The ways how your brains function are sometimes very strange. Perception and reaction may vary for several reasons. We trust what we see. However, what you observe or experience might be an illusion.

1. Peripheral Theory of Emotion

It’s a well-known theory in psychology. The idea is not easy to believe in. it is not really known to the general public. However, an example can help you understand what it is. Let’s say, after a party at a night club with your best friend you come back home and discover that your front door is unlocked. You enter your apartment and see a silhouette of a stranger in the total darkness of your own home. You might believe that what you feel is fear. But that’s when your brain starts playing tricks on you. How do you know it is fear if the stranger in the dark can be your beloved relative, parent of friend?

2. Sympathetic Pain

Sympathy and empathy are very noble emotions. We are humans and it’s good that we are capable of feeling sorry for other people. But what is sympathetic pain? That’s a sort of pain you think you also feel when not you but someone else gets hurt. This can be visually seen very well. It can make you frown or gasp. The fact is that it’s just a trick. You do not feel any pain at all. That’s just your brain that is trying to deceive you making you believe that you feel something painful. This phenomenon has been researched by scientists using MRI machines. The equipment was applied to test the person’s brain and its reactions to what was shown to them. It is proved that the human brains contain the so-called ‘mirror neurons’ that make us feel what others experience.