So confused but am i the observer or participant

TrialKingTrialKing
in General

Soooooooo trying to figure out what is the difference between emotions and feelings they seem to be the same or used interchangeably is sadness happiness anger is it sn emotion or feeling or both but if it's both is there no real distinct different definition of the two words?

Am I being confused and emotion or feeling?

  1. What are feelings and emotions22 votes
    1. They are the same people just use whatever words suits their fancy
      31.82%
    2. Emotions are physical reactions, feelings are descriptive in nature
      13.64%
    3. Feelings are physical reactions emotions are descriptive
      18.18%
    4. They are the same but also different but I can't describe in which way
        9.09%
    5. After over thinking it I don't know at this point
      27.27%

Comments

  • [Deleted User]WriterGF (deleted user)

    The word "feeling" depends on context. You could be feeling happy or sad, or you could be feeling a pain in your leg or a headache. If you are talking about things like happiness, sadness, anger, then feeling and emotion mean the same thing.

  • SnuggleJohnSnuggleJohn

    Those are just words. Different people use them to mean different ideas. While some people might use "emotions" and "feelings" to distinguish between two different (but probably related) things, most English speakers consider them to be synonyms and would use them interchangeably.

  • TrialKingTrialKing

    I asked Ai it gave me an extremely convoluted answer lol

  • BluboySnugsBluboySnugs
    edited September 2025

    nailed it @WriterGF .
    @FutureHeart2023 you are overthinking. But there’s nothing wrong with that! All genius begins with introspective thought experiments ! ☺️

    “ emotions “ is a descriptive noun for a state of being, a general name for a category of things like happiness or sadness, excitement or empathy

    “ feeling “ is a sensation weather that be physical or mental

    So food for thought : our emotional state of being is not predetermined by our environment but can be brought on by our sensations or feelings of that environment ..
    in other words we can not control the things that happen to us, or prevent
    feeling those things , but with patience and understanding we can learn to control our emotional state of being or emotional response to said feeling .

    problem is so many of us can become extremists and learn to shut off all response to feeling, or blur the words together, feel so much without rational control of ourselves that we become confused and begin to equate our emotions as the very feeling that happens to us

  • JubalJubal
    edited September 2025

    Emotions are our involuntary biological responses to stimuli. Feelings are our minds conscious interpretations and reactions.

  • BluboySnugsBluboySnugs
    edited September 2025

    correct @jubal emotions are brought on by our response to stimuli in a way . but once you begin to take in that your responses are never involuntary, you can begin to understand the meaning of the words.
    We are what we put out into the world (our thoughts and emotions) we are not the world around us. Our emotions may cause others to have a feeling, a sensation and in turn have a similar shared emotion. So in that way we are all connected by our emotions, but not governed by or involuntarily controlled by them

    so to steal from the thread title :
    we are the observers and feelers of the world around us and the active participant of our own thoughts and emotions

  • BluboySnugsBluboySnugs
    edited September 2025

    if you were to show up for a cuddle session tomorrow with an emotion of anger .. your partner would feel that anger , but they would not necessarily have the same emotional response. they would choose to either be angry or to be something else.. like empathetic

  • LadyVelLadyVel

    Many of us use the words emotions and feelings interchangeably but they actually aren't the same.
    Emotions are our body’s quick and automatic first reaction to something, like fear, joy, or anger. So what emotion something causes (and sometimes it can cause more than one - I watched Inside Out for the more than one emotion tidbit).

    While feelings are how we make sense of those emotions or you could say its how we interpret and label them. So the emotion might be fear, but the feeling could come out as worry, anxiety, or even excitement depending on how we see it.

    So getting on a rollercoaster, 2 people could both feel fear but one "I'm excited about the ride" because they like the adrenaline rush and the other "I'm worried the ride is going to crash".

  • 4bearhugs4bearhugs

    When I move a file to the Cloud, that is an e-motion. When I touch something with my hands, those are feelings. Glad I could help.

  • BluboySnugsBluboySnugs
    edited September 2025

    we can feel emotions
    we can feel feelings ..

    I feel excited. “
    there are 2 different words in this sentence one is feel and another is a feeling

    to “feel” is a verb: it is an action our body and our mind takes

    excited is a feeling : a feeling is a noun :
    it is a name of that sensation of what we felt.
    feelings is just a common name for a larger expansive group of names
    it’s like car .. car is a name . but there are many types of cars with very specific names
    so
    .. feelings is a name , there are many different specific names of feelings both physical and mental : joy, sadness, heat, cold , excitement .
    we can feel all of these in our environment

    so.. our “feelings” are names we give the sensations we “feel”
    🤣 gotta love english

    ok stay with me now.. this is where it gets interesting..
    it can be confusing when speaking on emotions at the same time because we name our mental state or emotion with some of the same words : happy, sad, excited, etc ..

    but emotions are nouns / they are names of our mental state of mind.
    they are not physical and as such are not connected to our external world like feelings could be

    as above feelings could be either mental or physical
    while emotions could never be physical like heat or cold. they are only generated in our minds

    we can feel emotions
    we can feel feelings ..

    but only one of them is involuntay and caused by our environment
    one is a name of a sensation from the world around us (feelings)
    one is name of a mind state (emotion)

    be glad we don’t talk about emoting our emotions … omg 😳 the insanity of confusion that would cause

    just remember this :
    I am the observer and feeler of the world around me, and the active participant of my own emotions

  • TrialKingTrialKing

    @BluboySnugs heyyy thanks for the break down it gets the heart of the matter on observer vs participation i love psychology and philosophy that's why this topic is so interesting to me there so many ways you can take it

  • BluboySnugsBluboySnugs
    edited September 2025

    Indeed @FutureHeart2023 ! I love to hear everyone’s take on these kind of things too . Everyone’s thoughts and feelings are valid no matter what !
    No matter our reasons .. pro or not , We are all here to experience the beauty and individuality of others by making great connections… and maybe get some great hugs out of it too !

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