Joy tells you, that whatever’s going on, is good.
Sadness tells you the opposite.
Disgust tells you that you’ll get sick from its object
Pain. It notifies you that your body is injured in some way, and generally in what area so that you can do something about it.
That being said, I think your original premise is oversimplified. I agree that emotions aren’t instructions, but they’re more than notifications–they’re part of the inner workings of our brains that can happen for a multitude of reasons. The common denominator is that most of them help us survive in some way.
anxiety is the classic one. it tells us not of immediate danger but that some shit is wrong.
explains a lot about the fact everyone is some sort of anxious now.
How does one find what is inducing it?
Narrow down your inputs. Isolate until you feel calm. Yes, this by itself is very difficult and could take a while.
but, if you manage it, begin reintroducing stimuli one at a time and monitor your inner state. Sit with it for a while and see if that experience contributes to a level of unease. Record your impressions. Repeat.
Confusion is a notification of prediction failure.
Anger notifies you that you’re sad, but also that you are too afraid to show weakness by expressing sadness so you express anger as it trades weakness for strength (perceptually).
I dont think thats correct, anger is generally more when you feel violated or in danger -> activate aggression -> take action to resolve
Anger is a composite emotion that is the combination of several emotions, a blend of a brief period of time and social conditioning. It is not pure.
The root of all anger is typically sadness, or fear. It’s been well studied that in the US, boys are taught from an early age to “man up”, “quit being a sissy” and other silly things after they show an emotional response. Boys don’t cry, boys are tough. Showing sadness or fear is a sign of weakness. So boys (and girls also) are taught and the lesson is reinforced when they are made fun of for being sad or fearful. They are also taught that where sadness is weakness, anger is strength. If something bad happens to you, crying is passive, submissive and everyone hates a pussy. When you get angry, you take action, you hit things, break things, hit people, lash out verbally, curse, call them mean things. Now others are scared of you or at least unwilling to engage–this is now control and control is a means to taking power.
Anger is learned, it is taught. It is not an instinct. Anger is not required to respond under duress. In a fight or flight situation, neither require anger. You can be scared and still fight. Anger is just what we are taught by a culture that prizes power and strength to be required in order to fight.
How does fight not require anger like if you’re not necessarily afraid of whatever the stimulus but you’re annoyed or contemptuous of it encroaching on you?
I feel like I can be pissed about something without necessarily feeling “sad” or “fearful”. Its more of a “lets nip this in the bud now so it doesnt fuck with me again”
