First, I have very few events that I can recall where I was angry, and for most of them I can’t really seem to recall the exact reason I was angry or else it seems fairly unimportant now. For example, I have vague memories of anger toward a sibling in childhood, but I don’t remember why other than some generic reasons—no specific reason. I can recall being angry at a computer for crashing or whatever, but in retrospect this is not much of a thing to get worked up over and I cannot recreate the emotion. Or being angry at an unintended insult to my abilities to play a game I considered myself good at—this was perhaps the angriest I have ever been but I cannot relive that emotion now. Other than that, I guess I am not a very angry person or life has happened to not give me many angry situations.
In general, though, even for emotions that I have a clearer memory of, I usually cannot relive the emotion. Feelings of success may be a counter-example—recalling being successful in the past seems to make me feel like I will be/ am being successful and recreates some of the associated emotion. I can also make myself sad to nearly the point of crying by recalling either a specific memory or general ‘sad’ things—atomic wars, death, etc. Physical feelings such as heat, cold, pain, and nausea I cannot recall at all.
I wonder if the 4 upvotes my comment has indicates that anyone else here is in the same situation as me or just support for questioning assumptions?
I can recall being angry at a computer for crashing or whatever, but in retrospect this is not much of a thing to get worked up over and I cannot recreate the emotion.
This is way OT at this point, but… when you remember these things, is your memory represented as third-person or first person? Still image or moving? For that matter, is there an image at all?
First person, definitely. I am basically recalling events that happened and narrating to myself what happens and thinking through my actions, with some very vague imagery. I wrote about my visualization ability and mental thought process in the “Describe the ways you think” thread if you really want details…
I actually meant, “do you see memories as though through your own eyes or from an omniscient POV”. Sounds like from your link that you don’t see them at all.
Are you able to recall positive memories in a way that stimulates emotion? (If you can, I’m guessing they are not recalled in verbal form, but are represented in some other sensory system.)
No, I don’t really ‘see’ them, but other sensations such as motion and touch are more tangible to me and those I see relative to my head—as I experience them in actuality. So it is very much a first-person experience from my POV even if color, texture, etc. is missing.
I upvoted both because you are correct and because I am the same way. I am somewhat skilled at manufacturing happiness, but can not make myself angry for the life of me. Which, TBH, I’m fine with.
First, I have very few events that I can recall where I was angry, and for most of them I can’t really seem to recall the exact reason I was angry or else it seems fairly unimportant now. For example, I have vague memories of anger toward a sibling in childhood, but I don’t remember why other than some generic reasons—no specific reason. I can recall being angry at a computer for crashing or whatever, but in retrospect this is not much of a thing to get worked up over and I cannot recreate the emotion. Or being angry at an unintended insult to my abilities to play a game I considered myself good at—this was perhaps the angriest I have ever been but I cannot relive that emotion now. Other than that, I guess I am not a very angry person or life has happened to not give me many angry situations.
In general, though, even for emotions that I have a clearer memory of, I usually cannot relive the emotion. Feelings of success may be a counter-example—recalling being successful in the past seems to make me feel like I will be/ am being successful and recreates some of the associated emotion. I can also make myself sad to nearly the point of crying by recalling either a specific memory or general ‘sad’ things—atomic wars, death, etc. Physical feelings such as heat, cold, pain, and nausea I cannot recall at all.
I wonder if the 4 upvotes my comment has indicates that anyone else here is in the same situation as me or just support for questioning assumptions?
This is way OT at this point, but… when you remember these things, is your memory represented as third-person or first person? Still image or moving? For that matter, is there an image at all?
First person, definitely. I am basically recalling events that happened and narrating to myself what happens and thinking through my actions, with some very vague imagery. I wrote about my visualization ability and mental thought process in the “Describe the ways you think” thread if you really want details…
I actually meant, “do you see memories as though through your own eyes or from an omniscient POV”. Sounds like from your link that you don’t see them at all.
Are you able to recall positive memories in a way that stimulates emotion? (If you can, I’m guessing they are not recalled in verbal form, but are represented in some other sensory system.)
No, I don’t really ‘see’ them, but other sensations such as motion and touch are more tangible to me and those I see relative to my head—as I experience them in actuality. So it is very much a first-person experience from my POV even if color, texture, etc. is missing.
I upvoted both because you are correct and because I am the same way. I am somewhat skilled at manufacturing happiness, but can not make myself angry for the life of me. Which, TBH, I’m fine with.