How to recognize emotions? 6 useful tips

Several tips and recommendations on how to recognize emotions in yourself and others.

The process of recognizing emotions is of great importance to ensure a healthy quality of life, especially in terms of mental health. When we are able to recognize our own and other people's emotions, we are less distressed.

Some people are good at the process of recognizing emotions. Others, on the contrary, need to learn to do it by putting more effort into it; but that does not mean that they are incapable of mastering this psychological skill.

In this article we will see several tips and recommendations that can be of great use for all those people who want to know how to recognize emotions, as well as some considerations to take into account.as well as some considerations to take into account.

How to recognize one's own emotions?

Recognizing emotions is a person's ability to identify and accept one's own and other people's emotions.

It is basically like speaking a language. At first it is confusing and we may not understand the meaning of some things, but then, as we handle this language on a daily basis, it becomes more understandable and we become able to handle it fluently.

In order to recognize our own emotions we need to be able to to bring to the conscious part of our mind some aspects of ourselves that we often overlook or overlook. that we often overlook or avoid thinking about. This is fundamental to develop Emotional Intelligence.

There are always issues concerning ourselves that we prefer to leave forgotten. However, the sooner we dare to review these aspects with an objective criterion, the closer we will be to understanding how we feel.

How to recognize the emotions of others?

When it comes to recognizing other people's emotions it is necessary to understand to some extent how body language worksThis is an aspect that is intrinsically related to emotionality.

When we feel sad, our face expresses it through gestures and movements of the small muscles spread all over our face, and even if we try to hide it, non-verbal language responds to a great extent to our emotions, nonverbal language responds to a great extent to unconscious aspects of our personality.Therefore, sadness may be noticed despite the effort to hide it. The same happens with other emotions and feelings: happiness, nostalgia, euphoria, etc.

Thus, when we are able to relate a person's body language to their emotions, we are closer to understanding how they feel.

Another essential aspect of identifying the emotions of others is to know how to properly interpret their speech. knowing how to properly interpret their speech.

A person can appear to be fine, and at the same time, when we talk to them, give us signs that something is wrong, if we know how to listen carefully and interpret between the lines of what they are saying.

Tips for understanding our emotional side

Now we will see some ways in which we can be more accurate in recognizing emotions, both our own and those of others.

1. Accept the real reason for emotions

Every emotion responds to motives that for us have a particular meaning, capable of altering our levels of consciousness.

If we accept the situation and we are able to face it, no matter how irrational the cause may appear to beIf we do not recognize the emotion we are having at that particular moment, then we will also recognize the emotion we are having at that particular moment.

2. Recognize your environment

The environment has a great influence on our emotionality.The situations that develop around us are capable of making us feel in many ways. That is why when we have a better control and recognition of the place that surrounds us, we can recognize what exactly triggers the emotions we feel.

3. Be consistent with your actions

In order to be able to properly recognize our emotions, we must try to be as consistent as possible with our actions.

This means that to the extent that our thinking and our actions follow the same path, we will be able to recognize our emotions in a clearer way, without falling into cognitive dissonance.

For example, inaction in the face of certain problems we have in our lives may also be a sign of a lack of action. will cause us difficulty in analyzing how that makes us feel, through self-deception.through self-deception.

4. Prevention of negative emotions

When we have the ability to recognize the factors that cause us distress, we may be able to prevent coming into contact with those factors (as far as possible).

By doing this, we are decreasing the probability of having very intense negative emotions that block our capacity for analysis.. Therefore, the process of recognizing our emotions will be favored, since we will not have to deal with extremely unpleasant emotions.

5. Understanding situations as they are really happening

This point refers to the capacity for cognition that all human beings have. Cognition involves using higher mental processes (analysis, logical thinking, interpretation, conflict resolution, memory, etc.).

In order to be able to understand situations as they are really happening, and not as we would like them to be, by employing this type of thinking we are already recognizing emotions in a very real way and we can look for the best alternatives to our situation.

6. Accept that some things are out of your control.

At certain times you will encounter situations situations in which you will not be able to intervene to alter their outcome in the way you would like to. It is important to keep this limitation in mind.

Sometimes you just have to accept that things are happening in a certain way, and deal with it. Understanding that makes us more sensible and capable of recognizing our emotions in their full extent, assuming that we cannot manage them at our whim.