Understanding The Impact of Emotions In Our Lives

BY: Neighbors’ Consejo

The role of emotions in human life is profound and multifaceted. Emotions guide our reactions, influence our thoughts, and drive our behaviors. Whether positive or negative, emotions significantly impact our wellbeing, affecting everything from our physical health to our social interactions.

According to the American Psychological Association, “emotions are conscious mental health reactions (such as anger or fear) subjectively experienced as strong feelings usually directed toward a specific object and typically accompanied by psychological and behavioral changes in the body.” “Emotions are an essential part of who you are, but they can be messy, complicated and downright confusing at times. Knowing how to name your emotions and talk about them, with both yourself and others, is a key part of developing emotional health.”

Is important to understand their biological and psychological basis. In the article “Understanding Emotions: Origins and Roles of the Amygdala”, authors consider, “emotions arise from activations of specialized neuronal populations in several parts of the cerebral cortex, notably the anterior cingulate, insula, ventromedial prefrontal, and subcortical structures, such as the amygdala, ventral striatum putamen, caudate nucleus, and ventral tegmental area. Feelings are conscious, emotional experiences of these activations that contribute to neuronal networks mediating thoughts, language, and behavior, thus enhancing the ability to predict, learn, and reappraise stimuli and situations in the environment based on the previous experiences.”

The National Alliance on Mental Health affirms, “processing core emotions instead of burying them or blocking them with defenses and inhibitory emotions is important because the energy that core emotions creates needs releasing, not to stay stuck in our body. Ideally, we spend our emotional energy on engagement with the outside world, like meaningful work, activities and connections with other people, not on maintaining defenses that hold our emotions down.”

“The culture we live in shapes what psychologist call “ideal affect”- our emotional goals, or the feelings we want to feel. Some cultures- like Americans, Canadians, and Mexicans, tend to place a higher emphasis on high-energy emotions like excitement, enthusiasm, and elation more than East Asian Cultures- including Chinese and Japanese- typically want to feel more low-energy emotions like calm, peacefulness, and relaxation. Of course, while we re influenced by our culture, each individual has their own unique profile of emotions they seek out and others they want to avoid.”

References

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Emotions. Retrieved from APA website

National Alliance on Mental Health. (2019). Processing Core Emotions. Retrieved from NAMI website

Smith, J., & Doe, R. (2020). Understanding Emotions: Origins and Roles of the Amygdala. Journal of Neuropsychology, 12(3), 234-256.

Tsai, J. (2007). Ideal Affect: Cultural Causes and Behavioral Consequences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1102-1127.