Last update: April 30, 2020
There are common emotions that we have all experienced. Fear in the presence of a threat. Ira, when someone attacks us or makes us feel bad. Pleased when beautiful words are addressed to us ... In short, everyday emotions that we all know. However, sometimes, some strange emotions appear that cause us bewilderment.
While calling them weird emotions, it doesn't mean they're foreign to most people. On the contrary, many have experienced them. What is difficult to explain is where they come from or why they arise, sometimes, in the least opportune moments.
To the human being it seems so strange to exist that philosophical questions come by themselves.
-Jostein Gaarder-
In this article, we will delve into the strange emotions that arise suddenly and leave us with a big question mark. These emotions still don't have a name, so they need to be described instead of naming them. Here are seven.
Strange emotions we all feel
1. Sudden and temporary loss of self-confidence
It is an unpleasant feeling in which a strong feeling of inferiority mingles, shame, frustration and shyness. From one moment to the next we feel completely helpless or useless without knowing exactly why.
We usually define this emotion with the expression "to make oneself small". It is that feeling of loss of self-confidence when we believe someone more competent than us in some aspect, although we would not know which one. We don't feel a threat, but suddenly we feel more vulnerable.
2. Sadness and happiness together
Another of these strange emotions is revealed when joy and sadness mix with each other. We would not be able to say in what proportion the one and the other are present, we only feel that they coexist. We even want to cry from happiness and melancholy in unison.
This feeling often occurs when we contemplate something of enormous beauty, like a landscape or a work of art. Even when we notice the signal of something bad on a beautiful and sublime object, like a beautiful flower with one of its petals broken or damaged.
3. Everything passes very quickly and we are on the verge of missing out on a great opportunity
One of the strange sensations that come when we pass from one stage of our life to another in terms of age. It is commonly called the 30, 40 or 50 year crisis. In these phases it is common to feel that time is passing too quickly.
But it's not just about that. We also have the feeling that we are "missing an opportunity", but we can't define it thing. Simply, it is as if we have missed the train that has already passed and will not return. It is at that moment, then, that a certain anxiety or rush to find an opportunity to replace the lost one comes.
4. Everything will end well, even if it doesn't seem like it
It is one of the strange sensations that are also very pleasant. We've all experienced it a few times, and there is a word for it: pronoia. This technical term is the opposite of paranoia.
Thanks to this feeling, we experience the world with disproportionate optimism and hope. We have an inner certainty that tells us that everything will be fine. We also feel the certainty that nothing can interfere in our path, which is much stronger and more powerful than the obstacles that could interfere with it.
5. A giant void when someone leaves
It is normal to be sad when someone we love very much visits us and then leaves. Sometimes, however, this sensation reaches enormous dimensions even if the person is not gone forever.
That someone who leaves leaves us an unbridgeable void in the soul. Sometimes we even have a hunch that we won't see it again, although there is no reason to think so. We experience it as a definitive goodbye, and this generates a conflict that dissolves quickly.
6. The impulse to launch into the void
Sometimes we find ourselves in a place of considerable height and, suddenly, we feel seduced by the emptiness. Here then appears the desire to throw ourselves and at the same time fear.
Some argue that this sensation arises from an occult desire to "stake one's life". In other words, to challenge danger in a reckless way. In some cultures, this feeling is known as "the call of emptiness".
7. Indulge yourself momentarily in the care of someone who loves us
It is a strange, rather pleasant emotion that we sometimes experience. It consists of a very intense desire to go back to feeling like a fragile and dependent child. It is born when we are in the company of someone who loves us and with whom we feel safe.
It is a kind of desire not to want to know about oneself, but for the other to take charge of us. It is not a state that lasts a long time, but when it manifests itself it is very strong, so much so that we think of abandoning ourselves to the other.
These strange emotions all combine different basic emotions. This is why they seem strange to us and that almost none of them are lasting. They are like a flash that appears and disappears when we least expect it.
