Positive emotions: types, characteristics and effects on the human mind.

Let's see what positive emotions are, and how they affect the way we think and feel.

We all want them, some people even crave them. There is no doubt that positive emotions are something we all desire but can rarely have.

The ideal for our mental health and adaptation to our social environment is to have the right balance between positive emotions and negative emotions, although it is true that the former contribute a lot to overall health.

Next we will see the positive emotionsWe will see the positive emotions, emphasizing their importance in the good development and maintenance of a good state of health, in addition to seeing some of the main ones.

What are positive emotions?

Throughout the day we can feel many emotions. For whatever reason, our moods can go up like a roller coaster and this is totally normal and healthy, as long as it is within healthy parameters.. The best thing is not to have a mood that is too low (e.g., depression) or too high (e.g., euphoria), but to manifest the broad spectrum of human emotions within euthymia and in an adaptive way to our social and personal environment.

Very commonly, emotions are often categorized in terms of positive and negative. Although this is correct, it can be misleading, interpreting the former as intrinsically "good" while the latter as "bad". This idea is wrong because both positive and negative emotions are useful in our daily lives, as long as we feel them when appropriate. All emotions are necessary, legitimate and valid.

But even though it is "right" to feel any kind of emotion, it is clear that we prefer the positive ones to the negative ones. It is very important that there is a proper balance between these two types of emotions, but also, as long as we do not overdo it with euphoria, positive emotions tend to do us more good than harm. as long as we do not overdo it with euphoria, positive emotions tend to do us more good than harm, and we should do everything possible to attract them. and doing everything possible to attract them into our lives is a good way to achieve mental health. That is why we are going to focus on them, understanding their importance.

What are emotions?

But before we dive into positive emotions, let's take a step by step look at what are emotions? This question may seem obvious, but it is necessary to make a brief explanation of what they are. There are several definitions that we can give for emotions, being able to describe them as very intense feelings produced by a fact, a memory, an idea... something that we have perceived and felt in a very deep way in our being.

The word "emotion" comes from the Latin "movere", which means "to move outwards".. Understanding its etymological origin, we can see emotions as motors, something that gives us an impulse, a force to carry out a certain behavior.

When an emotion arises, it leads us to take one path of action, moving us away from another.. If we are happy, we move towards pleasant things because we want them to last, while if we are sad we move away from what has hurt us to reduce this feeling as soon as possible.

What are positive emotions?

Basically, positive emotions are all those that are related to pleasant feelings.These emotions arise as a consequence of the fact that we have interpreted or understood a certain situation as beneficial. Examples of this type of emotions are joy or happiness, emotions that as a general rule last a short time and that we want to stretch them as much as possible.

A positive state of mind is related to multiple benefits. A happy, cheerful and motivated person is a person with better memory, attention, retention of information and awareness of living in the moment, allowing better manage several concepts and tasks at the same time, which is why from the psychology of work and education is so interested in keeping the worker and the student in a good mood. Positive emotions attract productivity and excellence.

Although we have already mentioned that what is adaptive is the balance between positive and negative emotions, making us people adapted to our context, it is true that it is considered that the presence and attraction of positive emotions is a good indicator of health. a good indicator of health. The more positive emotions are present in our lives, the better mental health we will enjoy, as long as there is a reason to feel them.

Having a positive emotional style plays a very important role in our health. We can understand this from the opposite side: sadness, anxiety and demotivation can make a person not to take their physical health seriously, not to do sports, not to control what they eat or to take harmful risks for their integrity. On the other hand, if you are happy and have enthusiasm for life, you can adopt a healthy lifestyle, handle adversity better and take care of body and mind.

Finally we will mention the main positive emotions that we can manifest. Actually, the list of emotions of this type can be as long as you wish, depending on the criteria used to consider a genuine emotion as a state of mind. Below we will see a few of them and give their definition:

1. Acceptance

Acceptance is the availability to approve a concrete situation, not being obsessed with fighting against it., not obsessing about fighting against it.

2. Joy

Joy is the feeling that arises as a result of a good state of mind and that is triggers other positive emotions.

3. Fun

Fun is that emotion that arises when we interpret an action or event as pleasurable and entertaining or simply causes us well-being.

4. Hope

Hope is the feeling that what we want to happen will happen.

5. Illusion

Illusion is the fact of being very excited about something that will happen in the future..

6. Motivation

Motivation is the energy that stimulates us to carry out a beneficial action in the short or long term.

7. Appreciation

Appreciation is the feeling of esteem towards another person for what he/she has done for us, an action that we would like to give back to him/her.

8. Love

Love is the feeling of affection towards someone. It can be classified into several types, influenced by culture.

9. Happiness

Happiness is the feeling of complete satisfaction.

10. Passion

Passion is a derivative of love**, especially related to sexual life**.