Thread: Do some people feel emotions stronger than others?

Hi everybody.

This is my first post here and the reason I joined the forum.

Lately, I've come to realize that I believe I feel emotions stronger than other people. At least certain emotions. However, because I can only experience what's going on in my body and not what's going in another body this is something I don't know tthe answer to.

I have always known I've been different than others ever since I was a kid. I'm not totally different but different nontheless. I've been feeling extremely strong emotions lately for the last 5 months. I also know that I seemingly get more emotional than others in similar circumstances.

Question -- Does anyone know if some people feel emotions more strongly than others? Do some people get more sad, happy, excited, frustrated than others? I would think willpower in tough times in an emotion too. I would have to think yes otherwise people would be too similar. How much difference can there be?
Question 2 -- And my other big question is how would one know this?

Question 3 -- If we do feel stronger emotions than other people than is it balanced somewhat? Maybe we'll have a stronger emotion in one area but a weaker emotion in another?

Question 4 -- Also, how much of your emotional being is hereditary and how much is influenced by what we have gone through in life?


Thanks for any replies.

Hi, and welcome.

I certainly think you are right that some people feel certain emotions more than others. I think this is how we come to recognise people as being "hot-headed" and things like that.

To a big extent, I'd say this is based on your lifestyle and experiences, but I also know that there are conditions such as bi-polar depression that can contribute as well. I know a couple of people who have this, and there emotions can be very extreme. Sometimes they are very "high" as if they are high on drugs, and at other times very sad/angry/anxious. These people feel emotions to the extreme, and many can be extremely intelligent and creative. You can also suffer this to varying degrees of extremity. There may also be some other conditions like this too, but i'm not the person to tell you about them.

The way I see it, is that the human brain is basically controlled by chemicals, and that some chemicals can be more predominant than others in different peoples brains. I think this is due to people having more active 'gland' than others. For example thyroid disease is where you can have an over-active thyroid gland (don't quote me on that) which results in you being very anxious, and alert. I think my cat has this disease funnily enough.

Hope thats answered something, but other here can probably help out more.

how much you feal emotions is largly due to your surroundings as you grow up. if you grow up in a nice supporting cool fammaly that always let you get away with things and never got on to you this person might be more inclinded to get mader more easyly or a person who has had a hard life as a child with tamadic experiances might be more inclined to get depressed easyer.

Pretty much every human on the planet thinks they are 'different' to the next person.

It's all about ego.

Meanwhile, you cannot measure the strength of your feelings against anyone else, because even if you openly display yours, your neighbour may not yet feel them all the same.

In other words, everyone has a heart but some wear theirs on their sleeve.

Different personality types will react to some things more than others, and less so in other situations. We all have our triggers and environment often shapes how we express those triggers or what those triggers are.

I don't know your age but if you seem more emotional now than previously it is likely to be the result of hormone changes.

That or the effects experienced after drug taking, which can affect seratonin production by bringing on greater anxiety/depression etc.

Pretty much every human on the planet thinks they are 'different' to the next person.

It's all about ego.

True statement. Something I've thought about myself. I also think I have a large ego.

I don't take drugs except for headache relief at times.


Maybe I should talk about myself some briefly. Sorry it's not organized that well.

I am 31 yrs old. I am "different". I have been extremely shy growing up. I had to work very hard physically from the time I was about 3 or 4. I never trusted anyone as a kid. I remember often being sad. Up to when I about 14 or so I couldn't even say hi back to someone who I just kind of knew. I didn't trust them on a gut level even if intelluctually I knew better. My gut would say they're out to get me some way. I have tons of stories but let's just say I was very shy. I can be non shy once I truly get to know someone.

I've never kissed a girl before despite having 2 gorgeous girlfriends (long story). The first time I went to a strip club to help get over my shyness I believe I had an anxiety attack.
I met the most incredible, model like, smart, toughest girl ever online (my shyness is something I've been fighting for a long time and I have made gains) and we were going to get married as our passion/connection was incredibly instense. Due to unbelievable circumstances surrounding this and the events that followed I have been suicidal for the last 5 months or so. Moreso than at other points in my life. I have also been scammed out of my life savings so I'm broke now and have been betrayed by some of my family with concerns to money -- for yrs actually.

Also of note is that I have a headache problem and have had headaches my whole life without reprieve. One time for 5 months it got so bad that I couldn't function at all. Couldn't sleep, walk, talk or anything. If it was someone else, I would say it'd be proper to give them a mercy killing. I can live through my headaches now though. I have never enjoyed life except for when I was talking to my girlfriend.

I work very hard at exercise. I also tend to get obsessed with different things at different points in time.

I have to come to realize that I had some tramatic events when I was a kid. Some have been confirmed and some haven't but I think the unconfirmed ones may be true. One being that I was sexually abused when I was very young by one of my uncles.

There are some details about me. I have no memory of anything before I was 5 years old. One thing I really want to know is if I was sexually abused by an uncle. It makes sense due to certain things I know and feel. Off topic some, but does anybody know if it's possible to remember things from your early childhood like this? I want to know.

Thanks for listening everyone.

I can remember things as early back as 2-3yrs old.

I think you perhaps need to talk to a specialist about these problems, not science nerds no offence to fellow nerds.

Hi curiousnewcomer. I'm sorry to hear that you've had a lot of difficult times in your life. I have had my own problems dealing with my emotions and believe myself to be a very emotional person as well. Emotions are complex in their expression and their integration into each individual person's experience, and at the current level of science the best way to quantify how "strongly" people feel emotions would be to measure levels of hormones like seratonin, or to observe brain activity in response to specific stimuli.

As ToR aptly advised, it would be best for you to talk to a therapist of some kind for advice tailored to your life and your needs. But, I will tell you how I view emotions, and how I feel that has helped me deal with my own. Perhaps it might help you in some small way.

Emotions evolved as our genes' way of motivating us to achieve a certain goal. The behaviors that our emotions push us towards are ones that, during human evolution, helped increase our chances of reproductive success, of passing our genes on to the next generation. When I feel emotional about something I try to understand it in this context; something must have happened that, in some way or another, I felt was not good for me, and in some way my emotions are motivating me to rectify the situation. I try to look at the situation objectively.

For example, a new employee joined my group at work a few months ago, and when she first came I felt as though I didn't like her, and didn't want to be friendly to her. I knew there was no good rational reason for this since I hardly knew her. I then understood that I felt threatened by her - I was worried that she might take over my current project. I realized this was unfair of me, so in spite of the emotion I felt, I was still friendly to her. Now we get along very well.

Like I said, you should look for help specific to your needs, but perhaps thinking in this way might help you a little.

Originally Posted by Theoryofrelativity

I can remember things as early back as 2-3yrs old.

I think you perhaps need to talk to a specialist about these problems, not science nerds no offence to fellow nerds.

That's awesome. I'm jealous. When I first realized I couldn't remember back to my early childhood in elementary school I made a point to try to try to keep certain memories alive. It's worked some.

Emotions evolved as our genes' way of motivating us to achieve a certain goal. The behaviors that our emotions push us towards are ones that, during human evolution, helped increase our chances of reproductive success, of passing our genes on to the next generation. When I feel emotional about something I try to understand it in this context; something must have happened that, in some way or another, I felt was not good for me, and in some way my emotions are motivating me to rectify the situation. I try to look at the situation objectively.

Thank you for your input. I too try to think of why my emotions are the way they are which I guess is obvious by this thread. :-D I am proud of who I am and I would never want to be somebody else. I do want to "better" myself though. A lot of times I wonder why I am the way I am, why I feel the way I feel and how different or similar it is for other people.

I know how tough things can be; not only do I suffer from paranoid schizophrenia, depression, O.C.D., A.D.D., and possibly other mental ailments I also have grown up among tragedy. My father died when I was at a young age, there was a possibility that I was raped by two men who gave me date rape drugs at a party, my mother married a man when I was 14 who abused the shit out of her and I, I have lived in a relative state of poverty for at least 10 years, and I, like you, are overly emotional in relation to other people. I use the term overly emotional because I think that is what people like you and I are, we respond to things differently than other people, it is a curse and a blessing at the same time. I can not tell you how beautiful things have been and at the same time can be equally as horrible and hurt beyond belief. The only thing I can tell you is that certain medications work well if you are willing to talk to a DR. about these things.

Originally Posted by Schizo

I know how tough things can be; not only do I suffer from paranoid schizophrenia, depression, O.C.D., A.D.D., and possibly other mental ailments I also have grown up among tragedy. My father died when I was at a young age, there was a possibility that I was raped by two men who gave me date rape drugs at a party, my mother married a man when I was 14 who abused the shit out of her and I, I have lived in a relative state of poverty for at least 10 years, and I, like you, are overly emotional in relation to other people. I use the term overly emotional because I think that is what people like you and I are, we respond to things differently than other people, it is a curse and a blessing at the same time. I can not tell you how beautiful things have been and at the same time can be equally as horrible and hurt beyond belief. The only thing I can tell you is that certain medications work well if you are willing to talk to a DR. about these things.

I admire you for getting through all of that. I truly do. Strong feelings can be a cursing and a blessing but a lot of the times I don't think I'd want it any other way.

I personally don't like the idea of medication for my own personal self for various reasons. I'm fine with you using it though.

Good luck with everything.

................

Originally Posted by curiousnewcomer

Hi everybody.

This is my first post here and the reason I joined the forum.

Lately, I've come to realize that I believe I feel emotions stronger than other people. At least certain emotions. However, because I can only experience what's going on in my body and not what's going in another body this is something I don't know tthe answer to.

I have always known I've been different than others ever since I was a kid. I'm not totally different but different nontheless. I've been feeling extremely strong emotions lately for the last 5 months. I also know that I seemingly get more emotional than others in similar circumstances.

Question -- Does anyone know if some people feel emotions more strongly than others? Do some people get more sad, happy, excited, frustrated than others? I would think willpower in tough times in an emotion too. I would have to think yes otherwise people would be too similar. How much difference can there be?
Question 2 -- And my other big question is how would one know this?

Question 3 -- If we do feel stronger emotions than other people than is it balanced somewhat? Maybe we'll have a stronger emotion in one area but a weaker emotion in another?

Question 4 -- Also, how much of your emotional being is hereditary and how much is influenced by what we have gone through in life?


Thanks for any replies.

Hi curious newcomer

In answer to your post.

Yes i feel things strongly and often physically too, especially in my stomach or solar plexus.

If i am upset it can be painful and even agonizing!

I always feel stuff there, hurt, love, nerves etc

I also think like schizo that i get over emotional with people and i think people who have suffered abuse usually are.

I am very sensitive to facial expressions. I think this is because i became so sensitized whilst younger as my dad would show his moods through his face, often clenching his teeth and i was always conscious and watching warily for the next bad mood and outburst.

Yes i do think emotions are learned.

I think we have emotions which are primal and we all share, for survival etc, but it's our upbringing and social conditioning which give us those degrees of emotions.

As for the stuff you've been through

I agree with ToR and Paralith, you must go and get some help and talk to someone professional, especially if you are feeling suicidal.

Our own minds can be our own worst enemies sometimes by exaggerating our fears and anxieties and you need to touch base with someone and be able to talk with and get proper feedback.

If there isn't anyone you feel close enough to talk to please go and see a Dr who will refer you to a counselor.