The Difference Between Feelings and Emotions
If you’re on a journey of chronic pain recovery, you’ve most likely heard about the importance of understanding your emotions. But if you’re new to this you may not know how to distinguish the difference between feelings and emotions? Learning to recognise and work with both can be transformative for your healing process so let’s take a closer look at how understanding this distinction can help you on your path to recovery.
What’s the Difference Between Feelings and Emotions?
At first glance, feelings and emotions seem like the same thing so here’s a simple definition.
Emotions are automatic, physical reactions that happen in your brain and body. They’re universal and instinctive. For example, when you narrowly avoid a car accident, your body might flood with fear before you even realise what’s happening.
Feelings, on the other hand, are how you interpret those emotions. They’re shaped by your thoughts, past experiences, and beliefs. Using the same example, you might later reflect on the incident and feel a sense of vulnerability or gratitude.
I find it helpful to think of emotions as the raw ingredients and feelings as the recipe you create from them.
To help demonstrate what I mean by this here are a couple of examples:
Emotion: You receive an unexpected compliment from a coworker. You feel a warm, automatic reaction of joy.
Feeling: As you process the moment, you might interpret the joy as pride (“I worked hard on that project!”) or gratitude (“It’s so nice to feel appreciated.”).
Emotion: A coworker interrupts you during a meeting. Your body tightens in frustration.
Feeling: You process the frustration as annoyance (“I was just in the middle of explaining!”), or maybe insecurity (“nothing I say is valid”) if it triggers a deeper fear of being dismissed.
When you see feelings as interpretations you can understand how powerful they are at shaping how you respond—and how your body holds onto the experience.
Why This Matters for Chronic Pain Recovery
Understanding the difference between feelings and emotions is an important key to healing because you learn to see how your emotions are deeply connected to your nervous system.
Emotions trigger physical responses. Neuroscience shows us that emotions activate different parts of the brain and nervous system causing physiological changes in the body. For instance, anger can increase your heart rate and tension in your muscles, while sadness might slow your breathing and make you feel heavy.
Unprocessed emotions can become “stuck.” An incomplete stress response or constant exposure to stress can cause the nervous system to become overwhelmed. Your body might hold onto that tension, which can contribute to a symptom or be the chrysalis for chronic pain.
Feelings give you control. Once you understand the emotions behind your feelings, you can work with them rather than against them. This is where the mindbody connection comes in.
As Brené Brown says, “the ability to name this emotion or experience is essential to being able to process it in a productive and healing manner.” Emotional granularity is learning to accurately recognise and label emotions—without judgment. It is also an essential part of recovery.
The Role of Thoughts in Emotions and Feelings
Our thoughts are like a bridge between emotions and feelings. When we experience an emotion, our brain quickly creates a narrative about it based on our past experiences, our biology and environment. For example:
Emotion: A sense of Fear during a conflict.
Thought: “I always mess up relationships. This is my fault.”
Feeling: You interpret the fear as shame or guilt.
By becoming aware of your thoughts, you can reshape your feelings—and your body’s response. For example, instead of spiraling into shame, you might recognise the fear as a sign to pause, breathe, and approach the conflict with compassion.
The Neuroscience of Emotions in a Nutshell
Here’s the fascinating part: emotions are processed in a part of the brain’s limbic system called the amygdala. This area reacts before your conscious mind even has a chance to step in. But the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain that governs logic and decision-making, can step in to help regulate those emotions.
This process is like having a team of firefighters (your limbic system) and architects (your prefrontal cortex). The firefighters act automatically, but the architects can help rebuild and create a safer space.
To build an awareness and understanding of your emotions, one of the first tools I introduce is the practice of mindfulness. Turning your attention inwards to acknowledge current feelings and sensations without judgement, is essentially training your brain how to manage stress and emotions more effectively.
Why This Understanding Empowers Healing
When you can separate emotions from feelings and see the role of thoughts in shaping your experience, you gain a new level of awareness. You start to notice patterns—like how an experience of unresolved anger might be showing up as back pain or how sadness might be lingering as fatigue.
Emotional awareness isn’t just insightful, it’s empowering. It means you can use tools like journaling, mindfulness, and somatic practices to process emotions, reshape your feelings, and calm your nervous system.
Living a MindBody Life
Chronic pain recovery isn’t just about reducing discomfort; it’s about uncovering the emotional and mental patterns that keep us stuck and learning to live in harmony with our bodies and minds.
Remember, life will always have ups and downs, but when you live a mindbody life, you have the tools to navigate the waves. You learn how to process emotions, reframe your thoughts, and use your feelings as guides, not roadblocks.
Healing is possible, and it starts by understanding the incredible connection between your mind and body.
