To begin with let us, first of all, know what emotions are and then only proceed to understand their relationship and how they impact the body. Emotions are thoughts linked to sensation. And it acts as a mediator between the body and the state of the mind in a particular situation. Because of this linkage between the mind and body, the quality of thoughts that arise in the mind impacts the nature and intensity of emotions which is intimately related to the body. Therefore the state of mind; the corresponding thought and emotions together impact the state of the body through the manifestation of physical sensation. Emotions adjust not only our mental but bodily states as well. The different types of emotions and their effect on the body and its physiology by activating the associated different parts in the body are explained hereunder.
1. Happiness.
2.
Love.
3.
Pride.
4.
Surprise.
5.
Anger.
6.
Fear.
7.
Disgust.
8.
Shame and contempt
9.
Anxiety.
10. Depression
11. Sadness.
12. Jealousy.
13. Bitterness.
14. Resentment.
15. Discomfort
16. Disappointment.
1. Happiness.: Happiness is a unique healthy emotion that fills the whole body with
activity and a sense of positivism. This is because the person feels more
secure in this mental state. And so, he is in a position to devote and focus
attention by experiencing himself as a part of a pleasure rich world around
him.
2. Love: This is another standout unique and the most powerful positive or healthy emotion that fills the entire body with activation and a sense of feeling good. Love is often intimately associated with physical desire. But the nature of the desire is different depending on the type of relation with the thing or event or person or an idea, the four different aspects around which all human emotions revolve. This emotional focus of love is both the object of affection (this refers particularly to a person) and the intensity of emotions is experienced in the subjective self. Here again, the nature and intensity of emotions would be different in different situations and types of relation with that person. Whatever it may be due to, this causes a sense of elation in the mind with activation around the head and chest.
3. Pride: This too is a strong positive emotion that fills with an intense sensation of joy that is experienced in the chest region. The activation in this case is related to focusing on the self with a sense of awareness that is turned inwards. But the subject of pride could be due to the self or the other person who could be one’s children; a closely related person or an intimate friend.
4. Surprise:
In this emotion, the strength of activation is less intense. The nature of this
source could be a positive or negative reason. And so the nature of the emotion
in this situation is unknown. And that
is why in this case, resources are drawn inward for preparing the body to face
the triggering event that reflects the uncertainty of the nature of the event. If the
outcome of an event is positive the emotion would manifest with a sense of elation
but if the outcome is negative it would cause a sense of dismay which may also be
accompanied by a sense of tension or anxiety which would be reflected in the
face. The physical correlate will manifest with an increase in blood pressure.
5. Anger: This is a standalone negative emotion
that causes intense activation particularly in the head, chest and hands. An
angry person may even prepare himself for a confrontation with the focus of
attention on the deployment of his internal resources on those parts of the
body that might have to act. In this state of mind, he may be enraged with an
urge to give vent to his overwhelming desire to hit the other person with some
object or verbally pour out venomous words with a deliberate intention to mentally
hurt that person. Heightened anger increases the blood pressure and pulse rate.
6. Fear: This too is a negative emotion in
which there is more of a defensive pattern of activation particularly in the
chest region. Because the person may in certain situations even have to prepare
for a ‘fight or flight response. But being with a defensive stand, he is not
necessarily seeking an outright conflict with the other person. Because his
fear also leads to a subservient attitude besides defensiveness. And this
happens particularly if he has to face a formidable opponent. As a result, it
initiates activation in the chest causing an increase in blood pressure, pulse
rate and also impacts the digestive tract.
7. Disgust:
In this case, the intensity of activation
is not as severe as anger.When a person experience disgust towards other humans,
and then he feels a concentration of repulsion from a sense of natural
protective response from inside. Disgust causes the pulling of inner resources
more tightly to the core of the body. In this situation, the negative emotion
causes the body to prepare to spew noxious verbal material in response to what
it has ingested from the other person. Hence the focus of activation is along
the digestive tract.
8. Shame and contempt: Shame and contempt
are both negative emotions with patterns of physical activation that are alike.
In case of contempt, the focus is outside the self, involving a judgement of
some other person. So physically, it induces less activation in the chest. In shame,
the focus is on the self. This is because it induces a sense of personal
failure or a judgemental error that caused the undesirable event to happen. In
this case, depression of activity in the self occurs out of a sense of guilt
feeling which is more pronounced. The person withdraws his resources inward
into the self. And a corresponding response is triggered which could even be one
of a ‘fight or flight ‘situation.
9. Anxiety: This is a form of stress classified as long term grade. It causes activation in the chest intensely which leads to a sense of despair, doom or alarm. And this could cause an experience of a panic attack. Persons under this condition experience tightness and pain in the chest causing incapacitation to think beyond the pressing fear of that moment or for the uncertainty in the immediate near future. This can lead the person to a feeling that causes strain in the heart and lungs with pangs of struggle to deliver oxygen to the body. This causes an increase in blood pressure if the person is under a condition of extended fear that lasts for a longer period.
10. Depression: This is a form of
negative emotion with the most noticeable external manifestation in the person
that becomes prominently visible on the face.
It lowers the state of mind to the extreme, which causes no activation
in any part of the body. And in this mental state, the individual finds it very
difficult to connect with both self and the outside world. Moreover, this is
often also accompanied by a sense of negative self-perception.
11 Sadness: This is also a negative emotion but
does not suppress feelings in the head and chest but often leads to a general
lack of activity. In certain circumstances, it induces a sense of helplessness,
when the person has not been able to prevent the failure or do something that
could have averted the source event that caused it. Another type of situation
is the event that has caused the loss of a near and dear person which could be
parents, close relations or friends. And such events often lead to a level of
sadness that is most severe, which leads to even mental shock. This situation
can also cause heart problems if the state of shock continues for an extended
period of time.
12 Jealousy: This too is a negative emotion but
carries a different mental tone and tenor. This accompanies an intense activity
in the chest, carrying a feeling of hate with most of the time even obnoxious verbal
outpouring for the other person. Comparison of self with others who are
superior in any way can also cause the initiation of such an emotion. With this
emotion, the individual is unable to accept anything good that happens to the
other person. And so out of this feeling even certain people go to the extent
of causing deliberate harm to the other person.
13. Bitterness: This is a negative emotion that arises from a judgemental perception of
a near or dear or a friend who has caused shock by his words or actions. This
ultimately causes a sense of self-negation in having wrongly judged a person.
14. Resentment: This is also a negative
emotion and it happens when a person dwells in the past good that had happened
on which the person is mentally living because of his inability to reconcile
with present unpleasant reality. Thus it’s an adaptability issue and would
cause a mental negation for an extended period and remain in this mental state
till the time the same gets faded in the mind. But if the person takes a mental
cue from it and adapts himself to the ensuing reality of the present, he
prepares himself to face a similar situation in the future with poise and
equanimity.
15. Discomfort: This is an emotion that causes less intense activation in the head and chest. And
this happens when a person with whom he is unfamiliar and has no past
experience but he has to deal with him now. Also, this can happen when there is
a discussion on some unpleasant or indecent subject that causes his
misalignment with him.
16. Disappointment: This is caused when a person has been judgemental about a situation or a person but that has not happened as expected by him and this causes a negation emotion. And this leads to a depressed feeling.
We can see from the above that, emotions manifest as physical sensations in the body. They impact not only our mental but also physiological aspects of the body. The outcome of the emotions is very simple to understand. In the case of positive emotion, the mind gets elated with the release of the corresponding feel-good neurochemicals like serotonin or dopamine. But in the case of negative emotion, it is just the opposite, the mind is depressed or tensed or stressed with a sense of negation due to the release of corresponding neurochemicals like cortisol and adrenaline.
The above blog post is a part adaption from the chapter on " Mind and body relation" from my recently published e-book titled " AN OVERVIEW OF HUMAN MIND"
