Discussion » Questions » Emotions » Can you think away your emotions?

Can you think away your emotions?

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Posted - December 12, 2016

Responses


  • I think some people can.. and sometimes they can just ride it out when they have strong emotions until they feel calmer.. It doesn't always work for everyone.
      December 12, 2016 10:35 AM MST
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  • 3907
    Hello Boring:

    Nahhh..  They're part of life..  But, you CAN learn to categorize them so they don't interfere.

    excon
      December 12, 2016 10:51 AM MST
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  • 44620
    I only get emotions when I think.
      December 12, 2016 11:02 AM MST
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  • 10052
    I think most people try to quash them more often than they should. In my opinion, it's better to acknowledge and accept them, talk about them, and most importantly, learn that we can and should control them, rather than letting them control us.
      December 12, 2016 11:05 AM MST
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  • 3934
    Yes, sort of, but not in the way you are probably thinking of it.

    While we have a cultural metaphor that rational and emotional thought are separate and distinct, that is not literally true of how the brain works. What we call "emotions" and what we call "rational thought" are actually intimately connected, particularly below the level of subjective consciousness.

    What IS possible is that through conscious effort, we can take steps which influence our emotional processing. For example, on my last birthday I unwittingly drank some spoiled milk and ended up with a bought of food poisoning. It was quite unpleasant, but I kept reminding myself that the food poisoning (which merely required sticking close to the bathroom and waiting for it to subside) was a preferable alternative to having a kidney stone issue (which would have required a trip to the hospital and possible surgery).

    My conscious reminding didn't change my level of suffering (food poisoning still sucks), but it did alter my emotional reaction to it.
      December 12, 2016 11:12 AM MST
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  • 7280
    As they say, it's not what happens to you in life, it's what you tell yourself about it.
      December 12, 2016 11:34 AM MST
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  • 8214
    You can reign them into control, it takes practice. Moderation is a good thing, it allows you to enjoy other things in life you miss because of the lack of it.
      December 12, 2016 11:15 AM MST
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  • 7280
    "But during the past 30 years, Antonio R. Damasio has strived to show that feelings are what arise as the brain interprets emotions, which are themselves purely physical signals of the body reacting to external stimuli."

    https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/feeling-our-emotions/
      December 12, 2016 11:39 AM MST
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  • 1523
    I doubt it.
      December 12, 2016 12:26 PM MST
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