same way we will recognize the emotion we are having at that certain moment.
2. Recognize your surroundings
The environment greatly influences our emotionality, the situations that develop around us are capable of making us feel in many ways. That is why when we have a better command and recognition of the place around us, we can recognize what exactly triggers the emotions we feel.
3. Be consistent with your actions
To be able to properly recognize our emotions, we must try to be as consistent as possible with our actions.
This means that to the extent that our thinking and our actions follow the same path, we will be able to recognize our emotions more clearly, without falling into cognitive dissonance.
For example, inaction in the face of certain problems we have in our lives may also It will cause us difficulties when analyzing how that makes us feel through self-deception.
4. Prevention of negative emotions
When we have the ability to recognize the factors that cause us distress, we may be able to prevent coming into contact with these factors (to the extent possible).
By doing this we are reducing the probability of presenting very intense negative emotions that block our ability to analyze. Therefore, the process of recognizing our emotions will be favored, since we will not have to deal with extremely unpleasant emotions.
5. Understand situations as they are really happening
This point refers to the capacity for cognition that all human beings have. Cognition involves using higher mental processes (analysis, logical thinking, interpretation, conflict resolution, memory, etc.).
In order to understand situations as they are really happening, and not as we would like them to be, by using this type of thinking we are already recognizing emotions in a very real way and we can look for the best alternatives to our situation.
6. Accept that some things are out of your control
At certain times you will encounter situations in which you will not be able to intervene to alter its result the way you would like to do it. It is important that you keep this limitation in mind.
Sometimes you just have to accept that things are happening in a certain way, and face it. Understanding this makes us more sensible people and capable of recognizing our emotions in all their breadth, assuming that we cannot manage them as we wish.
