Theories About Emotions

There are plenty of theories about emotions, and their purpose in our lives. Modern society tends to suggest that emotions lack purpose and derail us from our path in life. When we experience negative emotions, friends and family may tell us to "suck it up" and to "get over it", as if experiencing these emotions are at best pointless and at worst detrimental. Even positive emotions sometimes are prey to this idea. For example, many say that love makes us blind and that ignorance is bliss. However, we can define emotions in the same way we define thoughts, or at least interpreted in much the same way as thoughts. These thoughts and emotions serve a purpose in our lives.

Emotions affect us rapidly in comparison to other forms of thought, yet …show more content…
First, a child’s overemotional reaction signals to the parents or guardians of an unmet need or desire in children who have not yet developed the skills to express these needs or desires. The second benefit comes from the impact emotions have on a child’s ability to learn about their world through trial and error, through experience. When a young child loses a balloon, they’re reaction might be anything but helpful to the situation. They are experiencing loss on a small scale, but this may be a momentarily overwhelming experience to the child. However, that experience is a step towards preparing for the larger losses that will come later in life. As children grow into adults, they learn to recognize similar situations from the emotions they produce. This allows us to evaluate what actions may be helpful or harmful to the …show more content…
Many see this as a problem with emotions, yet there is an upside in that our emotions do not enslave us. Emotions can be learned, and in fact this is can be seen in both the negative spiraling of depressive emotions and the positive effect that therapy can have instilling positive patterns of thought. Further, through emotions we can gain a deeper understanding of ourselves. Again, this reflects the importance of emotions in our lives as a person who seems unbalanced, or prone to outbursts can find it difficult to fit into society and may be emotionally ill-equipped to traverse society 's intricate expectations. While an emotionally adjusted person will tend to have a better chance in society. Far from being a fruitless by-product of being human, reflection on our emotions may be the key to understanding ourselves, and discovering our misunderstandings of the world around