Emotional Insertion? Feeling emotions that aren't your own?

[JellyLellyJenJenBean]

I've heard of 'thought insertion' where a person experiences someone else's thoughts in their own mind.

What about a person who experiences emotions that aren't theirs? I can't find anything called 'emotion insertion' or anything.

An example: In reaction to an event a person feels both despair and relief simultaneously. They recognise the relief as being their genuine and appropriate emotion. The despair is illogical and confusing and transmitted from another source outside of them.

I don't know but I have reacted to things differently than I would have expected or thought that would be the logical way.

Counter transference maybe

You could look up projective identification. Although in your example I think it would be quite possible to feel despair and relief, even if one makes more sense to you than the other.

Thought insertion = psychotic experience. It doesn't actually happen, but the person believes that it is happening.

Transference = experiencing the emotions that someone you are having direct contact with is. Eg. Your friend has experienced a bereavement, they feel sad, the bereavement is not yours, but when you spend time with them you also feel sad.

Empathy = Experiencing emotions relating to experiences you have not had, even if not directly in contact with someone who has.

Also agree with PP about experiencing two conflicting emotions at the same time, but identifying with the one that seems to 'make sense' most strongly.

What you’ve called transference, Wonky, I’d include under empathy. Transference, in therapy at least, is when you apply your expectations of people/relationships to the therapist and believe that they will react just as you expect, e.g. you may expect them to be critical because you experienced enough of that as a baby/ small child to expect it from people generally, even years later as an adult.

That’s partly why some therapists try, as far as possible, to be a blank slate, so you can reinvent them with your own personal set of expectations. It can be a surprising experience as your own assumptions tend to be so deeply held that you don’t realise you’ve got them.

That makes sense witch. Interesting theme.