Hey ya and welcome back to “How Do You Identify?” Today, we will be discussing the difference between feelings and emotions (if any) and whether they have an impact on one’s identity. Let’s begin.
What are emotions? Feelings?
- Emotions- automatic, unconscious, (often instinctual) physiological responses to internal or external stimuli
- Feelings- conscious, subjective awareness of emotions shaped by personal interpretations, memories and beliefs
In other words, emotions are natural, uncontrollable bodily reactions to events. For example, when someone is scared, they experience changes in heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure along with dilation of pupils and muscle tension, due to hormonal changes within their body. The surge of adrenaline they experience in that moment is the body’s way of preparing itself to either face the danger or try to escape it (fight or flight). Feelings on the other hand, are associated with the persons memory or interpretation of a fearful event. For example, let’s say someone almost drowned as a child; due to that experience, anytime they are around large bodies of water, they feel anxious or uneasy. That person consciously associates water with fear. The same can be said of a positive experience. The surge of dopamine and endorphins (“happy” hormones) released in the body during the event, now causes a positive association with said event. Therefore, the person consciously interprets that event with feelings of joy, happiness or contentment.
Knowing what we know now about feelings and emotions, do you think they can affect how a person identifies?
Personally, I would say yes, FEELINGS, absolutely do. Follow me for a second…
If someone has negative experiences, it is more likely for them to have negative feelings about the world and potentially about themselves. Same thing goes with positive experiences and positive feelings. The way someone is conditioned to identify, is deeply rooted in PERCEPTION (as we spoke about during weeks 1&2). Essentially, feelings are exactly that; one’s PERCEPTION of events. Therefore, negative perception equals negative self-identity (and vise versa).
HOWEVER…we must remember…God’s ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts [Isaiah 55:8-9]. What God says about us, and what the world says about us are two different things. No matter how things may SEEM to mere man, GOD, can make any negative to a positive…all we need is to have FAITH.
“But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” –Luke 18:27
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