The Notion of Emotion

What are Emotions?

Emotions are electrochemical signals that flow through our bodies in never ending movement. These signals get released from our brains in response to how we view our world. They are also produced in the body and flow back to the brain as a result of that feeling.

We feel emotions all the time. They are in our thoughts, in our words and in our actions.

Emotions are our way of surviving and thriving in the world. Trauma survivors don’t always understand what they feel, especially after being triggered by a painful memory, which can derail even the most intricately planned day.

There are 8 basic emotions according to US scientist, Robert Plutchik.

Joy

Sadness

Fear

Disgust

Surprise

Anticipation

Anger

Trust

Plutchik put these emotions into a diagram, which he named the “wheel of Emotions” to illustrate the dynamics, and what happens when you get a mix of emotion. There are endless variations of emotional responses in a human being. It’s fascinating research if you are interested in Plutchik’s work. Check it out on:

ee.columbia.edu/ln/dvmm/vso/download/vso.html

Emotions are absorbed in the body in only a few seconds. It’s important to recognize what and how we are feeling so that we can make sense of them in a situation or a person. By recognizing how we feel, we can navigate better whether it’s towards our goals and aspirations or getting through a tough day.

When we feel anger and frustration, we learn that we must choose a different way to get through a situation. By feeling angry, our bodies tense and we get prepared to fight our way through whatever is blocking our progress. The feeling is what sparks the energy to react in whatever way we need to.

Similarly, when we feel joy, we are happy and it’s a nice feeling. We want more of it and so we get motivated to carry on experiencing meaning and connection.

The feeling of being overwhelmed is something I’ve felt many times this past year. I know I love to be crazy busy, but sometimes feeling overwhelmed is telling us to slow down and prioritize tasks instead of going at things at breakneck speed. I’m trying hard to learn that lesson.

Emotions are contagious and they can catch us unawares. Try and think about what you are feeling when you walk into a room. You get a feel of the overall mood immediately, and if you’re not careful, you will start feeling the same as everyone else.

Say you’re in a budget meeting and it’s going badly. The tone in the room is “frosty” at best, and you can’t help but copy the same mood even if you are happy, you will find yourself slipping into “frosty” by the end of the meeting.

This works for other feelings too and the reason for that is that humans are social creatures, which is why it’s important to think about who we spend our time with.

Do you have happy friends, or is someone going through a tough time right now? Think about how you react when your friends are happy vs when they are sad.

Sometimes it’s not easy to read how someone is feeling. If you pay close attention, you can pick up clues in the way someone looks from their facial expressions. If a face is scrunched up, they might be in pain. We can also get clues of how someone is walking through their posture and behavior patterns. These physical signs are there all the time. Even if we don’t pick up on them immediately, our own bodies will start to copy those reactions.

Emotions are neutral. This means that they are not fundamentally good or bad. They can be the opposite sides of the same need. For example, feeling joy is something we associate with feeling good and happy about something, whereas sadness is the feeling of losing that same something.

Humans need to be able to feel all emotions because they deliver a signal to our brains and bodies of how we feel. Even complex emotions like anger and fear have an important part of our psychological make up.

My name is Lizzy. I’m a trauma survivor, a wife, a mom, a teacher, and an author.

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