Okay, my computer froze THREE TIMES already so let's hope this fourth post actually makes it up...
To add on to previous comments about emotions, I believe that they are controllable. But they are not meant to be commanded; that is, one with a strong will can decide not to feel what he wants to feel, but if he blocks emotions or attempts to sway them, this can be detrimental to his health: physically, psychologically, and thus cumulatively. For instance, when someone loses a loved one and does not allow the natural grieving process to take its due course, this takes a lot of strength. The person may become apathetic to other occurrences.
Blocking painful memories can be a cause of multiple personality disorder. Many people develop other persons in their minds because they want to block negative experiences.
On a slight tangent, I was wondering whether anyone else does this: When I am angry or frustrated, I have a habit of turning on my television and watching some comedy or show to forget why I am upset and to feel better. Television makes me feel lighter. It is unsettling how much I rely on television to feel better sometimes; it has a big influence on my emotions. Does anybody else feel this way?
Name: Katie Campbell
Username: kcampbel@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Emotions and Another Note
Date: 2002-11-03 09:44:34
Message Id: 3489
Comments:
First, I just wanted to say, it's really amazing how the chemistry of the macromolecules we're learning about and the biological rules we discuss in class fit together so well, it was really interesting to understand exactly how the phospholipids are the reason for boundedness in our systems.
Finally, a note about emotions. This discussion really intrigues me because I've been trying to shake a bad mood off and on this week...One day I woke up and I did make one of those "commands" on myself, realizing that if I just took a moment to have a new perspective on everything then maybe I could feel better about my situation, react in a different way with people, etc. But it seems to keep coming back. That's when I gravitate towards believing that emotions are a biological response to stimulus in our lives. Like the presence or lack of sunlight, illness, etc. So I'm not just trying to search for an excuse for bad moods or saddness, but I think it makes sense that emotions of the sort are normal responses and not totally controllable. You can control your actions and certain reactions to things, but not the feeling behind them...And other thoughts?
Name: Mer
Username: mstoll@brynmawr.edu
Subject: It is ok to talk
Date: 2002-11-03 10:11:12
Message Id: 3490
Comments:
The worst sentence that one person can say to another is. "I think we have to talk." But at the same time it is the best. While talking about feelings or sentiments can be embarrassing, it is also a way of working with your feelings so that they do not become bottled up. It is also a great way to communicate and telling people how you actually feel can be a life-altering act.
You cannot completely control your mood. Many times small things can be overcome and you can master your emotions. But sometimes life gives you situations that are beyond your control and saying, "this is silly" is not enough. It is sad that is this society is frowned upon for a man to cry or more importantly, for both men and women to try to talk to each other about feelings. I think that our society would be much happier overall if it was accepted that talking about these and other aspects of the life that prove to be a challenge is part of a healthy life.
Name: kate
Username: kamlin@brynmawr.edu
Subject: more emotions
Date: 2002-11-03 11:09:34
Message Id: 3491
Comments:
Are emotions really the only factor in determining our actions? I think that when one chooses to "follow their heart" rationality is included in that decision. So how much do cultural influences affect our gut reactions? It seems that if society defines right v. wrong, our emotions reflect (sub-consciously or otherwise) cultural biases to some degree.
Name: Heather
Username: hprice@brynmawr.edu
Subject:
Date: 2002-11-03 12:24:07
Message Id: 3492
Comments:
I personally think that the whole notion of "following the heart" is just another lovely throwback to our roots in film, tv, and classic literature. We usually only use it when we're acting "irrationally," but really if we were actually "following the heart" so to speak, it wouldn't always be irrational. The context in which we actaully use it is often a very selfish one, but most people are selfish all the time. Besides, some people can't control their emotions at all, but should they be the only one's painted as the romantic hero who "fights against all odds to follow their heart"? Ick, no. How much control a person has over their emotions depends on the person, and is usually part of the enviroment in which they grew up. I think we've taken to the notion of "following the heart" simply because we've romanticized it so much. But now that it's only used as a canned excuse for (usually) acting stupidly and selfishly, it's not doing anyone anygood. Well, except for those that want to get away with it...
Name: Diana La Femina
Username: dlafemin@brynmawr.edu
Subject:
Date: 2002-11-03 12:59:48
Message Id: 3493
Comments:
First off, I would like to make a comment on the topic of controling one's emotions. I don't believe that we have much control over what emotions we actually feel per say, but we do have control over which one's we allow ourselves to feel. I know that I personally block out a lot of emotions that I don't want to feel at a certain time, which comes back to get me later. If you're angry at someone, you can push that emotion down and concentrate on the beautiful day. However, that anger won't go away. It will stay there, nagging you until you either let yourself experience the emotion or let it build up to be so strong that it takes over you. So, you can make people believe you're in a good mood, you can even make yourself believe it if you're lucky, but if there are underlying emotions there's no way you can lie to yourself forever.
On another note, while doing research for the next paper I came across a quote that I wanted to share:
Knowing is objective in the sense of establishing contact with a hidden reality.
After thinking for a few minutes to try to figure out what it was saying, it really hit home. What does everyone else think?
Name: CR
Username:
Subject: Emotions
Date: 2002-11-03 13:25:18
Message Id: 3494
Comments:
On the subject of controlling one's emotions, I think that you can do things that influence your emotional state (including actions to try to get yourself to ignore it, cheer up, etc. and actions to influence the situation that's upsetting you when possible to do so) to some extent, but only to some extent. I also agree with the notion that it's not always a good idea to try to just arbitrarily change/stifle emotions that you naturally feel. They are telling you something -- perhaps kind of like if you accidently put your hand down on something hot and get burnt ... If you were to be numb and not feel the pain you would still be getting burnt you just might not move your hand for a while. I tend to feel more comfortable with the idea of analyzing my emotions (what I'm feeling and why, etc.) and then trying to figure out how best to address things from there (ie: is there a way I can change the conditions which are upsetting me, etc.). This also, at least for me personally, feels like it keeps me more in touch with what I actually want, what actually makes me happy, satisfied, etc. (wow this is sounding cliched ...). Admittedly, there are some temporary scenarios in which it's useful to be able to briefly put off analyzing your feelings until an immediate situation has passed (ie: if I have an exam to take and I'm upset about something unrelated, it's useful to be able to pull myself together for it and analyze emotions later).
Name:
Username: Anonymous
Subject: Emotions and how they inhibit me from living
Date: 2002-11-03 13:38:53
Message Id: 3496
Comments:
I totally understand how emotions have such a large impact on how we live our daily lives. There are so many things that effect our emotions - something as simple as tripping over something on the way out of bed in the morning can tell me that today is going to be simply, for lack of a better word, shitty - and it's sometimes hard to know how to put your emotions back in place so that you can feel better and move on with your life. Sometimes it's as simple as eating the right food, like fruits or fish, and sometimes you have to take a DAY OFF and just turn in stuff a little late. I remember last year I was going though a hard time, not only being away from home, but with the different weather patterns (as you can guess, one sees the sun a lot more often in California than in Pennsylvania), missing my old friends and adjusting to all the work. One thing that helped was to just take a little bit of time to myself every day. Since I was in a double, that meant taking an old book that wasn't for class to the campus cafe, starbucks or cosi's, splurging (who has $4 to spend on one cup of coffee, I ask you?) and just reading and enjoying my own company for a couple hours. This year I'm in a single and I have the opposite problem - that is, I constantly want to be with people. My door is always open, and luckily my hall is very social and they're all very nice. But it goes beyond that, as well - I always want to eat with someone at the dining hall, and I hate walking into town by myself, an experience I cheriched last year.
Someone was talking about how watching television helped her to get over feelings of depression. That's interesting, because I do the same thing. I think that when you're depressed, you tend to think too much about how awful things are, and then your sensible side says that it's really not so bad but you still feel crappy and you can't explain why and you don't really know why you feel so bad and therefore you don't know how to go about feeling better ... you see what I mean. And when you're watching television, your actually think less - seriously, your brain waves actually slow down - in fact, your brain works harder when you're asleep than when you're watching television. This gives your brain a rest and, by the time you're done with SNL or 'Sex and the City' or, my own personal favorite, 'Gilmore Girls', things don't seem so bad as they did before.
Just a thought ...
Name: Stephanie Lane
Username: slane@brynmawr.edu
Subject: More emotions...
Date: 2002-11-03 14:49:56
Message Id: 3497
Comments:
It seems that the topic of emotion is on everyone's mind. But it also seems like people tend to discriminate and regard certain emotions in a bad light. I think many people confuse emotion, by itself, with the emotion and the way it is expressed.
I mean, people are talking about how you should block out "bad" emotions like sadness or anger and store them away or whatever, but I think that emotions should be felt to their proper extent, at the time for which they apply. This may sound strange at first but, who's to say that being happy is better than being sad? People shouldn't be one emotion all the time. I know this seems like twisted justification from an often labeled "overreactive," "oversensitive" person like myself, but I think that you wouldn't have the emotions you have unless you were supposed to feel them (save cases of depression or other diseases). It's good to be angry, happy, sad whatever because it is what you are feeling and it is who you are at the moment. People should just be careful in their expression of them. Anger can lead to violence or crime, and I'm in no way justifying those effects. I am saying that that person has a right to their emotions and you can't look down on a person for experiencing them. Lots of great things can be accomplished when a person expresses their sadness or happiness; just look at some of the world's greatest works of art.
I think society should be more accepting of emotions and their importance on a personal level. WHat triggers one person's anger may not in another person because its relative to each individual. We should remember that when we do experience saddness or anger or joy that we have every right to feel it, we just have to be careful about the way in which it is expressed.
Name:
Username: Anonymous
Subject:
Date: 2002-11-03 16:35:27
Message Id: 3501
Comments:
