Many people struggle to distinguish between thoughts and feelings, which can lead to a lot of stress. Differentiating between the two can be a big step in managing your emotions and feeling more calm.

Thoughts are mental, or difference between thoughts and feelings , processes that form frameworks like beliefs, perspectives, opinions and judgements. Thoughts are often unconscious, and can be triggered by outside events or internally generated by your own brain. Feelings are bodily sensations, or experience, that can be conscious or unconsciously manifested through your physical body. For example, you may feel a sense of sadness when you hear bad news. You might notice that the sadness is affecting your view on other things, like work or your romantic relationship, even though those thoughts have nothing to do with the original source of your sorrow.

Exploring Inner Terrain: Understanding the Difference Between Thoughts and Feelings

Emotions are multi-faceted experiences of internal subjective experiences, facial expressions and physiological reactions. Emotions can be consciously experienced, or they might be hidden within the subconscious mind, sometimes requiring extended psychotherapy to bring them to light.

It is important to understand the difference between thoughts and feelings because emotions are a key part of nonviolent communication (NVC). Being able to distinguish between these two can help you communicate more effectively with your partner, friends, family members, coworkers and others. NVC can also help you identify and express your own feelings more clearly, which can reduce tension and increase communication. For instance, if you are worried that your exams will be difficult, you might worry, which can cause you to become tense, which can then trigger the release of stress hormones in your body. This can affect your performance in the exams.