Emotions are a fundamental part of our lives. While emotions have traditionally been viewed through a reactive lens, this paper introduces and defines the concept of practical emotions. Although the term practical emotions are undefined in the previous psychological literature, we hereby provide a clear conceptualization in this paper, portraying practical emotions as adaptive emotional responses that play a vital role in determining how we perform our daily tasks, preserve and organize our memory, and make decisions. This paper focuses on "practical emotions" as subjective experiences developed from the cognitive and emotional impacts of individual experiences. These emotions can be reframed, not as fleeting states but as structured messages that can be decoded and leveraged for personal transformation and healing. The study has further synthesized existing research on the physiological and psychological mechanisms underpinning emotional processes, integrating insights from neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and affective science. A comprehensive overview of the implementation of practical emotions in domains such as trauma therapy, self-guided emotional regulation, and clinical interventions has also been discussed, emphasizing their role in fostering resilience and adaptive functioning. Based on previous findings, this study has aimed to broaden the understanding of practical emotions as functional components integral to human behavior and societal development. Furthermore, by bridging conceptual gaps and emphasizing real-world relevance, this work is expected to contribute to the growing discourse on emotional intelligence, regulation, and healing.

Keywords

Practical emotions, emotions, mental health, AI, physiology, ethics, social, subjective