Managing Moods and Feelings in a Family

Moods, feelings, emotions and families! Things can get quite complicated when having that many moving parts in a family unit and it’s only natural for things to bump into each other every once in a while. Adolescents in particular have a wide variety of moods, feelings, and emotions that it may feel impossible at times to decipher what they’re going through. Truth is, they may not even know what’s wrong sometimes! Although understanding the differences between these three can greatly help you in having constructive conversations with your teen and family. 

Difference in Moods and Feelings

You may think that moods and feelings are the exact same, but are they? Feelings and moods actually differentiate in a lot of ways. Throw emotions into that mix and now we have three separate categories of what us humans go through on a daily basis. To put it simply, moods can last for a longer period of time as opposed to feelings and emotions. Additionally, feelings are the causation of emotions and are considered more “cognitively saturated”. Which is a fancy way of saying how your brain processes the maximum amount of emotions you’re going through at any given period of time. 

Moods and Feelings Examples

Let’s break it down into a more simplistic way of thinking!

Conversations for a Family

Now that you’re an expert on emotions, moods, and feelings – How do you properly bring this into a family unit? There’s no perfect way to address the many things we experience, but there are a few things that can be done individually to help the overall function of the family. For one, at Eva Carlston, we teach our students to name their feelings. 

This overall helps build the connection between our brain and our emotions. Additionally, understand the function of emotions. Why are you reacting to a specific situation? What triggered it? What feelings does it lead to? These are all questions that can help you identify the cause and effect between emotions and feelings. 

Effectively expressing your emotions, moods, and feelings can come from education and digging deep into the why. Being able to recognize the different emotions and feelings that arise in specific situations can help you and your family defuse potentially tense moments in the moment or before they occur. Communicating your mood, emotions, and feelings are also a wonderful way to practice emotional conversations. For example, many suggest using the “I feel ______ when/because _________” This generalized statement can help shift the conversation from blaming to proper expression. Eva Carlston places a high importance in developing emotional intelligence and practicing these vital communication skills!