The meaning of the word SENTIMENTALITY. What is SENTIMENTALITY?

Adviсe

• Is sentimentality good or bad?
• Excessive sentimentality
• How to get rid of excessive sentimentality

There are people who can be moved to tears because of yet another melodrama, and for some, even touching personal circumstances do not evoke emotions. What is the reason for such different reactions to events? The point is a person’s personal qualities, or rather, one trait that forces him to take everything too close to his heart and constantly identify himself with strangers and events, worrying for no serious reason. This mental property is called sentimentality - increased receptivity and daydreaming. For such a person, impressions received from the outside world affect the feelings, and not the mind and thoughts. So it turns out that a sentimental person sheds a tear from reading a book, watching the news or a sad story that happened to strangers.

In a certain sense, this trait refers to hypersensitivity, which, even under insignificant circumstances, greatly changes a person’s mood. Such individuals show tenderness, empathy, and tearfulness for any reason. They do not remain indifferent even in situations that do not awaken feelings in other people. Some consider sentimentality to be a type of pity, when a person identifies himself with a disadvantaged object and acutely experiences the emotions inherent in it. However, these concepts should be separated: if pity is compared to a chronic disease, then sentimentality is a short and instant attack of illness, followed by inevitable relief.

What does sentimentality mean?

Being a property of the psyche, sentimentality is an innate quality, but at the same time its expression and direction can be adjusted, since the prerequisites are exclusively increased sensitivity. When such sensitivity is combined with logical reasoning and accepted responsibility, it takes on the image of sympathy and complicity, helps to better understand the needs and motives of people’s behavior, but if it is deprived of the control of the mind, then what remains is an exclusively sensual, uncontrolled sphere of sentimentality. In such a state, a person will empathize with others, but is also easily manipulated; his experiences are usually devoid of effective activity to change the situation.

Sentimentality: pros and cons

It is impossible to say for sure whether this is good or bad. Especially if we are talking about an innate feature of the psyche. Perhaps everything is good in moderation. It is difficult to work or live with a person who is offended and cries over any comment, even if it is expressed as a wish in a positive way. But it is also impossible to interact with a callous person who does not know how to enter into the position of another and empathize.

Read also: What are penates and what do they look like?

The main disadvantage of heightened sensitivity is harm to the person himself. All people of this type are at risk for exhaustion and emotional burnout. Some people feel guilty when they realize that they cannot help someone, or when they worry about universal injustice and their inability to help everyone. In addition, due to excessive sensitivity, some people quarrel with others. And it happens that acquaintances take advantage of a person’s sentimentality - then he feels unhappy and weak.

But not everything is so simple. At the same time, sentimentality helps in social interaction. Sentimental people feel better about the moods and states of other people. They know how to support, you can always turn to them in difficult times, when you need to talk it out.

Thus, in moderation, sentimentality is useful and helps in your personal life and at work. Excessive sentimentality interferes with building business, friendship or love relationships. Manifestations of excessive sensitivity can be controlled, and insufficient emotionality can be developed.

Interesting! Sentimental people tend to idealize. They do not notice the flaws in something that caused them a strong emotional reaction. But this is only true if we are talking about positive emotions. With negative experiences, a sentimental person, on the contrary, is prone to devaluation, that is, he notices only the shortcomings of another person, situation, etc.

How to get rid of excessive sentimentality

When increased sensitivity disturbs personal peace and prevents you from living normally and sleeping soundly, you should study information on how to get rid of excessive sentimentality. This will help restore contact with the world of emotions and get rid of unnecessary worries about any reason. A number of special exercises related to working on the correct and relevant expression of emotions are recommended:

"Here and now". Several times during the day, distract yourself and ask yourself the question: how am I feeling at the moment? And in your mind go through all the emotions you experience. It is better to perform such actions as carefully as possible, to delve into and identify minor shades and subtleties of the state of mind. You should find out how many words expressing feelings a person uses in everyday life every day. During the period of time allotted for this exercise, you need to increase this number at least twice. “Empathetic guesses” are fantasies about how others feel. The exercise can be performed anywhere: on the bus, at work, at home. Moreover, it is even worth asking household members about the correctness of the assumptions. Children of senior school age should be involved in such activities; it will benefit them: against the backdrop of an exciting activity, their vocabulary of feelings will also be expanded.

It is worth understanding that it is not always necessary to suppress emotions: in the circle of loved ones and alone, it is better to take off the mask of indifference and express true feelings. There is no need to shy away from close communication, because it is extremely important for people to share moments of despondency and happiness with others. It will be useful to identify situations that contribute to the manifestation of strong emotions, imagine them and concentrate on the feelings. This will help you more accurately determine your reactions and understand what to expect in the next moment. Thanks to this training, suppressed feelings will not accumulate and will not cause another nervous breakdown.

Still, it’s nice to meet sincere people who are capable of touching emotions and empathy. Sentimentality, shown in moderation, brings bright and rich impressions into everyday life, allowing you to acutely feel sad and happy moments. Isn't that what life is all about? And what do closed, gloomy and stingy people say about expressing feelings - who cares!

Sentimental - what is it?

Taking everything to heart, trying on any situation, even the closest interlocutor, worrying about things that seem trivial from the outside - the reason for this is the person’s temperament and upbringing. The combination of these factors distinguishes people who, for example, cry at the movie Hachiko.

"Sentiment" is a concept borrowed from the French language, where "sentiment" is translated as "feeling." This is a psychological trait characterized by increased perception of the outside world and daydreaming.

Sentimentality in men

We all know such a stereotype as a man. He should always be like an indestructible rock, unshakable and nothing should throw him out of balance. But still, the concept of male sentimentality exists, and there is a lot of controversy around it, both from women and from men. Not only society, but also Mother Nature herself, has distributed it in such a way that feelings of tearfulness, softness and indecisiveness are inherent in women, while logic and courage are typical of male character traits.

Any behavioral changes occur when a person’s hormonal background changes. Therefore, with age, with a decrease in male hormones, the stronger sex becomes less rigid and more sensitive. Everything else that we can observe around us is just echoes of our upbringing, where clichés like “men never cry” were used.

In most cases, insensitivity is just a mask, so to speak, a performance in which the actor is only trying to seem insensitive and to some extent selfish, but, ultimately, if he does not change the nature of his behavior, then he remains useless to anyone. After all, a woman, on the contrary, needs a person nearby who is able to sincerely empathize with others. A woman will never stay long with a courageous but insensitive man.

The whole problem of our society is stereotypical thinking about male sentimentality and it is necessary at the social level to give men the opportunity to express sentimental feelings without judgment and try to support them in their expression.

But sometimes it happens that a man’s level of sentimentality exceeds even a woman’s feelings. In this case, we may be talking about psychological trauma or experiencing a difficult, unstable moment in life.

Excessive sentimentality

As popular wisdom says: everything is good in moderation. It is believed that excessive sentimentality has an adverse effect on the individual and the people around him. However, everything is individual and everyone determines the boundaries of the manifestation of feelings. For some, it is common to squeal with joy at a long-awaited meeting or burst into tears at a sad movie, but for some people such behavior will seem like weakness, and they will hold back their emotions in any circumstances. There are situations when emotions go off scale and a person is no longer able to control them, displaying them in absurd and inappropriate ways. In such cases we are talking about excessive sentimentality.

As a rule, this mental property is inherent to a greater extent in women. However, the stronger sex also develops sensitivity over time, this is due to a decrease in male hormones and age-related changes in the body.

Excessive sentimentality can manifest itself in different ways: constantly or in certain situations. If a person is used to keeping emotions to himself, but sometimes gives them vent in original ways, this does not harm his state of mind. It is more difficult for people endowed with hypersensitivity, who for some reason cannot openly express feelings. For example, when there is a difficult situation at home or at work, and expressing your feelings seems inappropriate. Constantly holding back strong emotions inevitably leads to a psychological breakdown at an unexpected moment. People who consider tears a sign of weakness and who think that ladies and gentlemen always behave with restraint and under no circumstances “lose face” are especially susceptible to this.

Nature is much smarter than man, and it is not for nothing that she has awarded some individuals with certain character traits. In fact, it is useful for sensitive people to “let off steam,” otherwise contact with the world of emotions may be disrupted. In this case, increased sentimentality is manifested by constant tearfulness or painful sensitivity. So, a girl can constantly cry at the slightest trouble, leading to bewilderment and annoyance of loved ones. To an extreme degree, there is even inappropriate behavior when a person becomes so immersed in extraneous events and problems, deeply feeling and worrying about them, that it interferes with normal everyday life and takes him away from his own goals.

Is sentimentality a good or bad trait?

Like any personality trait, sentimentality should be looked at from different perspectives . How is this perceived by society, and how important and necessary a character trait is for a person’s life.

In the modern world, everyone is focused on their own needs (how is that?) and problems, and therefore is closed towards others.

Sincerity and empathy, which are clearly shown, are considered something rare and surprising.

Maybe a sentimental person is a rarely encountered example of a kind and not callous inner world?

After all, it’s nice to have a friend who will be happy for you or sympathize with you, and this will be fully reflected in his facial expressions and eyes. Especially if such tears of happiness will flow at your wedding or at the birth of a child.

This trait should not be considered a sign of personal weakness. Because this is just a small fraction of a person’s character, which, moreover, can be selectively embodied in life.

A clear and rather contrasting example would be representatives of the SS in Nazi Germany, who in their free time were touched by cats and dogs.

Is sentimentality good or bad?

It is better to consider each character trait from different angles, from the point of view of necessity and value for a person’s life. Therefore, many people wonder: is being sentimental good or bad? It is impossible to give a definite answer, besides, everything in life is relative. However, it is worth speculating on this matter so that everyone can draw the right conclusion for themselves.

Is it bad when a person is able to heartily empathize with others? Individuals endowed with this quality fully share the sadness and joy of those around them. And how nice it is when, at a wedding ceremony or when being discharged from the maternity hospital, loved ones do not hold back their tears. Perhaps sentimentality in a person is nothing more than a sign of a living, unossified soul. After all, in modern society people are closed and lonely. It is no longer customary to go on a visit without an invitation, to simply help women carry a heavy bag home, and even to give a compliment to a colleague is considered unnecessary by many. Everyone is fixated on their own problems, and openness and naturalness are considered strange and suspicious.

One thing is clear that sentimentality is not a negative character trait, but in a sense important and rare. However, one should not assume that people with this quality are weak. History shows that some famous writers and cruel rulers were sentimental individuals and became touched in certain situations. It follows from this that this character trait does not apply to all spheres of people’s life. Some people are moved to tears by animals, although when communicating with people such a person can be firm and even merciless.

Causes

We have already partially explained why some people are more sentimental than others. Let’s briefly summarize the main aspects and find out what else makes us cry without serious reasons:

• Feature of the psyche. This includes representatives of certain types of temperament, as well as creative individuals who subtly sense the world around them and other people.
• Hormones . This is not only a decreased level of testosterone, but also a change in hormonal levels that occurs, for example, during pregnancy. This is why women become very sensitive and whiny during pregnancy. In addition, increased emotional excitability is caused by periods of menstruation, menopause, and certain diseases.
• Age. Again, this is due to changes in hormonal levels and a decrease in testosterone levels. In addition, older people often remember their youth, sometimes the experience they live causes regret or nostalgia, which adds reasons for longing and sentimentality.
• Upbringing. Hysterical character traits can be provoked by a lack of attention, double, contradictory and unfair instructions, despotic upbringing or the absence of it at all.

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Tearfulness

Cold

Iron deficiency

Thyrotoxicosis

Stroke

17546 August 25

IMPORTANT!

The information in this section cannot be used for self-diagnosis and self-treatment.
In case of pain or other exacerbation of the disease, diagnostic tests should be prescribed only by the attending physician. To make a diagnosis and properly prescribe treatment, you should contact your doctor. Crying is a natural human emotional response to stress. From the first days of a child's life, screams and tears allow him to interact with the world around him. Subsequently, the behavior and emotional background of a healthy person are regulated by the state and functional maturity of the cerebral cortex, the final formation of which occurs by the age of 18.

Brain activity and emotions depend on many factors: hormonal levels, nerve conduction, deficiency or excess of biologically active substances.

Unlike crying, tearfulness is a condition accompanied by psycho-emotional instability, and can be a sign of serious illness.

The severity of tearfulness varies: from short-term episodes of unmotivated crying when certain areas of the brain are damaged to long periods of tearfulness due to chronic depression.

Tears appear in the eyes from completely harmless words, after watching a romantic film or reading a melodrama, but they do not always serve as an indicator of illness.
Possible causes of tearfulness in children
In children, tearfulness indicates unsatisfactory health:
high fever, pain, nausea, intoxication, itching
are the main causes of crying.
In this situation, tearfulness goes away on its own after recovery. Children who are unable to consciously formulate complaints or who cry for a long time for no apparent reason require special attention. In this case, tearfulness may be the only symptom of a deficiency of vitamins and/or microelements
and requires consultation with a pediatrician. Such disorders include anemia (iron deficiency, B12 deficiency, folate deficiency), hemorrhagic disease of newborns (vitamin K deficiency); rickets (vitamin D deficiency). As a rule, these conditions are accompanied by fatigue, lethargy, changes in skin color (yellowness, pallor, pinpoint hemorrhages on the skin, etc.) and wetness of the skin, decreased visual acuity, sleep disturbances and emotional lability.

Similar symptoms (tearfulness, excitability, irritability and sleep disturbances) may indicate lactase deficiency

– deficiency of the enzyme that breaks down milk sugar (lactose), which leads to fermentation of undigested lactose in the intestines and causes regurgitation, colic, gas, abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation.

Possible causes of tearfulness in adults

In adults, tearfulness is often a sign of hormonal imbalance.

.

In women, changes in mood (irritability, tearfulness, resentment) and physical condition (headache, local swelling, bloating, breast tenderness) associated with the menstrual cycle are characterized by periodicity and, as a rule, are not considered a pathological condition.

After the start of menstruation, all unpleasant symptoms disappear on their own until the next cycle.

For thyrotoxicosis

an excess of the hormones thyroxine and triiodothyronine (T4 and T3) leads to changes in the functions of the central and peripheral parts of the nervous system.

Patients with thyrotoxicosis are characterized by excessive excitability, anxiety, irritability, and tearfulness. They experience obsessive fears, insomnia, and rapid mood swings from severe excitement to depression.

Tearfulness occurs with organic lesions of the central parts of the brain: disruption of the structure of nervous tissue due to injury, tumor growth or intoxication leads to the formation of
psychoorganic syndrome
, which is characterized by a decrease in intelligence, impaired memory and emotional status. Such patients are characterized by decreased criticism of their own behavior, one-sided and conservative thinking, and an inability to adequately assess the situation. Their cognitive abilities decline, knowledge and skills are lost. The carefree and complacent mood of such people quickly changes from a state of depression with tearfulness and resentment to joyful excitement and euphoria.

The causes of the development of psychoorganic syndrome can be not only injuries or brain tumors, but also vascular diseases, alcoholism, substance abuse, age-related changes (senile dementia, Alzheimer's disease).

Neurosis-like and depressive states, accompanied by irritability, aggressiveness, agitation and tearfulness, can occur with
strokes
. The developing depressive state worsens the patient’s rehabilitation from the first days after cerebrovascular accident and during further adaptation at home. The picture of depressive disorder is more pronounced with left hemisphere damage in right-handed people and vice versa.

Psychovegetative syndrome

manifested by anxiety, fatigue, tearfulness, depression, sleep disturbances, a feeling of hopelessness, decreased interests and excessive worry about one’s health. The patient is often bothered by pain of various localizations, a feeling of heaviness, fullness and pain, simulating the manifestation of various organ pathologies. The abundance of specific and nonspecific complaints makes it difficult to identify the mental component of the disease. Psychovegetative syndrome is a consequence of acute or chronic stress. Diagnosis is complicated by disturbances in the functioning of the cardiovascular system (irregular rhythm, heaviness or pain in the chest, fluctuations in blood pressure), the respiratory system (“lump” in the throat, a feeling of lack of air, shortness of breath), and the nervous system (dizziness, lightheadedness, trembling hands) .

Depression, which is masked by symptoms of internal diseases, is identified as an independent diagnosis - “ somatized depression”

" With this form of depression, the symptoms are hidden behind complaints about a non-existent disease. As a rule, patients complain of pain of varying localization, severity and nature (burning, pins and needles, numbness).

Such pain usually occurs in the morning and stops in the evening and at night. Painkillers are ineffective in this case.

Patients with such manifestations of depression are characterized by tearfulness, despondency and lack of faith in correct diagnosis and treatment.

Which doctors should I contact?

Constant tearfulness is a symptom of a neuropsychiatric or hormonal disorder.

First of all, consultation is required. Women need counseling, and men need counseling. To treat thyroid diseases, you should visit. In other cases, a psychotherapist will help cope with increased tearfulness.

Diagnostics and examination

Identifying the cause of tearfulness is quite difficult. If episodes of tearfulness coincide with the onset of menstruation or menopause, the diagnosis can be made based on the results of tests for sex hormones: estradiol; progesterone; luteinizing hormone; follicle-stimulating hormone; anti-Mullerian hormone.

Examples of sentimentality

Heightened sensitivity occurs in all areas of life or only in one thing. For example, a person can be sentimental about animals and completely indifferent, or even cruel, towards people. Some people are sentimental only about joyful events, surprises, compliments, and romantic stories. And some people react excessively emotionally to criticism, remarks, insults, and tragic stories.

A sentimental person may cry when watching a film, hearing a story. Interestingly, sentimental reactions are more often associated with events in other people's lives or with fantastic stories. A person can react rather restrainedly to events in his life. This is due to the fact that excessive emotionality is most associated with compassion and empathy.

Features of manifestation in women

It is widely believed that a sense of sentimentality is characteristic of female representatives, who tend to violently experience the events of films and books, and overreact to the stories of friends and cute photos. In fact, you can often find sentimental men, but it is believed that a woman is the personification of sentimentality, and there is a biological explanation for this fact.

Increased sensitivity was fixed at the hormonal level as a result of the fact that for centuries women had to take care of children and other family members, monitor the condition of the house, etc. Often, a tendency toward sentimentality even now becomes a quality that helps maintain mutual understanding in the family, but only in in cases where it does not cross boundaries. Excessive sentimentality, on the contrary, can interfere with building adequate relationships.

Thus, the manifestation of sentimentality in women varies. Within reasonable limits, this feeling is expressed in affection for all sorts of little things, a tendency to keep expensive things and often indulge in memories. Excessive manifestations (for example, increased tearfulness when remembering happy moments) lead to psychosomatic diseases and other health problems.

Sentimentality in women

The feeling of sentimentality is more characteristic of women and has a completely biological justification for this. Since the woman always remained in the house and had to monitor the slightest changes not only in the surrounding space, but also in the condition of the offspring, developed sensitivity was consolidated at the hormonal level. It was this increased compassion and the ability to vividly experience someone else’s pain as one’s own that ensured the survival of the offspring for many years. Even now, such sensitivity helps maintain health and relationships.

It is natural to consider cases when it is sentimentality that destroys relationships and success in a career stands alone, and here we will talk about increased sentimentality, which makes sense to reduce a little.

When assessing your condition, remember that it is your success and inner sense of self that are markers of a normal level of sentimentality. Women are more sensitive and show their emotions more often, this is normal, and moreover, a woman who tries to constantly keep everything to herself eventually turns into a stone statue or acquires a huge number of diseases, the basis of which will be excessive stress.

When trying to listen to your man’s reproaches for increased tearfulness, remember that the hormonal system affects not only our appearance, but also our behavioral and emotional manifestations. By trying to reduce their sensitivity (or its manifestations) to that of a man, women go against nature. It makes sense to learn to realize this quality differently than constantly crying into your own strong shoulder. Perhaps these will be meetings with girlfriends, or perhaps, when you feel that you have become hypersensitive, watching a melodrama alone will help relieve these feelings.

Peculiarities of sentimentality in men and women

This trait is more common in women. They have empathy, compassion, and emotionality at the subconscious level. The woman intuitively senses the needs of the child and listens carefully to her husband. If such sensitivity helps make relationships harmonious and does not violate psychological stability, nothing needs to be done.

Important! You need to fight this quality if it interferes with building harmonious relationships and negatively affects your health.

A woman should not restrain her emotions and reactions. Tears help her get rid of internal tension. It is important to behave correctly in case of increased sensitivity. Don’t yell at your husband, but watch a tearful movie to get rid of tension and accumulated emotions.

Hypersensitivity in men is rare. Representatives of the stronger sex are characterized by perseverance, logic, and external calm. Even if a storm is raging inside, a man knows how to restrain his feelings. This persistence is due to high levels of testosterone. With age, his character becomes softer as the level of the hormone decreases.

@kharkovforum.com

Which categories of people are more likely to experience cardioneurosis?

The key reason for the development of heart neurosis is the effect of a stressful situation on the body. The first question that a psychiatrist asks a patient with suspected cardiac neurosis concerns the presence of problems in life and recent psychological trauma experienced. Perhaps a person’s loved one has died or fallen ill, problems have arisen in school or at work, or financial difficulties have arisen.

Heart neurosis often occurs in people in adolescence against the background of hormonal changes and a negative stressful environment. In most cases, the disorder occurs in women and girls.

The problem with neurosis is that a person, when it manifests itself for a long time, considers himself truly sick. He spends a lot of time, effort and financial resources traveling to doctors and trying to establish the correct diagnosis. But the solution to the problem lies exclusively in psychological treatment using properly selected drugs and techniques.

Why is it worth crying sometimes?

One of the most striking manifestations of sentiment is tears. Psychotherapists claim that they can alleviate our psychological state.

This is what more sentimental people get with their “wet eyes”:

1. Tears remove toxins . Just like sweat does. And we are talking about a strong and sensitive flow, and not about tears shed while cutting onions.
2. Tears tame physical pain . The effect, of course, does not last long. But if your head “aches,” then during crying enkephalin is released, which has the properties of a mild narcotic. For about an hour, the pain will subside or become dull.
3. They save you from negative emotions and tension .
   Stress provokes fatigue, neurosis, deterioration of cognitive functions (how is that?). And during crying, not only “morphine” is released, but also endorphin (what is that?). Therefore, the internal negativity immediately decreases several times, and the shackles of melancholy fall off the person. Crying when your soul is torn apart by pain is like taking fast-acting antidepressants.
4. A signal to society . With the help of tears, a person can more clearly express his state or attitude towards something so that he is better understood.
5. Puts people at ease . When we cry, we convey sincerity and vulnerability. This always captivates those around us, and they begin to trust us more and open up, showing sympathy towards sentimental people.

Why is crying good for you?

At the end of this article, I would like to say a few words in support of sentimental people. Psychologists and doctors agree that tear therapy is beneficial for health and psyche. And it doesn’t matter at all whether you cry from happiness or grief.

Here are the arguments they give to support their assertion:

1. Protection from stress. Restraining emotions provokes a whole bunch of different ailments - from migraines to neurosis. During crying, joy hormones - endorphins - are released, so moral relief occurs. In other words, tears are an excellent antidepressant.
2. Cleansing the body. Just like sweat, tears remove toxins. But this is only relevant for emotional tears. If you cry from an onion or squeeze out crying on purpose, the effect will not be as effective.
3. About pain relief. In addition to endorphin, enkephalin is released during crying, which is very similar in properties to morphine. Therefore, while crying, mild pain may not be felt. But, of course, the effect does not last long, and it is better to relieve severe pain in more effective ways.
4. Strengthening relationships. This is not about manipulation for personal gain, which can only ruin relationships. The point is that tears expose the soul, make a person sincere and vulnerable. This allows you to better understand him, to penetrate into the very depths of his soul.

Manifestation of heart neurosis

Symptoms of the disorder:

- Insomnia ; - Shortness of breath even in the absence of physical activity; - Pain in the heart area; - Increased sweating; - The emergence of panic fear of possible death due to cardiac arrest.

Apparent heart pain will change in the nature of its manifestation. At one moment there will be sensations of squeezing and squeezing, and at another moment there will be sharp colic on the left side of the body. Often people with cardiac neurosis report that they feel cardiac arrest for some time. Of course, this is a somatic sensation that has nothing to do with reality.

It is almost impossible to solve this problem without contacting specialized psychiatrists. Sooner or later, a person experiences panic attacks, stops getting enough sleep, and tries to find a solution to the problem by self-medicating or turning to healers and magicians. All this poses a danger to the mental state.