Emotions Emotions are the strong, immediate reactions that you feel in response to an experience. People of all ages and societies have emotions. Emotions are very powerful. They can make you sick or can help you heal.

Love Love is a strong affection or deep concern for another person. All people have the ability to give love and the need to receive it. There are many forms of love and many ways to express it. Some types of love are not felt toward people, but for your country or for humanity.

Anger Anger is a strong feeling of displeasure It causes physical reactions like an increase in heart rate, trembling, or your face may feel very warm.

Hostility Hostility is another feeling of displeasure, it is a negative way of expressing an emotion. People show hostility by making nasty remarks or going against others ideas.

Fear You may feel fear when you are in danger. It can make you sweat,your heart beat rapidly, or your hands and feet get cold. Fear of real threats to you can be a helpful emotion. It can warn you to move out of the path of a car and lead you to take some precautions.

Anxiety Anxiety is the fear of the unknown. It is often the fear of being hurt, failing, or losing something important to you. Anxiety may make you feel nervous or ill at ease. Your blood vessels may dilate and cause you blush. It can change your digestive tract, leaving you with a tight feeling in your stomach.

Grief Grief is a deep sorrow that is caused by the loss of someone or something. Grief should be recognized as an emotion most people experience. It should serve as a reminder of your ability to love and form friendship. There are some healthy and and some unhealthy ways to deal with grief.

Guilt Guilt is the feeling of having done something wrong. Thoughts that cause guilt are more difficult to recognize than actions. Guilt can be a helpful emotion by helping you live in accordance with your conscience.

Defense Mechanisms Some emotions can be difficult to face, so we use defense mechanisms. Ways to protect or defend themselves from feeling too much pain is a defense mechanisms. These mechanisms serve a good purpose but they can be used too much. It is important to learn whether your defense mechanisms are working for or against mental well-being.

Repression Repression is the act of pushing away the painful feelings from the conscious thought. This defense is said to be one of the most important of them all. Repressed feeling usually come out in another form and cause anxiety.

Rationalization This mechanism is the act of making an excuse for a behavior. It is an attempt to excuse yourself from guilt and preserve your self-esteem. Rationalization is making an excuse because the real reason is difficult to face. Rationalization can help you maintain respect for a while, but it does not face reality.

Compensation Covering up faults and weaknesses by excelling in other areas is compensation. Compensation occurs when the person feels insecure or expects too much of themselves. Compensation can be helpful for it can lead you to new skills in new areas, but it will not solve the original problem.

Projection Projection is seeing your own faults in other people. Projection is used when people do not like when they see in themselves, and put that fault on another person. Projection can be used occasionally and does not have to be a problem. If used a lot, it hides the opinions you have on yourself, and keep you from changing bad behavior.

Idealization When a person admires someone so much that they refuse to see the faults and see them as perfect it is called idealization. This defense is important as it can help you set personal goals. However, it often means that you are exaggerating the good qualities about the person.

Daydreaming Daydreaming is the creation of fictional events that are more pleasant or exciting than the real world. Using imagination in this way protects you from the anxiety of trying to develop real friendships. But daydreams can serve as a substitute for reality and keep you from taking action to meet your goals.

Regression Regression is acting less maturely than you normally would. You are regressing if you throw a tantrum or sulk. It is much better to express the disappointment maturely. Regressive behavior is first learned as a small child. Everyone feels like going back to childish behavior, but it is more helpful to deal with the problem in a more mature way.

Denial Denial is the refusal to accept reality. This defense mechanism protects one from facing an unpleasant fact that they cannot yet accept. Denial is the first stage of the grieving process. Denial can stop you seeking help for a problem. It can be used constructively to help people who need it. Denying the end of a relationship can hinder you from making new ones.

Sublimation This is the replacement of undesirable impulses with acceptable behavior. If you are angry you may go exercise and calm down, all the while you are doing something positive for yourself. It is only successful however if all the anger is completely released.

Displacement Putting your feelings about one person to another is called displacement. You use displacement if you take out your anger on a completely innocent person. This takes place if the person feels they cannot stand up to the one they are mad at. The emotion is directed at someone else. Displacement can keep you from righting the problem.

Reaction Formation People try to hide their true feelings by acting the opposite they way they would like to act. Those who do this are usually unaware that they are doing so. It is often hard for people to discover their true feelings, but once they do healthy changes can be made.