A Write You Own *Emotion* Post.....a Different Kind of Adventure.

I would just like to clarify that I am, at the moment, actually in quite a good mood. This post has been in the making for well over a month. (I have a few close friends and a boyfriend who don't believe me when--->)

I often tell people "I don't get mad" and I will stand by that. I don't. I feel several emotions many people would place under the category of "mad" but I believe there are actual synonyms and then words that stand across some imaginary line and are distinct.

Take out a sheet of paper. Im serious. Or a word document or even an email field for all I care. I am going to list a series of words. (This is beginning to sound like a psych experiment, but its not at heart. Though I am curious). Group them how you will. You could see each as an independent word, you may end up drawing a flow chart or some kind of spectrum...you could have lists of "bad connotation" or "good connotation"...you really could end up with lists or diagrams. I don't care, but I would love to see them when you are done (you can comment below using your gmail account or drop me an email at). Do whatever comes naturally. Visual Thesaurus has a really cool diagram if you are interested how our friends at ask.com would organize them.

Angry, Annoyed, Depressed, Frustrated, Disappointed, Irritated, Distraught, Enraged, Incensed, Infuriated, Irritated, Livid, Resentful, Unreasonable, Acerbic, Belligerent, Bitter, Caustic, Cranky, Indignant, Irascible, Irate, Peevish, Petulant, Sharp, Spiteful, Testy, Wrathful, Sarcastic, Acrimonious, Antagonistic, Exasperated, Indignant, Furious, Piqued, Violent, Displeased, Distempered.

(I left out synonyms I found for definitions such as "mad in love" or "mad as in actually crazy")

As to my organization? I have a spectrum, starting from more of "sad" connotations through "emotional, tired responses" through "traditional uses" to "extreme uses". See below, reorganized, each line being a "group" I consider on the same emotional plane.

Group 1: Annoyed, Depressed, Frustrated, Disappointed, Sarcastic, Displeased
Group 2: Unreasonable, Acerbic, Bitter, Cranky, Peevish, Testy, Sharp
Group 3: Resentful, Caustic, Irascible, Spiteful, Antagonistic
Group 4: Distraught, Irritated, Indignant, Petulant, Exasperated, Distempered,
Group 5:---Angry, Mad, Irate, Indignant, Piqued, Acrimonious
Group 6: Enraged, Incensed, Infuriated, Livid, Wrathful, Furious, Violent

Thus when I say "I don't get mad" I really mean I don't reach that emotional response. I stop somewhere along the way. But looking at these, I rarely in my life (I'll define that as less than 4 times a year) have hit my "group 4". Obviously, not everyone is going to agree with me on this. And again, I would love to see how others think about it. But! I felt the need to write out my use of the terms.

This entire entry started out by a different post in which I started with a line "I am annoyed about situation X". I thought about it and realized some people may take "annoyed" too far and others might not realize how committed I was in my "annoyance" and might think that I am just ranting to blow off steam and would then be fine afterward.

No, I was really really annoyed. To use more words, I was unreasonably annoyed, causing me to be bitter and cranky for the rest of the day, subjecting my friends to sharp comments. Ie, I was definitely in my "group 2" but I needed the connotation of a group 1 word.

This is obviously not full proof. And why I tend to be a fan of the "show, don't tell" sort of writing.

But why don't I, according to me anyway, hit a "group 5" type emotion? I honestly get sad more often than not. I stay in "group 1" even in the most extreme situations. I think there are two kinds of people in the world.

(okay, obviously there are a bunch of ways to divide people into groups, successfully or not, this is just one of many ways. And I truly believe there are only two groups. With a possible third for people with personality disorders and thus bounce back and forth)

1) The kind of people who, typically, get mad about things and look to place blame somewhere. They may eventually find themselves to blame but not after looking everywhere else.
2) The kind of people who, typically, get sad about things and automatically see their own fault in the situation. They may eventually find others may have fault as well, but not after assessing their own actions.

I am the epitome of a group 2 person. I will instantly get upset at myself before even thinking to get upset at you. I get there eventually, trust me, but it takes a while. Sometimes days or months and in one situation...years. I am going to put forth that explanation as to why I don't hit "group 5" types of emotions. And my logic may be faulty (please, fell free to point it out) or it may be that I haven't run into a bad enough situation to warrant a "group 5" response. (I am going to say I doubt it, though) And it may be more because I simply don't WANT to feel those emotions. They seem to take so much energy and cause bigger problems than the ones that stimulated the emotion in the first place. I'm not the best at self-control, generally, but in this case I simply just take a moment to calm down if I ever break past even a "group 2" emotion.

Count to Ten. Walk Away. Deep Breaths. Count to ten again. Go to a "Happy Place".

We have all heard the techniques from our parents and teachers. I guess I was just an impressionable youth.

Ha.