What are emotions and how do they work?

情緒是什麼？它們是如何運作的呢？

Emotions are often feared and avoided, because they are so painful.

人們常常害怕甚至迴避情緒，因為它們往往帶來痛苦。

So, why focus on emotions?

既然如此，又為什麼要討論情緒呢？

Because emotions give you important information.

因為情緒能傳達一些重要的訊息。

And tell you whether things are going your way.

告訴你事情是否如你所願。

Emotions help you to survive.

情緒有助於人類存活。

By providing an efficient, automatic way of responding rapidly to important situations.

它能在重要時刻不斷地提供有效、自動的反應。

Emotions help you to relate to other people and the expectations and demands of life.

情緒也能在人際相處上幫到你，處理對生活的期盼與要求。

Emotions tell you what you need. When you know what you need, you can take action to meet those needs.

情緒還能告訴你需要什麼，當你知道自己需要什麼的時候，你就會開始採取作為以滿足這些需求。

Emotions also communicate what you feel.

情緒亦能表達你的感受。

You learn your emotional reactions through experience.

你可以透過過去的經驗，來理解自己的情緒感受。

All your negative experiences can turn into a big, black and scary feeling inside

所有的負面經歷會在內心，變成一股巨大、黑暗又可怕的感覺。

You learned many of your emotional reactions long ago.

早在過去，你已體認到自己有哪些情緒反應。

(Ouch)

(好痛喔)

Your black shadow will therefore sometimes resemble a person who hurt you in the past.

內心的陰影這時候就會很像過去某個傷害過你的人一樣。

But your emotional experience and reactions can always be changed or altered.

但你的情緒經歷以及反應其實是可以被改變、扭轉的。

First, you need to know something about what your emotions are.

首先，你得先知道你內心的真實感受。

You have different basic emotions, some of which arouse you.

人類身上會有幾種不同最基本的情緒，好比讓人興奮的情緒。

And some that calm you down.

讓人平靜的情緒。

These are: Shame... Fear...

這其中包括羞恥、害怕...

Sadness…

悲傷...

Anger…

生氣...

Disgust…

噁心...

Happiness…

覺得快樂...

And surprise or interest

驚訝以及有興趣的感覺。

You have more unpleasant emotion than pleasant ones.

如果不愉快的情緒多過愉快的情緒。

That means you often suffer quite a lot, but that's because the unpleasant emotions help you survive.

就表示你時常活在痛苦之中，但也正是因為這些負面情緒才能幫助你存活下去。

Feelings also tend to be more unpleasant if you fight them. If you allow them to be there,

和這些不愉快情緒對抗時，難免會感到難受，要是擺在那裡不管它。

they become less unpleasant. You can experience and express many different feelings.

或許它們就不會讓人覺得如此難受，你可能曾經歷表現出各種不同的感受。

Like feeling hopeless, irritated, anxious, excited, lonely,

像是絕望、煩躁、焦慮、興奮、孤單。

embarrassed, suspicious, content and so on.

尷尬、遲疑、滿足等等其他感受。

These feelings all arise from your basic emotions. For instance, feeling suspicious springs from fear.

這些感受都源自你的基本情緒，舉例來說，猜忌的感受源自恐懼。

And feeling lonely springs from sadness.

孤單的感受源自悲傷。

And then it gets complicated.

就是因為這樣，情緒才變得複雜。

Emotions do not always provide you and your surroundings with good information.

人類的情緒不會總是對自己或週遭環境，透漏出正確的訊息。

Sometimes you fake emotions to get what you want.

有時候人們會偽造自己的情緒，以取得自己想要的。

At other times you cover up your "real" emotions with other emotions.

有的時候，我們還會用其他情緒來掩蓋自己的真實感受。

If you act like this.. (angry)

有時候看起來表現出生氣...

..when you really feel like this (sad)

但你其實內心是覺得難過的。

And your need is compassion and comfort, you will instead drive people away.

你真正需要的是同情與安慰，但你的外在表現常會趕走想關心你的人。

If you or someone around you is supportive, patient and curious enough to try to understand you.

若你身旁的人很支持你、有足夠耐心試著好好理解你。

You might realize that you are sad, and then get what you need to heal your painful emotion.

你可能就會理解到自己其實是難過的，進而得到所需要的關心以撫平痛苦的情緒。

At other times again, your "real" emotions are messed up, and make a lot of trouble for you.

也有的時候，你會搞不清楚自己的真實感受是什麼進而帶給你許多麻煩。

If you were scared a lot when you were a child.

好比當你還小的時候，經歷過許多恐懼的感受。

You might grow up having a core feeling of being afraid.

長大以後可能也會對萬物充滿恐懼。

You might over-protect yourself, so that no one can hurt you ever again.

你可能會因而過度保護自己，以免有人對你造成傷害。

Everyone who was hurt badly as a child has a deep need to feel safe, and a desire for someone to love them and connect with them.

每個在童年受過傷害的人，都需要並且渴望獲得安全感以及他人的愛護與關懷。

And heavy protection doesn't give you this (love/attention).

不過過度的自我保護，卻會讓你難以獲得愛護與關懷。

You can tell or show someone you trust, that you are afraid.

其實你可以向值得信賴的人，說出或表達害怕的感受。

You can welcome the feeling of being afraid and listen to it, instead of ignoring it and covering it up.

你可以試著接受這種恐懼感，仔細聆聽之而不是忽略它，甚至裝作沒這回事。

And the fear will then become more manageable.

如此一來，內心的恐懼也會變得較容易掌控。

You can also change fear by means of self-compassion and assertive anger.

你可以透過自我關心、有主見的生氣來戰勝恐懼這樣的感受。

You can stand up for yourself, without driving people away.

你可以為自己挺身而出，不需要拒他人於千里之外。

You can handle criticism, even if it hurts.

即使在面對他人批評時，雖然不好受，卻也能妥當處理。

You can take the chance, and let people in, even if you are afraid of getting hurt again.

就算你怕會再受傷害，但還是應該嘗試讓他人進入你的內心世界。

You feel and function better when you are aware of and deal with your "real" emotions, even if they are painful.

就算是痛苦的感受，只要願意敞開心胸、傾聽自我，就能體認到自己的真實感受，內心也才會愉悅並且充滿力量。

Your real emotions help you to get what you really need, both from yourself and others.

你的真實情緒能幫助你從自己與他人手中，得到你所需要的。

You feel and function better when your "real" emotions are fresh and new, instead of stuck old feelings.

當你感受到全新的真實情緒時，你也會覺得生命不斷在繼續向前而非活在過去的陰霾。

You can trust your emotions if doing so gives you what you need.

相信自己的情緒感受，因他們能為你帶來所需。

Stuck and misguiding emotions can change if you:

過去的陰霾與不佳的情緒可以改變，只要你：

Learn to attend to your emotions.

學會照顧自己的情緒。

Are curious and patient with your own emotions.

對於自己的情緒保持好奇心和耐心。

Talk about and show your real emotions.

談論並展現自己內心的真實感受。

Learn to accept having different emotions.

學會接受不同的情緒感受。

And change emotions with emotions.

利用不同的情緒來改變當下的感受。

And all of this is easier to do with the empathy and support of another person.

若能再加上他人的同理心與支持，一切也會變得容易許多。