The line dividing emotions and the thing that makes them destructive/extreme, is a very thin one. Humans experience so many emotions, and maybe it is the amount of each emotion, that leads to consequences that are drastic in nature.
The main point of this article is to examine a few emotions and to see how different factors contribute to making it extreme, in the sense of actions. How can emotions topple over in such a way that they end up being awfully terrible? If you’re happy, isn’t that a good thing?
Try thinking of instances that remind you of the following.
Maybe you never realised when you fell from the point of balance to the one of such intensity. But it happens, even emotions that are considered to be good, can turn out to be bad. Why? Because an excess of anything is bad.
Happiness is one thing, but ecstasy is another. To be joyful is good, but to be so oblivious to everything because you live in your own bubble of happiness, where you disregard everyone else’s experiences and emotions just to achieve happiness, is not worth it.
Let me take another example: there is a competition going on, where if you win, you get this particular item that you’ve wanted for SO long. You know that it will bring you absolute happiness, and you want it. But to achieve it, you must defeat other people, in terrible situations. Can you really let go of your humanity and greed, for a competition? Or will you let the promise of happiness ruin all what you currently have? Will you even get happiness in the end? Now long can you keep telling yourself that you’re doing something right, because it will make you happy?
Rage or anger itself sounds harsh, but it doesn’t start off that way. It starts with mild irritation, annoyance, or frustration which gradually develops and takes the shape of something darker. You say that you aren’t in control when you’re angry, but is that even true? Were you not able to gain control over yourself, or did you not want to?
There is always something worse that a person can do when they are angry, but you can’t blame the emotion for it, it’s only you who is to blame. “I didn’t mean to shout”, “I didn’t mean to break that thing”, “I didn’t mean to hit that person”, it just keeps getting worse. I mean, if the court acquitted people charged with murder because they “just got angry”, then the world would end up in flames…well, more flames than usual.
Sadness and disappointment take so many different forms. You can be sad for a little while, but you never remember when it starts festering inside of you, causing more damage than there initially was. And if there are more incidents, they keep piling up, causing harm to you and to everyone around you. Whoever thought that sadness could end up being destructive in nature? So you lost your favourite pair of earphones, now you have gone into a terrible state of sadness, disappointment and depression. The earphones weren’t the actual reason, they were just the last thing that finally triggered the entire volcano to explode.
Love. It’s so strange, how can something nice like love become so…twisted? Something that gives warmth and comfort, yet so obsessive and hurtful. Can you imagine how something that is wholesome, can also borderline on obsessive and toxic? Can you be obsessed with a person so much so that your “love” blinds everything else?
Just reminds me of the show ‘You’. If you haven’t watched it, here’s the basic plot:
Based on Caroline Kepnes’ best-selling novel of the same name, YOU is a 21st century love story that asks, “What would you do for love?” When a brilliant bookstore manager crosses paths with an aspiring writer, his answer becomes clear: anything. Using the internet and social media as his tools to gather the most intimate of details and get close to her, a charming and awkward crush quickly becomes obsession as he quietly and strategically removes every obstacle – and person – in his way.
Sounds familiar? It’s essentially the modern form of the evergreen plot of many Bollywood films and Western dramas.
That was my take on these emotions, and how they themselves can become something totally different. It is a very delicate balance, but it is one that needs to be maintained.
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