List of emotions and feelings

Last Updated on 04/02/2020

Emotions are relatively fleeting and more or less conscious experiences that are characterized by intense mental activity that generates a high degree of pleasure or sorrow. We all experience emotions, but not all of us are able to recognize and manage them.

Indeed, there are people who have a very limited emotional knowledge of themselves, and although they experience many emotions, they are not able to recognize them with precision. The problem is that not knowing what emotion we are feeling prevents us from managing it in the most appropriate way.

Conversely, knowing all the emotions and feelings will allow us to refine our emotional awareness. If you only know one or two musical notes, it will be the only ones you will listen to as you will pay them more attention. If you know all of them, your musical universe it will expand. The same thing happens in terms of feelings and emotions.

Neither feelings are so emotional nor thoughts are so rational

We tend to think that emotions and thoughts are opposing processes that exclude each other. But the truth is that in every emotion there is a bit of reason and in every thought there is a bit of feeling.

Although we are guided by the emotions we are experiencing at the moment, we are also reacting to a complex mental process that has occurred in the background: the cognitive interpretation we have made of the event.

The truth is that we do not react to reality, but to the meaning we give to that reality, and in that way our expectations, needs and thoughts are influencing. Therefore, emotions are not simply reactions to the environment but also the evaluation of what is happening to us.

For example, if a person overflows a glass of water on us, the most consistent emotional reaction would be the surprise because it is an unexpected event. However, when we begin to think about the person’s intentions and our rational mind starts to wotk, we can react with anger, thinking that he did it with purpose. So anger is not an emotional reaction to what has happened, but to our interpretation of the event.

Difference between emotions and feelings

Knowing the difference between emotions and feelings is not a mere epistemological or linguistic exercise, it will help us to better understand our reactions and behaviors, allowing us to regulate our affective responses to achieve a greater well-being.

What are emotions? They are reactions of affective valence before certain stimuli, which can be external, something that we see or live, or internal, as a thought or a memory. Emotions unleash a set of hormonal and neurochemical responses that produce a state of activation, impelling us to immediate action.

What are feelings? Feelings generate the same physiological and psychological responses as emotions, but have a conscious evaluation incorporated. That is to say, they involve the awareness and appreciation of emotion and the affective experience that we are living.

Therefore, the main differences between emotions and feelings are:

1. Duration. Emotions are transient states that come and go relatively quickly. Feelings, on the other hand, are more stable affective states over time. Joy, for example, is an emotion, while love is a feeling.
2. Order of appearance. Feelings are the result of the emotions, so that usually precede them. Joy, for example, can be transformed into happiness and attraction into love.
3. Intensity. Emotions are usually more intense than feelings since their main objective is to predispose us to action. The complex processes of assessment that usually intervene in the feelings subtract a little intensity.
4. Processing level. Emotions are given unconsciously, generating an almost immediate response, while feelings, by demanding more time for their formation, are processed in a conscious manner.
5. Degree of regulation. Emotions are affective states difficult to control because they generate automatic psychophysiological reactions. We cannot completely contain emotions such as fear or joy, for example, and as soon as we experience them, they will manifest through microexpressions. Feelings, on the contrary, can be better managed over time, looking for strategies to express them in a more assertive way.

However, emotions and feelings are often difficult to separate in practice because where there is a feeling there are usually different emotions and vice versa.

Understanding the differences between emotions and feelings helps us, however, not to feel guilty for our first emotional reactions. It also teaches us not to cling to them, so that those unpleasant can disappear as naturally as they have appeared.

How many emotions are out there?

In psychology there is a general consensus that refers to 6 types of basic emotions: fear, anger, disgust, sadness, surprise and joy. However, recent research has shown that human face can create more than 7,000 different expressions that reflect a wide range of emotions.

Therefore, basic emotions are simply the basis for building more subtle and complex feelings and emotions that blur our experiences.

List of basic and complex emotions

Positive emotions

Cheerfulness

Love

Affection

Compassion

Generosity

Enjoyment

Festivity

Hope

Admiration

Freedom

Realization

Justice

Gratitude

Acceptance

Accompanying

Goodness

Appreciation

Benevolence

Pride

Kindness

Relief

Empathy

Integrity

Humility

Attachment

Approval

Concentration

Sufficiency

Harmony

Honesty

Temperance

Tolerance

Motivation

Happiness

Endurance

Force

Autonomy

Honorability

Solidarity

Optimism

Satisfaction

Security

Understanding

Simplicity

Affection

​​Passion

Esteem

Enthusiasm

Respect

Peace

Pleasure

Compromise

Fervor

Glamour

Competition

Fullness

Omnipotence

Euphoria

Extasy

Illusion

Support

Contentiveness

Interest

Confidence

Joy

Care

Dignity

Energy

Vitality

Complacency

Negative emotions

Sadness

Melancholy

Abandon

Boredom

Abuse

Necessity

Absence

Demotivation

Frightening

Bitterness

Anguish

Aggressivity

Oppression

Hesitation

Anxiety

Disgust

Revenge

Courage

Nuisance

Shame

Emptiness

Distaste

Hostility

Humiliation

Disapproval

Meschinity

Awe

Obstinacy

Terror

Betrayal

Harassment

Fasticity

Piety

Manipulation

Fear

Phobia

Failure

Fragility

Frustration

Fury

Loneliness

Imperturbability

Paralysis

Rancor

Anger

​​Suspicion

Modesty

Deprotection

Misery

Pavor

Concern

Bullying

Pessimism

Incongruence

Pain

Laziness

Dolour

Hate

Wrath

Deception

Stress

Perdition

Prosecution

Alteration

Envy

Offense

Surprise

Saddening

Stupor

Impatience

Confusion

Impotence

Bewilderment

Inability

Incompatibility

Misunderstanding

Misadventure

Indignation

Instability

Unhappiness

Inferiority

Injustice

Destruction

Disillusionment

Unsatisfaction

Insecurity

Insufficiency

Intolerance

Wrath

Irritation

Jealousy

Blame

Censorship

Choler

Contrariness

Dependency

Depression

Defeat

Discouragement

Abandon

Dejection

Unrest

Thoughtlessness

Abatement

Disconsolation

Misery

Remorse

Disenchantment

Despair

Listlessness

Disappointment

Desolation

Petrification

Disorientation

Disdain

Famine

Discredit

Devaluation

Pain

Dysphoria

Exasperation

Remorse

Complaint

Obnubilation

Affliction

Variable emotions

Nostalgia

Lust

Unity

Alienation

Attraction

Alarm

Surprise

Courage

Alteration

Arrogance

Vulnerability

Validation

Temptation

Patience

Ambivalence

Tenderness

Desire

Shyness

Tranquility

Regret

Paranoia

Perturbation

Frenzy

Confusion

Serenity

Submission

Calm

Rebellion

Refuse

Belonging

Commitment

Repugnance

Resentment

Confidentiality

Persecution

Obbligation

Obsession

Excitement

Domination

Strangeness

Incompatibilities

Incredulity

Resignation

Indifference

Intrepidness

​​Intrigue

Invasion

Impulsiveness

Calm

Consolation

Restlessness

Correspondence

Curiosity

Closeness

Hesitancy

Disdain

Exaltation

Condescension

Equanimity

Apathy

Inspiration

Seriousness

Trance

Obstination

Audacity

Perplexity

In this list of emotions and feelings we refer to positive, negative and variable emotions, but in reality all emotions and feelings can become negative or positive depending on how we live and express them. Moreover, these are not all the emotions that exist because there are also other emotional states we have experienced but in our language do not have a literal translation like pronoia and awumbuk.