what are emotions

[Mythic-TwilighT-Venom]

what are emotions really and why do they effect us so much i find myself helping ppl i usally hate and let my emotions controll me but can they be controlled? question  

[Intelife]

Well, scientifically speaking, emotions are chemical imbalances in the brain which alter certain functions, perceptions, and abilities. They affect us (or most of us, anyways) so much because we can't outright control them 100% of the time. However, they can be controlled. I hate to make this a 'duh' moment, but meds for bipolars (no offense meant to any who might read this, I assure you) do exactly that. They alter chemical flows to control anger and calmness. There is a chemical in chocolate (I can't remember the exact name right now) that increases endorphin releases by signaling certain neurotransmitters to do so. However, when this chemical is used up and cycled away, that's when the sugar crash happens.

Since we're on the topic, what emotions are you being controlled by?  

[0Jason Voorhees0]

While Intelife is right on the scinetifical explanation; I theorize that emotions not only reflect the way you feel, but also the way you lead your life. If your depressed most of the time, negative things happen most of the time, ect., ect..

I am being controlled by depression and happyness.  

[Intelife]

I think what you mean is that emotions determine how we view things. Yes, if we have negative emotions, more things will seem bad than good, and vice versa, but being negative doesn't necessarily attract bad things to you like a magnet. I'd drag this into a subjective/objective reality argument, but that'd be off topic.

Anyhow, the way I see things, a positive event, like beating a videogame, finally figuring out the damned chords for Misery Business, or getting the highest score in your school on a test, is like a big golden ball to set on the day's shelf, and every bad event is like a bit of dust that you can't wipe away. In my opinion, really, nothing material is worth having unless it means something more than a pretty image. Hence my hatred for modern art. stare

If you let emotions run your life like Jac's theory states, you'll be rejected at every turn. >.<  

[0Jason Voorhees0]

As that may be true, but if you have no emotion to lead your life... what is the point of living? All emotions will lead ones life, If you want to live a full life. Enough of that, It's getting off topic...

Emotions can be good or bad, but that does not mean that they should be explainable.  

[Intelife]

I think Jac's last point (if you don't mind me saying this again) is that we can answer the 'what' of emotions, but not so much the 'why' or 'how'. ^^


Oh, and if you want a life devoid of emotion, try the test subject from Portal. ^^ just an fyi.