The Ultimate List of Emotions To Better Understand Yourself And Others

Have you ever wondered why you have emotions?

Why do you feel happy or sad? Why do you experience awe or tenderness?

Sometimes, it's hard to define your emotions or to put into words exactly how you're feeling.

That's why we've put together this list of emotions — to give clarity to the variety of feelings you and those around you may have.

Let's explore the reason this list of emotions and feelings can be useful for you.

Why Do We Need Feeling Words?

The words we use to describe emotions help us identify and communicate the various components of a feeling.

Sometimes, emotions are so intense, confusing, or overwhelming that we're at a loss for how to express them or even identify them.

Feeling words may not entirely reflect the depth and breadth of our inner worlds, but they are the best tools we have for harnessing our feelings, understanding them, and sharing them with others.

They can also help us better understand and empathize with others.

A list of feeling words can be the perfect resource when:

• You can't identify exactly what you are feeling and need the right word to encapsulate it.
• You want to communicate with someone (verbally or in writing) what you are feeling.
• You are telling a story, writing a book/poem/play/blog/song, and need just the right word.
• You want to improve your emotional intelligence to better understand yourself and others.

Recognizing, identifying, and sharing emotions is essential to our self-awareness and personal growth.

It's essential for healthy relationships in our personal and professional lives.

Emotions are capricious and fickle. Words harness emotions so that we can interpret and share them.

You may remember saying to your own children when they were flooded with emotion, “Use your words.” Using words can help children and adults alike prevent conflict, misunderstandings, and hurt feelings.

When our physical expressions of emotion betray us, words can come to the rescue with their solid and practical presence.

What Are The 8 Basic Emotions?

Renowned psychologist and emotion researcher Robert Plutchik, suggested there are just eight basic emotions:

• Anger
• Fear
• Sadness
• Disgust
• Surprise
• Anticipation
• Trust
• Joy

He argued that each of these emotions triggers behavior with a high survival value, such as our fight or flight response to fear.

But these eight emotional words don't express the range of all the feelings we experience. They don't reflect the subtleties of our complex feelings.

That's why we've included 400 words on our list — to better help you grasp the variety of emotions you and those around you are experiencing.

What Are Emotions and Why Do We Need Them?

Emotions are biological states that are connected to your nervous system. They are triggered by mental and physical stimuli such as thoughts and experiences.

Emotions let you know what to do in a given situation. They can help you avoid danger or a potential threat.

If your heart jumps as soon as your car swerves to the side, that’s your cue to tighten your grip on the wheel and steer in the right direction.

• Emotions also motivate you to take action. If your abusive relationship has been making you increasingly angry, that’s your cue to set boundaries (or, in the worst-case scenario, get out of the relationship).

• Emotions also clue you in on your likes and dislikes. If you feel angry because your colleague is taking credit for your hard work, you may want to sign the projects you send your boss next time.

• Emotions also help others to understand you and what you feel. Your expressions, body language, and words all reflect your inner world to those around you.

• Emotions are crucial to effective communication. You can let someone know whether their behavior is acceptable by displaying a specific nonverbal cue. By the same token, others can let you know how they feel using similar nonverbal cues.

Granted, emotions manifest differently for different people. Some may show enthusiasm for sports but not video games, while others may be the opposite.

Some may be genuinely scared of horror movies, while others may view the same as pure entertainment.

In any case, being aware of how you feel at any time is a vital skill.

When you’re able to put a name to an emotion before it gets the better of you, your feelings and emotions can serve as a guide (rather than a hindrance) to living your daily life.

To start developing this skill, grab a pen and paper or some other note-taking device and look at the emotion list below.

Choose one word from the emotions list that describes how you feel right now. Write the word down and reflect on it.

Why do you feel that way right now?

What do you think is the best course of action given emotions and feelings?

Is it the right course of action from a logical perspective?

Here is the ultimate list of emotions to help you identify your feelings:

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How will you use this list of emotions?

Emotions (whether positive, neutral, or negative) are important in a variety of ways.

They play a vital role in how we think and behave, compelling us to take action and impacting our daily decisions.

There are three essential components of an emotion:

1-The subjective component of how we experience the emotion.

2-The physiological component which involves how our bodies react to the emotion.

3-The expressive component or how we behave in response to the emotion.

These three elements can play a role in the function and purpose of our emotional responses.

As you identify your emotions using our list of 400 words, you'll increase your self-awareness, learn better communication skills, and have more empathy for the feelings of others.