The seven basic or instinctive human emotions arise without conscious will and affect the body, mind and soul. Think of them as fleeting, subconscious signposts felt physically as well as mentally, warning you to act. Unlike a mood, an instinctive emotion has an external stimulus. It is the way humans deal with matters or situations that they find personally significant.
First identified in the Chinese book of Rites, thousands of years ago, there is still discussion today on definitions of emotions but agreement that they are made up of three parts: subjective experience, physiological and then behavioural response. While basic emotions are universal to all humans across cultures and education, the experience and intensity of the emotion is highly subjective, filtered through the soul, that part of you that is unique, where your character, cultural experiences or religious beliefs and feelings come together.
The 7 basic human emotions are:
Anger arises when our goals or beliefs are blocked.
Anger is a basic human emotion triggered when our goals or beliefs are blocked. We all feel it, wherever we come from. For a happy balanced life, the first step is to understand our emotions, our triggers, practical steps to take in order to avoid destructive situations.
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Desire arises without will, it is a longing or hoping for a person, object or outcome.
Desire is universal, triggered by a longing for a person, object or outcome. We all experience it but not always in the same way. It can be a strong driving force to action, such as sexual desire or a craving for food or just a wish.
Desire can be exciting as we anticipate joy or have a negative outcome as impulsive action leads to destructive consequences. Understanding our emotions and how to respond is key to a balanced life.
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Disgust is a strong dislike to disapproval triggered by a feeling that something is toxic.
The emotion disgust, activated by physical (smell, taste, touch) or mental (socio-moral) cues, regulates risk from pathogens, sexual or moral behaviour and causes a body reaction of nausea, gagging, a bad taste your mouth, vomiting or physically recoiling or running away from the object of disgust.
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Fear is a basic emotion that can be real or imagined. We see danger, pain or harm coming our way.
The instinctive feeling of fear, one of the seven instinctive emotions, has been hard wired into your brain as an evolutionary survival mechanism. Think what would happen if you were face to face with a wild beast, what it would take for your body to deal with the danger.
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Happiness is an emotion that arises through physical sensations and through the joy of reason from connections, gratitude, savouring.
Happiness or joy, an instinctive emotion, acts in the reward pathways in your brain in your body, stimulating the production of serotonin and dopamine, ‘the feel good’ hormones. When happy, your body can feel tingling sensations, your face flushes, your heartbeat may increase and your energy levels increase, thus the saying ‘jump for joy’.
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Sadness is a sense of loss of something or someone or empathy for others loss.
Sadness is an instinctive emotion triggered by loss of someone, something, even the end of an era or empathy for another’s loss. Your body can shed tears and your soul be is as dark as night.
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Surprise is a fleeting sense triggered by something unexpected. An alarm bell that motivates us to assess the situation.
Of the seven instinctive emotions, surprise is the shortest feeling. For a fleeting moment, you experience something that you do not remember or expect. In the case of an unexpected sensory experience, like a sound, you feel startled, your body reacts.
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