Last update: Augusts 25, 2015
La fear, anger, happiness and sadness are the 4 basic emotions of the human being. They are equally felt by all at any time in history, age and culture. Do you know them? Do you know how to master them?
Such emotions are not within us for arbitrary reasons: they play a vital role in our psychological development; that is to say, they have the function of guiding us in the conservation of the organism and in socializing with others.
It is probably not easy to understand these kinds of concepts that seem so technical and belonging to an encyclopedia. The important thing is to remember that we are all afraid, we get angry, we rejoice and we are sad, because this is how the mind and body develop, to allow us to grow as human beings and to socialize.
We have learned, and will continue to learn, from our emotions. If you have had a very beautiful and happy episode, it is likely that this has formed your character; likewise, your personality has certainly been influenced by moments of suffering, in which you have become saddened or frightened.
It doesn't matter what age, where we live or what work we do: everyone, without exception, experiences these 4 basic emotions on various occasions in life. Emotions are very useful information, which allow us to understand our current state of mind: if we listen carefully, they are a guide to learn along the path of our life, to understand each other and to know how to continue.
Often, we tend to label what we hear; in reality, there are no good emotions or bad emotions. It is true that there are emotions that are more or less pleasant to us, but each of them fulfills a specific and absolutely necessary function.
What are the functions of basic emotions?
These four basic (or primary) emotions of the human being are an energetic resource, because they allow us to act expansively with others (anger or joy) or with ourselves (sadness and fear).
We will now analyze the four basic emotions, one by one, in order to know their specific function in our life:
- Fear. It is considered by experts as a "fallback" emotion, it is part of the group of reflective emotions and its function is to warn us of the imminent presence of a danger, to be ready to receive it or to react actively.
Furthermore, it allows us to evaluate the abilities we possess to deal with situations we consider threatening. If we learn to know and manage fear, we will move away from panic and phobia, through prudence.
- The joy. It is also known as “The emotion of opening”. Its function is help us create bonds with others; for this reason, it is part of the expansive emotions (as well as anger).
It can manifest itself in different ways, but more frequently in the form of tenderness, sensuality or eroticism. By managing happiness well, it is possible to achieve serenity and fullness; otherwise, we will fall into sadness, excessive euphoria or frustration.
- Sadness. It is part of the group of "fallback" emotions and is the most reflective of all. It always evokes events from the past and its function is to help us be aware that we have lost or yearn for a thing, situation or person.
Furthermore, we need to let go of what does not belong to us or that hurts us. Finally, it allows others to accompany us, so as not to make us too vulnerable or dependent.
- Anger. This is the second expansive emotion. It is an impulse, a way to get rid of something or someone, to bring out feelings that annoy us, because we live an injustice or because we feel hurt.
Anger it implies an energy overload which, sometimes, helps us to achieve what we want; for this reason, it does not always have to be regarded as a negative emotion. However, very often it happens that, instead of helping us to resolve the situation, if we express it in an extreme way, it turns into a further problem. Anger is able to cleanse all the feelings that represent a burden, but we must be very careful to recognize it, accept it and manage it correctly.
When we are aware of the functions of our emotions and we have learned to live with them, it will be easy to realize that they are all positive and indispensable for our life.
