How to feel?

Hello,

Can anyone offer suggestions on feeling one's own emotions? It seems that I emote in response to stimuli that I can either relate to or that I feel compassion for such as other people, movies, or music. Without stimuli, I have two states: neutral (no thoughts whatsoever) or overwhelmed (thinking about what to do next, in a logical rather than emotional mindset).

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

What do you feel is wrong? That is normal for all of us.

Is it normal to not feel enjoyment, pride, passion, satisfaction, excitement, pleasure, regret, sadness, disappointment, etc in one's own experience?

Extending on what I said above regarding stimuli:
1.) I should have mentioned that the only emotions I feel from music or movies is sadness or despair, so I'll cry. But I do not cry when I myself am in these or similar scenarios.
2.) When I'm around other people, I emulate their emotions or act in a way that I expect they want me to without actually feeling the emotion I'm conveying (happiness, sadness, excitement, etc). I consequently perform the same way with decision making, which I want to change and is the impetus for me wanting to recognize my own emotions.

I would like to start using how I feel (not how others feel or how I envision they feel about my situation) to make personal decisions in my life. But in order to do this, I need to know how I feel. I hope this helps to clarify my question.

What you describe sounds a lot like depression to me. That flat feeling, I've had often, where you just don't have any feeling about anything really. You just don't care.

What helped me was seeing a therapist and talking about it and learning how to identify my emotions. Do you see a therapist?

Seesaw

Thank you for your response and your questions, seesaw. I do see a therapist. She is convinced that my depression is situational (related to what I've described). We've been working with identifying values and needs for a while, but it's likely we should take a step back even further to identify emotions. I'm in a therapy group that focuses on coping with emotions and it's really hard for me to get beyond the mindfulness exercises since my mind is so silent with respect to myself.

Along with your therapy, I suggest that you just listen to your own heart. Do not question it, or judge it. Avoid feeling bad about yourself, and self judgment.

I was on medication that made me feel this way...if you're on medication it can do that.... But it does sound like depression.

sounds like depression to me too-get into the subject more with your t.maybe a med would help too?