Have you ever taken time to think about how odd it is that we laugh? Or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, how odd it is that we cry? We often think of these two as emotions. But really, they are responses to our emotions. When we are sad or happy, a certain part of our brain is turned on, almost like a switch board, and as a reactor to that switch being turned on, a different part of our brain responds with facial expressions, noise, and tears.

For those of us that are healthy, our laughing or crying reactions do not happen in a straight line. That is, we do not weep every time we think of something that was slightly upsetting, and we don’t laugh hysterically when we think of a funny joke. To put it into perspective, although it was tragic when “Freaks and Geeks” was cancelled, that does not mean that every time a healthy person thinks of it, they are inconsolable.

New research shows that emotions may actually be spontaneous reactions given subconsciously by our brain. Our frontal lobe has been culturally formed, and how we were raised has a lot to do with how we react to things. However, once we are culturally formed, our emotions become more subconscious.

So, what is the difference between emotions and feelings? Scientist Antonio Damasio claims that emotions were developed when in primitive humans- they are our key set of survival skills. However, with evolution, we were given certain responses to certain emotions, and those are our feelings. In another sense, emotions are what we initially receive when stimulated- they are happiness, sadness, fear, and they like. Feelings are what follows, they are how we respond to our emotions.

So, we can have trouble necessarily distinguish emotions from feelings. They are directly correlated to one another, and a feeling is just a reaction to an emotion. Emotions can last for years, and feelings are fleeting. The difference between feelings and emotions is subtle, yet very important.