Know your four basic emotions

Fear, anger, joy and sadness are the basic emotions of human beings. We all feel them at any time, age and culture. However, and despite the fact that these are often considered those central factors, it should be noted that the emotional world is very rich. Hence, we can also talk about secondary emotions.

For many years it was actually assumed that the basic emotions were 6 (sadness, happiness, fear, anger, surprise and disgust). It was the psychologist Paul Ekman who concluded this information in the 70s through his famous studies. However, in another very recent study published in the Current Biology Elkman’s error is warned.

The human being, According to researchers at Glasgow University, it would have 4 base emotions and not 6. This conclusion was reached after analyzing a large sample of people in various areas of our planet, where they observed facial expressions. The data was revealing.

These emotions in turn, They are in our daily lives because they play a main role in our psychological development. It means that basic emotions serve to warn us and guide us in the conservation of the organism and in socialization with others.

Basic emotions: biological mechanisms at our service

There is one aspect that should be understood first. Basic emotions are universal: We are all afraid, we feel anger, we are happy and sad. In turn, each of them fulfills a very basic function. As Bisquerra tells us: “An emotion is a complex state of the organism characterized by an excitement or disturbance that predisposes us to carry out some type of response.

In this way, we can understand that basic emotions fulfill the following purposes:

It prepares us to emit behavior and adapt to the demands of the environment.

It helps us interact with others, understanding their emotions and thus connecting with those around us.

Basic emotions give us energy, purposes, motivation, and guide us towards specific goals…

It doesn’t matter how old we are, where we live or what we do. Without exception, we will all feel basic emotions at any moment and moment.

Basic emotions What are they?

The basic or primary emotions of the human being have energetic qualities. Emotions allow us to act expansively with others (anger and joy) or with ourselves. (sadness and fear). Let’s analyze, then, the four basic emotions separately, in order to know their specific function in our lives:

1. Fear

It is an emotion known by experts as “withdrawal”, it is included in the group of reflective and Its function is to warn us about the imminent presence of danger, either from receiving it or from causing us some damage.

Fear is one of the basic emotions that allows us, in turn, to evaluate our ability to face situations that we perceive as threats.If we learn to know first, and then manage fear, we experience prudence. and we will move away from panic, phobia or recklessness.

2. Joy

Also known as “the opening thrill”. It fulfills the function of help us create links with others, That is why it is among the basic expansive emotions (along with anger).

It can manifest itself in various ways, the most frequent being tenderness, through the connection between people through friendship, effect, sensuality, eroticism.

If we manage joy well, we can achieve serenity and fulfillment. If we do not know how to handle it well, it will lead us towards sadness, euphoria or frustration.

3. Sadness

It is found within the group of withdrawal ones and is known as the most reflective of all. Always evoke something that has happened in the past and Its function is to help us be aware of a thing, situation or person that we have lost or miss..

Sadness also helps us let go and let go of what does not belong to us or does us harm. Finally, Another function of sadness is to allow others to accompany usavoiding becoming too vulnerable or dependent.

4. Anger

It is the second expansive emotion. It is an impulse, a way to get something or someone off our backs, get out what bothers us, what we believe is unfair or what is hurting us.

Anger involves an energy overload that sometimes helps us fulfill the realization of what we want or ensures the need for threat. Therefore, it should not always be considered “negative.” What happens is that sometimes, instead of helping us resolve what is happening, anger is one of the basic emotions that becomes another problem if we take its expression to the extreme.

Anger would be a kind of effective cleanser for everything that weighs us down. But be careful, to do this we must recognize it, accept it and manage it correctly, otherwise the opposite will happen.

Each of these emotions responds to a need and it plays a role in our existence. Learning to listen to them, to understand their message and to handle them, is without a doubt our greatest responsibility.

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