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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by orchid on December 7, 2005, at 7:49:56
I have a question folks.
When you are happy or peaceful, do you find yourself still able to access the emotional part of yourself?Usually when I become happy, I just become so un emotional. For instance, I can't seem to empathize that much. Or when I read the posts here, I jsut don't know what to say. But when I feel sad, I seem to be able to find the right words to say to the posts here. But not when I am happy. I seem to be not able to access that part of the brain and the emotions. I almost become emotionally stupid I think. I can't seem to find any good thing to say. And I tend to dismiss things as trivial, which I know I don't do when I am depressed.
Anybody else feels this way?
I even have a feeling, that this might be a key charactersitic in people who are cheerful all te time. Maybe they just become indifferent to pain and tend to neglect it and not feel too much of it. Does it sound right?
Oh - by the way, one of the doctors here mentioned that I seem to be extremely cheerful!! Though I was little upset when he jokingly dismissed my claims of mental depression, I felt good that finally I am becoming quite cheerful.
Posted by one woman cine on December 7, 2005, at 8:11:35
In reply to When I am happy, I can't seem to access my emotion, posted by orchid on December 7, 2005, at 7:49:56
I find that I can access certain thoughts or feelings depending on the emotional state I'm in.
& I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I think you are talking about empathy? Maybe? I try to be empathetic - which I don't think is an emotion, necessarily - but empathy can be difficult depending on way that I feel about a situation or depending how I feel in general.
But this is also, I think related to perspective. My perception of things expands or contracts with how I'm feeling.
Posted by orchid on December 7, 2005, at 9:16:27
In reply to Re: When I am happy, I can't seem to access my emotion, posted by one woman cine on December 7, 2005, at 8:11:35
Actually, I didn't mean empathy. I meant, like feeling intense pain at a situation. Like, when I am depressed, I tend to view other's difficulties, (and perhpas my own too) as very difficult and painful, and feel extremely sorry and regretful (both for others and for myself). But when I am happy, I feel most difficulties are kind of trivial, and have a tendency to dismiss them as part of life. In essense, I don't see them as quite as big an issue.
Posted by one woman cine on December 7, 2005, at 9:28:06
In reply to Re: When I am happy, I can't seem to access my emotion » one woman cine, posted by orchid on December 7, 2005, at 9:16:27
Hmmm, maybe we are seeing the word empathy differently.
"Like, when I am depressed, I tend to view other's difficulties, (and perhpas my own too) as very difficult and painful, and feel extremely sorry and regretful (both for others and for myself). "
---I think is empathy, no? Maybe not in the truest sense - but in the way you are able to understand (maybe a better word) someone else's pain. I think we can empathy for ourselves as well.But I can see what your saying. Maybe you can get in touch with feelings of sadness and pain more easily when you are in that particular state yourself.
& maybe, like myself, when I feel in a better place - I am able to not feel the pain as intensely (or internalize it!, yes - what I wanted to say!), but I can intellectually undertand it.
This is the end of the thread.
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