All the different emotions we can experience sit somewhere on a spectrum from negative (things like anger, sorrow, guilt) to positive (things like joy, excitement pride). What is interesting is that we react differently to the emotion depending on where it is on that spectrum.
With positive emotions, we are far more likely to recognise them, experience them fully, and express them. Which, on the face of it, makes a lot of sense – they are positive emotions after all, so of course you’d want to be associated with them and show them off.
With negative emotions however, we tend to hide away from them, pushing them off to the side and trying to mask them. There is, unfortunately, a problem with this. If we try to hide an emotion or mask it, it simply creates a build-up of emotional pressure.
Whether an emotion is positive or negative, it’s still a very powerful force in our lives.
“Emotions make us human. Denying them makes us beasts.”
Victoria Klein
