stupid question

[Chantellabella]

What's a feeling?

I don't mean like what are you feeling.

Or to define feelings.

Just............


what's a feeling to you?


For me, it just hurts. But not always. Sometimes it's good.

I just can't pinpoint this thing called feeling.

Enlighten me, guys.

Thanks.

Cindy

[sanspants]

It's..an emotional state or a sensation. It's a conclusion we reach without using a cognitive process.

[compulsive]

Most of the time I feel like im watching myself die very lowly.

But sometimes I feel happy. It feels pretty good. I want to listen to music and dance. For no reason lol.

Emotions are your curent perspective on the world and your situation.

[Otherside]

I don't know. I can't pinpoint it either. Chemicals in our brain? Seems to be that way.

[Antidote]

When I am really sad / hurt a physical pain manifests in my hand (despite my hand not being injured). This has been happening for years ever since I went through an emotional trauma. There are links between physical and emotional pain on a neurological level. I believe that something in my brain has been crosswired so that my emotional pain causes a cramping pain in my left hand now.

[Chantellabella]

Thanks guys for answering. I really like your answers.

I never thought of feelings like you said sanspants "It's a conclusion we reach without using a cognitive process." And your answer, compulsive, "Emotions are your current perspective on the world and your situation." Both of those are so true. There's definitely a disconnect sometimes between thoughts and feelings and I agree that even though it doesn't make sense sometimes, we react according to what we feel.

And yeah, I can see that chemicals in our brain would rev us up, Otherside because I've been known to just do something without any thought. It's like our feelings drive our motions rather than our brains. That's why I'm asking about them. It's just new to me...........it really is...........to have feelings and well, I'm not sure what to do with them.

I've heard of that happening, Antidote. I have a co-worker who experiences physical pain when she is upset. I'll bet you're right about them being connected on a neurological basis. I know that loneliness can hurt really bad. Physically hurt. So I agree.

These are all great answers. I was wondering how you guys were going to answer my question. It is really something I have no clue about, so your answers are really appreciated.

Thanks,

Cindy

[whiteman]

Often I don't know what comes first a thought or a feeling but the one always leads to the other, and the other always leads to the one.
Sometimes I think SA is a result of feelings having more power than thoughts

[Chantellabella]

Often I don't know what comes first a thought or a feeling but the one always leads to the other, and the other always leads to the one.
Sometimes I think SA is a result of feelings having more power than thoughts

I definitely agree that for myself I react out of feelings and that they have more power than thoughts. Thanks for offering that input.

I'm curious about something, especially for any counselor or psychology students out there. There are a few trains of thought about thoughts leading feelings or feelings leading thoughts. I can't remember if certain theories or techniques stressed one or the other.

Which do you think leads your actions more, anyone? Your feelings or thoughts? Or do you see it as equal?

[life]

to me emotions are the subconscious part of my mind, telling me something, sometimes they make me do stupid things, i try to listen to them, but not let them control me :/

[Otherside]

I definitely agree that for myself I react out of feelings and that they have more power than thoughts. Thanks for offering that input.

I'm curious about something, especially for any counselor or psychology students out there. There are a few trains of thought about thoughts leading feelings or feelings leading thoughts. I can't remember if certain theories or techniques stressed one or the other.

Which do you think leads your actions more, anyone? Your feelings or thoughts? Or do you see it as equal?

Feeling seem to have more power than thoughts, and they do seem to at least have some influence on how you act. It takes a lot sometimes to be able to overcome what emotion is making you do, and think rationally about the situation.

[whiteman]

Which do you think leads your actions more, anyone? Your feelings or thoughts? Or do you see it as equal?

When it comes to social anxiety for me feelings are more powerful than thoughts, but my therapist would completely disagree, but I'm the one who has SA and has had SA most of my life, so I think I have a pretty good idea what causes my SA-lol, I'm not saying learning how to think differently through something like cognitive behavorial therapy isn't helpful, but for me, it's feelings that are more powerful and feelings are what comes first.

[Misssy]

For example even numbness could be considered a feeling....a dull...even...droning middle tone with no highs or lows.

[Chantellabella]

I agree that feelings can be subconscious and more powerful than thoughts, life, whiteman and Otherside. They seem to really drive many actions. What's that saying? "By passed your brain." Others call it adrenaline rush. Whatever it's called, I've had feelings that made me act a certain way and then later I go, "Uh........now what did I just do?"

Misssy, I totally agree in numbness being a feeling. Or maybe it's a "lack of feeling," but it's still in that category of not thinking or doing, while still affecting you. I can relate to numb.

Thanks guys for sharing your thoughts on this. It's interesting to see everyone's view of feelings. It seems a lot believe feelings can be more powerful than thoughts. I'm beginning to see that now as I seem to be more of a feeler than a thinker lately.

I wonder if feelings are the driving force of impulses. I know thoughts, especially paranoid or skewed thoughts can drive us. But feelings seem to have less time elapsed between feeling then action, as opposed to thoughts then action.

Thoughts about this? What do you think drives you to action? I'm beginning to think it's feelings for me.

[TheDarkness]

.

[Chantellabella]

What are feelings? a by product of our intellect? a subconscious joke the mind likes to play on us? something we can`t get rid of? a mental illusion created by our need to affiliate sensations into words, and transform them into a phrase? Our brain`s version of having "an experience"? a form of madness caused by our underdeveloped instincts and limited view of the electromagnetic spectrum? who knows

I like that quote: "a mental illusion created by our need to affiliate sensations into words, and transform them into a phrase"

Maybe that's why it's so hard to name a feeling. Just putting angry, sad, happy, etc to what churns inside of us is just an injustice to the swirling "electromagnetic spectrum" as you say. I almost feel it would be better to assign a color to emotions rather than a word like happy or sad. Then it would be easier to see the range of a little annoyed, but still a bit cool, with some chaotic fear. Like what feeling word would you assign to that? For me, that feeling/color would be for me something that looked this