Translucent Emotions

[erm]

What I mean by translucent emotions is, in effect, emotions lacking the qualitative aspect.

So, I think the most common one is stress. Often times I realise that my forehead is feeling tight, and other telltale signs arise to show that in fact I have been feeling stress, but haven't felt it directly.

Another common one is anger, where it is only after my actions take place that I realise the base motivation was anger.

These stand in stark contrast to regular emotions, where it is completely obvious when say, stress and anger are present, from the moment they are. Instead, I have to observe myself to realise these sneaky things are running around. Which often requires as much focus as controlling strong emotions does.

Am I being crazy or have some of you found the same thing going on in your psyche?

If so, any idea what their nature is? Repression maybe? Any tips on how to spot them?

 

[Laurie]

I can feel cold when I'm stressed.

 

[Wonkavision]

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy can be effective in explaining/dealing with this problem.

Here's a link:

Dialectical behavioral therapy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Liminality]

Ahh, I think I see.
Sounds a bit like people who get flashes of rage, and then blank it out

I find for me it's due to thinking though my emotions, and runing away from or repressing the strong ones.

In my experience it's to do with repression, or stress, but I'm not all that sure.

 

[erm]

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy can be effective in explaining/dealing with this problem.

Here's a link:

Dialectical behavioral therapy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ha, thanks.

The mindfulness part is what I've been doing already to spot these things. Specifically though, present moment within myself, as opposed to focusing on something external. I find it's my own bias (i.e. I'm always calm and rational!!!) that makes me invisible to the external signs of these emotions, and Buddhist-like meditation is one way of eliminating that bias. They remain invisible internally though.

Distress tolerance sounds awfully familiar as well...

 

[Liminality]

Any tips for being too 'in your head'?

Ooh, meditation is definatly one to go for

 

[erm]

Ahh, I think I see.
Sounds a bit like people who get flashes of rage, and then blank it out.

Really? I've never experienced anything like that. These aren't exactly powerful emotions I'm talking about here. It might even be their weak nature that makes them "translucent".

Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if there were more powerful versions.

I find for me it's due to thinking though my emotions, and runing away from or repressing the strong ones.

In my experience it's to do with repression, or stress, but I'm not all that sure.

Hmm. Are you one to put a large portion of effort into controlling your emotions? (or trying to?)

I was lead to believe that precisely because I put so much effort into "mastering" my emotions, that I discovered these invisible ones. They are an obstacle I am having to face now, because the larger obstacles have been dealt with.

It's interesting that they could be a result of these actions. They certainly are a smaller burden than strong (negative) emotions, so it would still mean I have been successful.

 

[Liminality]

Really? I've never experienced anything like that. These aren't exactly powerful emotions I'm talking about here. It might even be their weak nature that makes them "translucent".



Hmm. Are you one to put a large portion of effort into controlling your emotions? (or trying to?)

I was lead to believe that precisely because I put so much effort into "mastering" my emotions, that I discovered these invisible ones. They are an obstacle I am having to face now, because the larger ones have been dealt with.

One of my friends radomly exploded apparently, at her sister once, just started screaming incomprehensibly, out of no where.

I think it's probably repressed rage.

I suffer from exceeding introspection - constantly analysing and evaluating - which numbs me raaaather alot. I must abide by my inner sense of values (NF), yet N and P lead me to be overly abstract and overly second guessing, so it gets rather vague.

So there arn't really big emotions, 'till my unconscious can't take them, and I get lost looking for the small ones.

 

[Wonkavision]

I have to observe myself to realise these sneaky things are running around. Which often requires as much focus as controlling strong emotions does.

Am I being crazy or have some of you found the same thing going on in your psyche?

If so, any idea what their nature is?

One possible explanation could be "Tertiary Temptation."


The "Lenore Thomson Exegesis Wiki" defines it this way:

The temptation, when we feel pressure from our Inferior Function, to explain our problems to ourselves in terms of an attitude opposite to our Secondary Function. This supports the self-understanding of our Dominant Function in Extraverted or Introverted terms, whichever we are most accustomed to. This cognitive move doesn't lead us to address the real problems, which would require a more genuine change in perspective; it does, however, restore an inner sense of harmony.

And specifcally, for an INxP, Tertiary Temptation looks like this :

Tertiary Si (INxP): "I can't possibly go along with this, I don't have any reliable concepts or map to anchor myself with: it's all arbitrary and untrustworthy and meaningless. I'd be diving in without any orientation; I'd be tripped up or harmed from any random direction, and my efforts wouldn't be cumulative. I just won't budge. I'll build myself some barricades and wait for the storm to blow over."

There seems to be a basic fear of losing control here.

I think the bolded part has to do with denying/supressing emotion, out of fear of losing control.


The solution?

Develop Secondary Ne:

The Secondary Function (Ne) would say: "Look around, shake up the pot, see what new arises, and deal with it imaginatively; there must be better alternatives available than being stuck here." (My secondary Ne says something more in the lines of "Pay attention to your surroundings and do the thing that will have the most interesting results. Don't be dumb just because you don't have any experience.")

Of course, DBT and Mindfulness Meditation seem to help too --which is probably more about developing Sensing.


In any case, I think it's good to know there are many tools available to sort these things out.

I hope this helps.

 

[Liminality]

Yay for get up off your ass and do something about it! Action and psyical work can be good for releasing different tensions that haven't registered in the conscious mind yet.

It most certainly does help

 

[poppy]

So, I think the most common one is stress. Often times I realise that my forehead is feeling tight, and other telltale signs arise to show that in fact I have been feeling stress, but haven't felt it directly.

Another common one is anger, where it is only after my actions take place that I realise the base motivation was anger.

Yes, I experience this quite frequently. Supposedly the body experiences emotion in the form of several stages of physiological and mental recognition. If you're distracted or lost in thought, you might not recognize and name the emotion. Hence suddenly realizing that you're clenching your jaws, or furrowing your brow or saying things out of anger.

I don't think it's a big deal, but it is a good way to end up sitting around stressed, which isn't good for your health. As others mentioned, just checking up on your body every once in a while and identifying what's causing the emotion is helpful

 

[Wonkavision]

Any tips for being too 'in your head'?

Relaxing in a "natural" setting (i.e. "the outdoors"----gardens, trees, fields, forests, beaches, mountains, etc.)can help.

Simply observing, with a minimum of internal processing or self-reflection.


Watching an ant crawl across a branch.

Listening to the sound of water in a fountain.


It helps to get away from text, and spoken language, and signs of civilization or any kind of man-made signs and symbols.


Simplicity and silence, both externally and internally.



If you're in an urban environment, noise and civilization may be a challenge, but in the end, you're observing what's going on, not tuning it out.

It's still Life going on, and it's still part of "nature."

You are to quietly observe, but the environment doesn't necessarily have to be quiet.

And even if you prefer outer silence, there are always pockets of tranquility in urban settings.



Then, on the other end of the spectrum---physical work, exercise and sports can really help.



So, what's the common thread between quiet observation and physical exertion?

I think they both get you "out of your head" and focused on the world around you.

They get you perceiving, more than processing (though, arguably, some processing will still occur.)

The idea is to compliment your normal mode of processing with some attention to direct bodily experience.

Sometimes that is a necessary and satisfying change of pace, especially if you are frequently spending time "in your head."

 

[Fidelia]

Stress manifests itself for me with need for a lot more sleep, teeth grinding at night, tight jaw, gripping the steering wheel with a death grip and one shoulder going all sore and wonky, and yet much of the time when I experience those symptoms I am not aware that I am feeling stressed. Sometimes when I come home and start talking about my day, thinking that it wasn't too bad, I find myself acting surprisingly emotional about something that really had bothered me, but that hadn't registered how much it did until I started telling about it. That rarely happens with anger, although there have been scattered occasions that I thought I was able to deal with something and when someone pushes their luck even further I end up saying what I had intended to say to them, but at a less opportune time than I normally would have and much more bluntly. Sometimes when I talk about something that I am sad or embarrassed about, I am surprised to find myself being on the verge of tears when I thought that I as doing fine. These occasions aren't often, but they always surprise me (and the other person!) when they happen.