If you have trouble defining emotion, what do you do?

Question

A lot of times, I have trouble figuring out what I am actually feeling. Sometimes I feel depressed, but then I ask myself, am I depressed or just worried? A lot of times, I really have no idea what I am truly feeling.

Also, and I think this connects with this, I have trouble cheering people up. Sometimes I think it has to do with my inability to define emotion in other people. It is mostly because I just do not know what to do in a situation when someone is feeling down. I don't know what to say when someone is having trouble with his/her girl/boyfriend, etc. Does this have to do with my inability to define emotion? And how do I figure out what to do in these situations?

Do these things just simply take practice? I've been trying to figure these things out for years now, and have been paying more attention than I can afford on these things the past few months, and it doesn't seem to be working very well.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

Answer 1

I had a very very hard time defining my true emotion when i was a teenager, this was a very wreck story, but i finally found out until much later.
When i was a teen, I (this is the worst part) felt huge attraction toward other male students in my age, some times i just ask myself, Am i truly gay or just jealous of their power and control of others? Am i really feeling the attraction of them or I am just having trouble defining my true emotion toward them?
I found out until much later and im not gay (hooray!)

Even though, i have to deal with it, EVery, SIngle, DAy, and is truly the most painful thing there has ever been, but Still I found out my true emotion.

My advise for you is to deal with it as many things that happens in your daily life and believe in your self and one day miracle will happen and u will understand every thing.

Try to find a true answer to you emotion until you dont need one, or just a partcial answer

Answer 2

Figure out what is making you feel the way you do, then it'll be easier to figure out what the emotion that you're feeling is. If you're not sure whether you're feeling depressed or worried, and you go back and think about what's making you feel that way, let's say it's because your friend is in the hospital or something, then you can reason that it's probably worry.

Emotion is a spectrum. I've argued with people over what color a pair of pants is, maybe the shade of the pair of pants was right in between blue and green on a color spectrum so it seemed like it could be both blue and green at the same time.

Sometimes you're not simply feeling ONE emotion, sometimes it's a mix. Also write how you feel, describe it, write anything. That would help if you're into writing.

Also, try hard not to second guess yourself. If your first thought of how you feel is "sad" then you go back and think, maybe I'm angry, you're probably sad. Don't think too much about your emotions.

I suck at cheering people up lol yet I can differentiate between emotions. I can even tell what other people are feeling, but usually when someone cries or feels upset, I either say "are you ok?" or "what's wrong?" or "it'll be ok" or I walk away because sometimes nothing I say or do works because I'm just not good at it. I try to think of what I would want someone to say to me in that position. When you feel upset, pay attention to which words and actions work for you and which don't. It's all about empathy.

It'll take practice and time, but it'll be worth it.

Answer 3

Wow I have the same problem to some extent I mean the part where you feel like you're depressed but then second guess yourself and think you're over reacting. I'm ok with cheering friends up for the most part and giving advice but sometimes i feel like I'm just giving them ideas since i most of the time have never felt how they feel which is kinda hard. What helps me sometimes when i feel emotionally disconnected is to look inside and just be by myself or listen to music alone. Maybe writting what you think about things then reading it to yourself later might help too. Either way good luck and I hope that we can both somehow figure this problem out b/c it sure can make me feel awkward!

Answer 4

actually, sometimes experience and as we get older, it help to have sympathy for others because we learn as we grow older, how to react to things, and people when certain things hapened. but that's still doesn't mean you will react correctly or guess other feeling correctionly. It take experience. just be patient. but if you sense they are sad, just go close to them that they feel comfortable but not too close so they feel nervous and smile and ask kindly: are you alright? smile. be patient.

you can care for someone from your heart and speak no words but that's true care. sometimes immediate reaction can helps but sometimes wrong reaction make it worse. just show the caring side.

I think you can learn more about Buddhism. actually this issue you have have repeatly discucssed in the Buddhism.

I am a beginner in Buddhism so I can't explain much.

but I do now. if you want to be happy. then focus on happy then working toward it. (well, as long your happy is not harming to someone or yourself)

so if you can not define your emotion? that's not important. do you know why?

because your emotion changed so fast , almost every second. the moment you are trying to defining your emotion. YOur so call emotion has already changing to the "defining" mood and while you're reading this message, you're already in thinking mood.

so it is faster than you can not image. it is not important to define your mood now. well, if it is going to take that long for you.,

I suggest put your energy at what mood you want to be. then go for it.

Answer 5

Is there really any need to "define", or put a label to our emotions?

I think they are what they just are. Let them be, take a look at them as they pass, and say, hmm, ok. Then let them pass and keep going.

That is in Zen meditation. Emotions may seem to try to effect a change, but they need not make any change in you at all.

They are input and information, and that is all. The Real answer is Peace.

Answer 6

My suggestion to truely finding out how you feel is just observing yourself. See if you especially feel any sort of bad feeling after certain things. Like if you seem to be feeling sad when you are alone then maybe you are feeling lonely. Thats a simple example, but just try it I think it might work.