Emotions

[Ralivar]

I was just wondering how everyone deals with emotions, both their own and those of people around them. I know this is quite a vague question but I was curious.

Me personally, I tend to bottle up my emotions, mainly the 'bad' emotions, things like sadness and anger. For example when my parents told me and my sister that they were separating I just sat there and said ok, whilst my sister was sat there crying. I also can't handle other people's emotions, I don't know if its because I don't really handle my own or what, but it's like when my sister is upset I just don't know how to handle her.

Does anyone else do this or are most people do you think able to handle there own emotions and others well?

[Steve712]

I play the piano and write when I'm really upset. Some of my best writing and playing have come from moments when I was really down in the dumps.

[Black Cat]

I keep it all inside too. Actually what ends up happening is I kind of shut down emotionally. When something is bothering me I tend to become very robotic about things.

I blame my stupid WASP genetics personally. It's incredibly self-destructive, I know, but for release I write, jog, eat, cook, read, meditate, etc.

[Rikudo]

Well for me sports help get rid of anger,boredom,and loneliness. However at times when I seem to hit a wall with my abilities I become frustrated. But when I have success it's the best feeling in the world. However when it comes to relationship things I've been called a stonewall. I tend to be emotionless when it comes to other people.

Which is kinda bad cause for me it builds up and it all tends to get released in a bad way. For example last summer I was having trouble with football and I was having some issues with my dad. Then I found out I wasn't starting and got pissed. I got home and me & my dad get into an argument. Normally it would have been nothing but I just got so angry. I ended up blowing up and that just made things 100x worse. In the end we ended up not even looking at each other for around 2 weeks. When we did make up it was strange. I'm not one to ever talk to my parents about my problems.

[Zach1992]

I bottle it up too. I put on the front of happy or tired when I don't have the energy to appear to be fine.

[Ralivar]

That's one thing I definitely don't do is talk to my parents about anything really important in my life, like I complain about work and stuff like that but if I'm stressed about anything then I'll just bottle it up. I don't really have anyone that I tend to talk to, my best friend tries to get me to talk about stuff but I try to ignore it.

I don't even tend to blow up when things keep building up, sometimes I have a cry in private if something sad has been happening, although even that doesn't tend to happen too often. If something is happening in my life that I don't like I can't really handle it emotionally I tend to just ignore until I absolutely have to confront it and even then I'll do my best to get it over and done with as fast as I can so I can get past it or just continue to ignore it.

[Swimming4ever]

Yesterday my emotions got the best of me because I didn't get any sleep the night before. I was really stressed out because I have so much school work to complete in such a short amount of time. I also felt really lonely because I didn't see my bf in acouple of days. Once I saw him and got some extra sleep today, I started to feel like my old self.

[theJosephDean]

I'm exactly the same way, Ralivar. I bottle up everything that's deemed negative. When bad things happen, I feel like I want to have a tantrum, but I just sit and seethe and it's sooo not healthy, lol. But yeah, I do it, too.

And when other people get emotional on me, I have to take a step back and make them calm down first before I even have the thought to attempt to help them rationalise their problems.

I think it stems from the fact that I don't understand the human species at all, and emotions are things around which I can't wrap logic, lol.

Originally Posted by theJosephDean

I'm exactly the same way, Ralivar. I bottle up everything that's deemed negative. When bad things happen, I feel like I want to have a tantrum, but I just sit and seethe and it's sooo not healthy, lol. But yeah, I do it, too.

And when other people get emotional on me, I have to take a step back and make them calm down first before I even have the thought to attempt to help them rationalise their problems.

I think it stems from the fact that I don't understand the human species at all, and emotions are things around which I can't wrap logic, lol.

That pretty much applies to me too. I tend to bottle things up and never say anything unless it really bothers me or if i think that me saying something will actually make a difference. I've been told that one day im probably gonna explode and just go kind of crazy on someone but i doubt that. I might at most freak out and start saying everything on my mind which is probably going to hurt someone. I am very good at being able to tell what someone's personality is and who they are and i do understand emotions, its just that sometimes i freak out and i dont know what to do with life. Sometimes i just have one of those ultra depressing days where i dont want to do anything.

[Dtownandrew]

Emotions...

[Z3ni]

Hmm, well I bottle it up too. But sometimes I feel I can't be asked with being stressed so I just let go of the emotions.

[chained butterfly]

I usually bottle it up and talk to random strangers about it online. They don't know me so its okay lmao. But when I try to come out as nice and effectionate i become a super bitch. Love isnt something im mature enough to deal with yet... i think

[otc877]

I like to keep my composure, so I usually don't outwardly show any strong emotions. Instead, I find a quiet place and think it out. Driving always helps.

[Owen]

The one thing I never try to do is bottle my emotions up; I've had too many bad experiences with what that can lead to to try that. Instead, no matter what I'm feeling, be it stress, anger, sadness, or frustration, I go for a walk or a bike ride (I prefer to bike, but it's not always a viable option). It gives me a way to be alone with my emotions and work them out, which is the way I handle them. If I'm stressed, it allows me to think critically about my stress and figure out a way to handle it, and eventually reduce it. If I'm angry, it allows me to vent to myself in solitude and give the anger time to dissipate. If I'm sad, not only does the walk or ride give the sadness time to dissipate, but the fact that it's exercise means I am also counteracting that sadness.

Truth be told, I am very much a systematic thinker (opposite of an empathetic thinker), so I depend much more on logic and reason than intuition and emotion. This means I'm pretty bad at helping others with their emotional issues, especially because when they tell me about their emotion, my instant reaction is to want to help them address whatever is causing their emotional distress. This doesn't go over well with most people, since they only want to talk about their emotions.

I've been told by a few close friends who have talked with me about their emotions that they don't want me to help them; they only want me to listen, for by doing that, I am helping them. This really doesn't sit well with me, for not only does it make me feel like a passive participant in the interaction, but it disarms me of every way to help them that I can employ. I'm horrible at just comforting people, since I really don't like to lie or say things I don't know for a fact are true, and you have to do that to comfort most people. I also feel like if they only want me to listen, there's no reason the couldn't have just used the method I use (going off alone to think it out); if I'm not allowed to say anything about their situation, then I may as well not even be there when they talk about it.

Neurotypicals...

[Katherine]

When I'm upset, I pretty much shut myself off from the world. I lock myself in my room and cry. I try to find anything that can take my mind off of the pain: tv, food, video games, etc. I pretty much withdraw from everything.

It's not the healthiest way to deal with it, but I guess it could be worse....

[drownedfish]

Most of my friends come to me when they are having any problems im quite good at helping others with their emotions but i control my own completely differently.

When im sad i pretend as if nothings wrong I put on this fake smile and tell everyone around its fine im ok then I drown it out myself...if that doesn't work and I cant forget it then i look for whatever positive i can find in the situation no matter how small it is and i focus on that rather than the negative.

When im angry i like to go for a walk or a run depending on how angry i am i go out for an hour most of the time and it makes me feel better and forget things.

This may only work for me though

[malachite]

I wear my emptions on my sleeve.When I'm mad I vent. I say all the horrible things I wish would happen to the person that pissed me off, which most people seem to find funny.

I can usually tell how someone feels by just watching them, I'm usually understanding but I won't deal with people who want to dump their issues on my door step and think I have to take their crap becuase they had a bad day.

[Morphim]

I apparently don't show my emotions very well. Even if I'm happy about something, more often than not I have to force a smile. My parents once thought I was depressed or something.
When I'm angry, I keep it all inside and process these mean thoughts later on.

[donnie5]

packs and packs and packs of cigarettes lol

[Markio]

I used to hold things in. Then I went to a counselor and learned to talk to her about life crap. Then I took what I learned there and didn't wait for our meetings to try and sort stuff out.

Now when I feel bad, I think about what exactly is making me feel bad, why it bothers me so much, and what I can do in future situations where similar feelings would occur.

Like if I'm in a rotten mood while in line at the cafeteria, I always have to remind myself, "I'm impatient because I haven't eaten yet. These loud people aren't being loud to annoy me. And if it's really that bad, I can walk away if I want to. Or ask them why they're being so loud."

I also used to feel guilty for feeling bad. That was stupid, because then I only felt worse. I guess I really felt guilty because I figured that other people wanted me to be happy, and I wasn't. The solution to this was putting myself before others. Now if I'm unhappy, I'm not going to worry if other people want me to be happy, because I'd just be lying, and being honest makes me feel better.