The emotional background affects the way we see and interpret certain events. If it is negative, then we paint everything in “gray” colors, and such a state can drag on for a long time. What to do about it, and even better – how to avoid a negative emotional background in work and life?
The emotional background of a person is the prevailing mood, the general global attitude of a person to the surrounding situation, and himself.
What is commonly called a mood is called an emotional background in the language of psychology. Conditionally, it can be divided into the last two categories – positive background and negative. However, the nuance here is that the mood can change several times a day, but the emotional background is characteristic of a person most of the time. Any strong emotion strongly disrupts the mental process: fear, aggressiveness, disgust, etc. The reason is that emotions turn off the intellect. Emotion is a protective reaction of the body in cases where there should be an immediate reaction. When you lose your balance, it’s better to panic and react instantly than to fall to the ground wondering where the watermelon rind came from.
One of the difficulties in situational management of emotions is related to the fact that we do nothing in our lives to maintain a stable positive emotional background. For example, we monitor physical health and satisfy physiological needs. But we do not work with our emotional state and, as a result, complain about stress, fatigue, apathy, and lack of motivation.
The main characteristics of the emotional background:
- Weak intensity. It is rather difficult to understand, the emotional background is not felt, but depending on whether it is negative or positive, all other experiences and attitudes to situations are dictated precisely based on this polarity.
- Long duration, as opposed to emotions. The bill goes on for hours, and often even for days.
- The reasons for the appearance are not obvious. Due to the weak intensity, we do not have time to track at what moment the seed of this or that emotional background was born, so it is very difficult to understand which event or person affected it in this way.
- Impact on human activity. The emotional background increases or decreases a person’s activity and productivity. In addition, as a filter in the camera, it imposes a shade of its color on any event. If a problem occurs, a person with a negative emotional background will perceive it much more acutely than usual. And vice versa.
Of course, most people are more pleased to come into contact with those with a positive emotional background. It is easier to talk with them, and you do not need to look for a special approach, and they are ready to discuss almost any topic.
Since the emotional background of these people is very stable, they react poorly not only to difficulties in their own lives but also to other people’s problems. Simply put, they are unlikely to be interested if you talk about your problems. In most cases, positive people either do not take problems seriously or try to avoid them, especially if they are other people’s problems.
Owners of a negative emotional background are the complete opposite. Communicating with them is not very pleasant. Even if they make contact, soon you will get the impression that it is either an inveterate critic, a grumbler, or a pathological grumbler. These are the nicknames they are given.
They are usually disliked, thinking that they don’t need anyone and they don’t want to socialize. However, in reality, they simply have a different style of communication. Most often, they refuse contact due to a specific way of communicating. You should not try to forcefully talk to such a person and make him laugh. If they rejoice, then only in response to some happy event that happened in their own life, not someone else’s.
Don’t expect them to be happy about your happiness. True, they are quite willing to express sympathy, which is partially good, but it can also become a negative since it is so easy to slide into joint whining.
Another important feature of them is that they are quite hostile towards the world around them and are therefore constantly tense, questioning everything and waiting for a blow. This does not mean that they are all chronic losers and paranoids: there are also successful people among such people, although not as often as among people with a positive attitude.
In no case, do not try to recycle them. Despite the mask of a negative mood, many of them are quite nice and often very interesting people, so try to find positives in them as well.
A decrease in the emotional background is a neurological disorder that leads to a depressive state. People of all ages suffer from it. Nowadays, the reduction of the emotional component is a global problem, which is difficult to cope with on your own. Doctors believe that the modern way of life affects the emotional state of people. A sad, depressed, and depressed mood leads to a decrease in the emotional background.
Causes of the disorder:
psychoemotional stress, genetic predisposition, chronic fatigue, hormonal disorders, unfavorable relations, neurological disorders.
Symptoms of a decrease in the emotional background:
rapid fatigue, headache;bad sleep, appetite disturbance, exacerbation of diseases, decreased concentration of attention, memory impairment, anxiety and worry, craving for alcohol, excessive tension
If a bad emotional state persists, this is a reason to consult a specialist. The emotional background depends on internal processes in the body – these are hormones and neurotransmitters.
All organs in our body are subject to neurohumoral regulation: all processes are controlled by the nervous system and the related hormone system. Emotions are no exception. Hormones not only control the growth and operation of cells, tissues, and organs but also serve as neurotransmitters – “intermediaries” between the nervous system and the body.
Hormonal background.
The bad mood in women is often attributed to “hormones”, but what is behind this generalization? The hormonal background – the concentration and relative content of various hormones in the blood – is cyclical, and there are several such cycles, each of a different scale. The fastest is the daily cycle. It involves the growth hormone, testosterone, and cortisol. The latter is also called a stress hormone, but it does not act like adrenaline in a stressful situation. In the morning, the concentration of cortisol increases, due to which heart contractions increase and carbohydrate metabolism are activated, and the body receives a “push” to wake up. In the evening, the amount of cortisol drops, and we become less active but calm. If you do not get enough sleep for a long time or force the body to work to exhaustion, the daily hormonal cycle goes astray, which, in turn, leads to increased sleep problems and other consequences, including emotional ones: unreasonable fears and anxieties, hopelessness, and apathy. Chronic stress arises – a vicious circle that is sometimes difficult to break without outside intervention.
Daily rhythm and lighting.
Melatonin is responsible for the general regulation of the daily rhythm. It is a substance that controls our “biological clock”.Although it is not a neurotransmitter and does not affect the nervous system directly, many other substances are released under its influence, including dopamine and serotonin. Experiments have shown that melatonin injections relieve stress, reduce anxiety and generally remove negative emotions. However, melatonin has such a broad effect on the body that it is difficult to trace the ways of its influence. Its lack leads to several negative consequences, mainly not only in the emotional sphere, including premature aging and increased risk of tumors. An excess is also not useful and can lead to depression. Synthesis and release of melatonin depend on lighting: an excess of light reduces its formation, and a lack of it increases it. In humans, 70% of the daily secretion of melatonin occurs at night.
Hormones and menstruation.
Another hormonal cycle is associated with the menstrual cycle in the female body. The hormones that prepare the body of a woman of reproductive age for conception every month also affect the psyche. However, their impact on emotions is often overestimated. Hormones that work during the cycle – estrogens, luteinizing and follicle-stimulating hormones, and others – are not neurotransmitters and cannot directly cause emotions. A considerable part of negative feelings during menstruation itself appears for indirect reasons: due to constant pain, nausea, and general weakness. The brain receives similar signals during illness and suppresses any excitement.
Hormonal changes.
Hormonal activity changes throughout life. Changes occur in both men’s and women’s bodies, but in women, they are expressed more actively, such as the onset of menopause. This is a natural process associated with the cessation of estrogen secretion. As in the case of the menstrual cycle, the onset of menopause can be experienced in different ways – from a completely symptomless course to significant changes in the body and severe mood swings.
To feel good emotionally, you need to constantly be doing something. There is no magic pill. If you devote even a little time to your emotional background every day, the chances of experiencing emotional burnout are greatly reduced. 5 minutes a day will not save you from the appearance of negative emotions in life in general, but will significantly ease your condition and how you will react to them.
Based on the materials of Psychology Today
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