The Basic Feelings
Human beings experience a range of basic emotions in response to different situations:
- When faced with a threat, people feel fear. If the threat is not immediate or is mild, it appears as a worry.
- When facing injustice or unfairness, people feel anger. If the situation is less intense, they may feel upset instead.
- During positive events, such as pleasant thoughts, happy memories or anticipation of success, people experience happiness, which brings a sense of calm, satisfaction and well-being.
- When experiencing loss or separation, people feel sadness.
- When someone acts against their own values or principles and feels anger toward themselves, they experience guilt.
- When someone loses their sense of dignity or self-respect, they feel shame.
However, in many cases, people do not experience these authentic feelings appropriately in the situations where they naturally belong. As adults, we often replay emotional patterns learned in childhood and replace genuine emotions with those that were permitted or accepted by our caregivers. These substitute emotions are called racket feelings.
Expressing authentic feelings helps a person respond to the present situation and find closure. In contrast, expressing racket feelings keeps the emotional issue unresolved and prevents personal growth.