Understanding Different Emotions
Emotions can be confusing. Sometimes it can be easy to understand our emotions – like when we are happy or excited it’s usually pretty easy to work out why we feel that way. But other times, our emotions can be harder to understand.
It is normal for us as humans to experience a range of different feelings, and it is normal for our emotions to change. Sometimes our emotions might change for a really clear reason, like something good or bad happening, and sometimes you might not be able to tell why. This can be a really frustrating experience and can make you feel really lost. The good news is there are lots of different ways we can better understand and manage our emotions.
The different between moods and emotions
While our emotions can change quickly and randomly, our moods are longer-lasting and a bit harder to change at times. Our moods are our overall emotional-energy. If we are in a good mood we tend to feel that way for a while, and as a part of that we might feel a range of emotions like content, happiness, and excitement. If we are in a bad mood, it tends to be more difficult to shift out of that headspace, and throughout that mood we might feel a range of things like tiredness, sadness, anger, or frustration.
It’s okay to have good moods and bad moods. It’s even okay to have weird moods. It is normal to experience a range of moods. But, if you are experiencing lots of frequent and long-lasting low moods that start to affect your overall wellbeing, you may want to reach out to someone.
Depression, anxiety and stress
We often hear people use the terms “I’m so depressed” or “I am really anxious about something”, but this doesn’t always mean that person has depression or anxiety. Everyone experiences a range of emotions, and everyone experiences stress, but depression and anxiety involve more intense and difficult to manage experiences. So how can you tell the difference between normal stress and depression and anxiety?
Stress: stress is a natural response that helps us identify and navigate different risks and situations. Stress is not always a bad thing; it can help us to stay motivated and work out what we need to prioritize. However, when we don’t manage our stress in healthy ways it can turn into tiredness, annoyance, and create low moods. The good news is normal stress levels can be managed with things like breaks, self-care, and good time management. You can learn more about managing stress here.
Anxiety: everyone can experience the feeling of anxiety, but that is different to the condition Generalized Anxiety – this is when you feel anxious or worried almost constantly, and struggle to stop those worried thoughts and relax. With Generalized Anxiety, these feelings can even start to get in the way of living your life. This type of anxiety can often require more management than normal stress or worrying, but with the right support anxiety can be really well managed! You can read more abut different types of anxiety here.
Depression: everyone can experience low moods and feel upset about things, but the condition Depression often involves more intense experiences that go beyond just feeling bad. Depression can look different in different people, but can often affect people physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. Depression can also make people feel isolated and alone – like no one understand or can help. But depression can also be managed with the right supports, and there are lots of amazing resources out there for people with depression. The Lowdown is a great place to start finding out more, they have great info and inspiring videos from people who have experienced depression and other mental health issues.
Navigating nasty feelings
When we experience unpleasant feelings, it can be confusing where to start with things. What are we supposed to do? How do we feel better again? What’s wrong with me?
It is important to remember though that it is normal to experience a whole range of feelings, we don’t always have to feel good and be happy. Sometimes we need to experience other feelings to help us process things. Unpleasant feelings can also be really helpful indicators that tell us we need to look after ourselves. The way we react and feel toward things helps us to learn and grow, and over time can help us to take better care of ourselves.
Sometimes when we are experiencing unpleasant feelings and we aren’t sure what to do, it can help to check in with ourselves. We have a whole page all about checking in here.
When to reach out
If you are feeling anxious or low for long periods of time or are finding it difficult to hold onto good moods, it might be a good idea to talk to someone. Check out all the different places you can reach out to on our Who to reach out to page.
