I was thinking about the range of human emotions and checked out this Wikipedia article about the contrasting and categorization of emotions. I was intrigued by Robert Plutchik's wheel of emotion, since it has "basic" emotions as building blocks and then the more complicated "feeling" these emotions produced.
Examples: basics anticipation and joy combine to form optimism. basics surprise and sadness combine to form disapproval. optimism and disapproval are viewed as opposites on this wheel.
With most things, this is more interesting than it is fully accurate especially with a subject as seemingly personal and open to interpretation as emotion.
My question is: what's the most complicated emotion or mix of emotions you have ever experienced? Describe the experience before, during, and after it happened.
Initially they just said don't discuss the case while it's ongoing. I imagine they'll give instructions when it's over. Hopefully there won't be any restrictions. It's quite interesting seeing the justice system up close, but it's challenging too. Most days are comprised of a couple hours of arguments and 5 or 6 hours sitting in the jury sequester room. That's frustrating, but it's a very serious responsibility so I don't mind that much. Plus I'm getting to read blood meridian during all the down time.
I'm looking forward to writing about it. I wish I could go day by day and relate the new evidence. The trial is obviously public, but still there is an embargo from discussing it. It seems odd to me, because none of us can process all the information we are given on our own. Discussing is how we organize our thoughts. The law is funny. It seems to reject common sense sometimes in favor of proceduralism (not sure that's a word, but I hope it's clear what I mean).
When I was depressed, I used to enjoy the deep sadness that came along with it. It was a mix of loneliness, melancholy, self-pity, and worthlessness followed by a "releasing" feeling. I honestly don't know how to describe it. This is usually when the suicidal ideation comes in. Now that I'm better, I tend to miss that sadness from time to time. There was something deep and beautiful about it. Like I'm floating in a warm ocean ready to consume me any second.
I've had a similar experience fairly recently. I had come home after a really bizaare return to my old college to celebrate a friend's birthday. It included messing around with some substances that usually leaves one on the butt-end of a fun time and at a place where my ex lives; there was no shortage of weird and complicated emotions. When I came home, I popped on some music and went walking in the dark. I started losing it and crying pretty heavily while still trying to hold it together. I was literally holding/hugging myself. Thoughts and the supposed feelings of death, massive loneliness, isolation, rejection, self-loathing, sadness, and darkness flooded through me. I got to a bench and sat down and continued kinda crying. Then, "Long Nights" by Eddie Vedder came on and I started getting chills. Then he gets to the part where he says "I-I'm falling" and his voice is kind of breaking, like it can barely hold the weight of what he's saying and I COMPLETELY lost it. My entire body shook, convulsed in this wave of loneliness and sadness and "i'm meaningless, no one loves me" and regret and longing and a slight gratitude that I was feeling something so strongly and it was like a full-body heave, and I felt like the entire world was crushing me from all angles. After that was done I kinda of laughed a bit and was just like "wow, I can't believe I could feel that" and felt an emptiness that was more relieving than anything.
not sure about long term, but the next day I felt like I was walking through an entirely different world...it was strange
So, probably nostalgic melancholy. That's the first thing that popped into my head. Every once in a while some stimulus, usually a song or a picture, takes me right back to the crazy times I used to have with my crew in high school, or to quiet game nights with Tchaikovsky and my family before we stopped being able to spend time with each other, or just reminds me of some specific moment. Since I'm currently a happy person with an upbeat outlook, these memories don't inspire me to compare my life now with what my life was then, so the feeling is wonderful (which it might not be if my life had gone downhill or something) -- I can smile through the tears, as it were, without too much trouble. But the wonderful memories come with the reminder that I'll never recapture certain moments in my life again, and that's a really strange feeling. Too, there's a certain tendency to revel in the melancholy; an orgiastic indulgence in self-righteous masochism. If I see one old photo that reminds me of a great memory, I'll probably have a look through the rest of the album to encourage the feeling to last. Etc. They say it's scientifically proven that humans respond more to sad songs than to happy ones -- I believe it. What's complicated about this emotional set is not what I'm actually feeling; it's that the best part in some ways is not remembering the happy memories, rather it's the sadness that comes from knowing they're in the past. Hope that's a decent enough answer to your great question. I try to stay mostly personality-superficial on hubski, but sometimes a particularly good prompt inspires me to share.
Might be your longing, or desire for the qualities of that particular time period as you imagine it.
Pain and ache is buried within the roots of the word "nostalgia" Give it a google
I love this. It doesn't happen often with things like smells, but when it does, it's amazing. I'll always love the feeling of walking into my parent's house and smelling mum's cooking after I've been away for a long time. It's amazing how the brain holds onto that sort of association.
I don't know quite how to describe it, but it was the most unique emotion/feeling I've ever had. And I'm not sure if I liked it or hated it. It was some sort of combination of sympathy, shame/guilt, embarrassment, joy, laughing(happy?), and amusement. Simply put, it was kind of like seeing someone do the same cringe-worthy embarrassing things that you used to do, and you all you can do is laugh because you know exactly what they are going through and what they are feeling. It's the only emotion that has ever made me physically react (besides moving my face). It was both sad, but amusing. And the only thing I could do is cringe and laugh at the same time, two things that usually never go together. Edit: I just noticed your question: Before, it's more like anxiety. You know what's about to happen, and it doesn't look good. During I described, sort of a cringe with a realization that you've done it before, then I don't quite know what happens but it's pretty hilarious because you realize that you understand the person's situation exactly. Afterwards I kind of feel a built guilty because I laughed, but sympathetic. It's hard to describe.Describe the experience before, during, and after it happened.
I have a similar experience when I watch someone act in a way that I know I used to act, but I'm able to see it from an outsider's perspective and I go through a mix of shame for being such an uppity bonehead, happiness that I'm not the only one that does it, sympathy for the fact that the person I'm witnessing is going through it, and a nice little release from my seriousness. Put more simply: being able to laugh at yourself when you see someone do something you used to do and you can see it from the perspective that those around you saw it (particularly older)
That was an interesting read. The first thing that came to my mind is a little weird. I don't know how often this happens to other people, but sometimes when I having my personal porn time, I continue pushing deeper into scarier and darker places of the Internet. I don't know if this is lust or curiosity, but it has landed me in some completely detached and somber places. Then after I'm done. I'm just sitting there completely sober, with a weird sense of satisfaction, but also disgust, confusion and bewilderment. Louis CK kind of explains what I mean. It's not exactly a complicated part of life, but sexual lust and impulse can get really confusing.
I'm not expressing approval or disapproval about watching porn, that's your business, but this video may explain why someone would push the boundaries on what porn they watch.