Afflictive Emotions: What They Are, Characteristics, And How They Affect Us
Afflictive emotions are those that cause us discomfort and impact our relationship with the environment, also altering our cognitive and behavioral state.
Emotions, regardless of their valence, that is, whether they are positive or negative, are functional, since they tell us how we feel, what our state is. The problem appears when these increase in intensity or appear continuously over time, causing the subject to stop being functional and the negative state having an impact on their daily life.
In this way, it will be important to be aware of how we feel, our emotions, in order to act and try to regulate them; Assess the reason for their appearance, to know what changes you can make to try to reduce them.
In this article we will talk about afflictive emotions: how they are defined, what alterations they entail, what distinction they show with functional emotions and what to do to try to control them.
We can differentiate three components that are basic in a person; These are behavior, cognition and emotions. The three factors are important for the functioning of people and are related, that is, a change or alteration in one can produce a change or affectation in others. Thus, it is important that there is a balance between the three components so that the person can lead a functional life.
Well then, Afflictive emotions would be those that break this balance, that nullify or diminish the ability to think and reason, thus altering their behavior and generating discomfort. Emotions are necessary, even those that give us negative sensations, they can be useful to know our state, but when they become very intense they can be destructive both for oneself and for others. It will thus be necessary to realize this and be able to act to try to control them so that they do not harm us.
What are the afflictive emotions?
There are different types of afflictive emotions, a characteristic feature is the negative valence and the discomfort it causes to those who show them and to those around them. Examples of these emotions are: jealousy, envy, frustration, anger, guilt or disappointment
We observe how they are secondary emotions, that is, they arise later in the subject, due to influence and coexistence in society; Therefore, we can consider that they are learned. Likewise, they are not necessary for survival, nor are they functional or adaptive for the individual who displays them.
What do afflictive emotions produce in us?
As we have already mentioned, these types of uncontrolled emotions that affect our ability to think clearly, generate negative consequences in us. Let’s see then what is the symptomatology that is mainly linked to afflictive emotions.
1. They appear without us being able to avoid it
As with other types of emotions, Afflictive emotions appear without us being able to decide That is, in a situation we can feel envy without really wanting to feel it, although this lack of decision in the appearance does not mean that we cannot try to control them, it is not an excuse to act incorrectly. It is important to be aware of the appearance of these emotions and remedy them, before they cause harm to us or harm others.
2. They produce negative states
When we cannot remedy the afflictive emotions and they increase disproportionately and persist over time, generates in us a negative state that will continue until we act This negative state causes us both physical and psychological discomfort. When the emotions that stand out in us are negative, as we have already mentioned, they have a negative effect on our behavior and way of thinking, therefore having an impact on our life.
Likewise, it has been seen that afflictive emotions increase hormones or neurotransmitters related to stress, such as cortisol. Low and controlled levels of these hormones are functional for coping with stressful situations. But when high levels are maintained for a long period, stress symptoms begin that affect our health and physical well-being.
3. They cause difficulty in reasoning
When we lose control of our emotions and they invade us, it is difficult to think clearly, It is difficult for us to reason and we can act without having previously thought about what was the best way to proceed We see here the dysfunctionality of afflictive emotions, since they not only affect our state, generating a negative and agitated feeling, but also do not allow our cognitive part to function normally.
The subject’s behavior is likely to be impulsive. Faced with difficulty thinking clearly, It is possible that the person acts without taking into account the consequences that their behavior may have In this way, it is more likely that automatic responses such as insults, hits or screams will appear, which we really do without thinking and that later, when we manage to calm down and regain control of our state, we will regret our behavior.
5. They create an addiction effect
Another hormone that is released during the experience of distressing emotions, during situations of intense emotions and activation, is adrenaline. Adrenaline is a hormone that increases its amount in situations of high emotional activation, thus causing an activation of the body, such as an increase in blood pressure, heart rate and blood glucose
It has been proven that this molecule generates an addictive sensation in us, wanting to feel this sensation of activation again, of power with everything, of being unstoppable. For this reason, the subject may, with the purpose of re-experiencing the sensations produced by adrenaline, promote or seek to generate events where afflictive emotions are activated, that is, conflict situations.
As expected, The search for this type of situations has both an impact on the subject’s relationship with his social environment the view they have of it, as well as the subject’s own state, since this increase in activation is not good for their physical health, it increases the risk of cardiac pathologies, or psychological, it increases anxiety and alters their mood. .
Differences between afflictive emotions and functional emotions
As we have already seen, emotions, in general terms, are necessary and functional, that is, the subject needs them to be able to live properly, whether they are positive, such as joy, or negative, such as sadness. The problem appears when these increase in intensity and we lose control thus altering our behavior and our ability to reason.
We see how afflictive emotions affect different areas of our lives, they do not allow us to behave normally, affecting our relationship with the environment and our own state, such as our self-concept, self-esteem or resilience, which consists of the ability to overcome situations. difficult, which can put our well-being at risk, despite living in a less than optimal environment, which does not help.
As we have stated in previous points, afflictive emotions appear without us wanting it, but it is our task to control them and be able to reduce them. For this reason, It will be important that we work on emotional control and regulation so that we can be the ones who control our emotions and not the other way around. It is essential to keep this issue in mind; The work should not be aimed at trying to avoid these types of emotions but rather at being aware of them and thus being able to act.
1. Be aware of emotions
It is essential to be aware of how we feel To achieve this goal we can dedicate a few minutes each day to stop and reflect or become aware of our state. Recognizing something, how we feel and what emotion we are feeling, is the first step to being able to face it and work on it. Acting as if nothing happened, trying to deny it or not giving it importance, only makes it continue to occur and can make the situation worse.
2. Assess the reason for the situation
Although we do not value this type of emotions as functional, since they have an impact on the state of the subject, they can serve as indicators, that is, They tell us that something is not going well For this reason, we cannot simply try to reduce the emotion, we must assess what this emotion could have caused? Why do we feel this way? What can we do to have more information on how to act?
3. Express how you feel
Expressing or externalizing how we feel helps us really know how we are, since at the moment of communicating it, whether to another person or writing to ourselves, we organize our thoughts and help us be more aware of what is happening to us. This way, We may become aware of things we are not aware of and we may also get another person’s point of view
4. Look for alternatives
Sometimes we are rigid and find it difficult to change the vision we have about an event or a person. We must try to work on flexibility. To achieve this objective, it is useful to evaluate all the alternatives that an event may have That is, brainstorm possible explanations or solutions that we can make. Thus we try to modify our vision or at least evaluate other alternatives that will help us reduce the intensity or appearance of the afflictive emotion.
