A new way to look at emotions – and how to master yours

• For example, a churning stomach and flushed face can feel like you're in love in a romantic setting but will be interpreted as 'feeling ill' if you are in bed with a thermometer in your mouth.
• A stomach ache might signal a gut infection, or it might feel like homesickness if you are away from your family.
• A rushing heartbeat could be interpreted as excitement when you're on a rollercoaster, acute anxiety if you're giving a speech, or simply that you've drunk too much coffee.

We learn interpretations from others. Your familiar emotion concepts come from your particular social context - your parents, friends, TV, and books, and your own past life experiences.

Other cultures will connect different kinds of meaning from the same sensory input. Utka Eskimos appear to have no clearly defined concept of anger, and Tahitians seem not to share our concept of sadness.

States like hunger, fatigue, or illness produce the same signals as emotions like anger, anxiety, or sadness. This shows the importance of looking after your body as a way to stabilise your mood.

• A healthy diet and regular exercise can regulate your mood.
• Mindfulness meditation can encourage you to observe and deconstruct your bodily signals.
• A good emotion vocabulary is useful. Instead of describing yourself as 'happy', you may discern if you are 'blissful' or 'inspired'. Reading or watching films can increase your emotion vocabulary.

You can take steps now to influence your future emotional experiences.

Knowing your real emotion can provide a deeper understanding of the situation you are in, such as reframing your unhappiness, so it no longer feels so all-consuming. You may also reconsider the source of your discomfort. Eventually, you may be able to categorise a situation with precision.