Emotions

            Emotions, feelings, sensations, weird thing-in-ma-bobs that makes you feel funny. Whatever you call them – we all have them. Emotions are a universal thing, meaning everybody in the world experiences them.

            From various studies done all over the world by different researchers, using different methodologies, and in different settings, and cultures it is evident that emotions are indeed universal. The seven basic universal emotions include: Joy, Surprise, Contempt, Sadness, Anger, Discussed, and Fear.

            From these core basic emotions other emotions can develop, for example: from the emotion joy comes excitement, bliss, happiness and so forth. 

            So we all have these emotions and we all experience them, but here comes the catch – Everybody experiences emotions on a personal level differently… Whaattt???? Yes, it’s true, we as unique individuals can experience the same emotion in different ways.

            We all know what anger is, have seen it, have a picture of it in our heads and have in some point in our lives been angry - like this morning in traffic. However, because we are all different and unique individuals, we experience the emotion of anger each in our own different ways. As an example, if there are two people in a room and they are exposed to exactly the same stimulus that make them feel the emotion of anger, these two individuals will experience the same emotion of anger differently. One might lash out and try to break something, while the other person will simply try to bottle that anger up.  

            Here are some things that might influence our different experiences: personality, age, past experiences, context and a whole host of other things. Interestingly something like the weather can also have an influence on how we experience emotions. A study done in 2013 (Hsiang et al.) states that there is a link between human aggression and high temperatures. Thus the higher the temperature, the more conflict and violence were present.

            With our current high temperatures, that does not look good. So have a glass of ice water, cool down, and remember: Feel the feeling, but choose the behaviour…

Flowers for 2018

So, we’re at the start of a new year. 2017 is behind us, and 2018 has taken its first little steps into life. Maybe you made some New Year resolutions. Maybe you are hoping that 2018 is going to be a better year than 2017. Maybe you are energised and ready to charge into 2018 with excitement and enthusiasm. Maybe you are feeling down and listless, faced with the prospect of another challenging year. We all have different responses to the coming of a new year, and different ways of coping with what the new year will bring.

I saw a lovely cartoon the other day….

…. And it reminded me that we all need to plant flowers in our own lives. I have struggled with depression and anxiety for many years, so, here are the flowers that I am planting in my life this year to help me to cope with them:

Each morning I take 10 minutes for reflection and mindful breathing, to help me stay focused and motivated. I spend three minutes thinking about three things I’m grateful for, the next three minutes feeling at peace and thinking of people I care about and the last three minutes envisioning three things I want to accomplish this year. The amazing thing that I’ve learned is that thinking about things that you are grateful for actually changes the way that your brain functions, and makes you happier. And thinking about what I want to accomplish keeps me focused on those things, and prevents them from getting lost in the busyness of everyday life. And it is ten minutes just for me.

I’ve taken to walking around the neighbourhood a couple of times a week. Even just 20 minutes of working out improves both physical and mental health. The other day I woke up tired and down, but after walking for half an hour I had a smile back on my face - helped by having a good friend who walks with me.

And that’s it. I’m not making huge promises to myself to revolutionise my life – too much change at one time is hard to carry through. Two flowers I can plant and water and look after – not a whole garden. Two flowers that I know will bring positive energy into my life.

Here’s hoping that 2018 will be filled with flowers.