Emotion

Red

I have questioned why I need emotions. Why do I need to feel anything? Surely, emotions get in the way of everything logical and rational.

Emotions seemed like abstract concepts that helped us relate to people, places, and things. However, the physiological and psychological entities are hard to control and just as hard and complex to understand. Some emotions evoke joy, and some express sadness and melancholy. Some emotions evoke disgust, fear, and anger. Some help provides confidence and security. Others, unchecked, leave us in despair…

Muse

The movie Inside Out represent how simple emotions can play a complex role in our thoughts, actions, and decisions. Emotions help us make sense of our experiences. This is why you can never escape emotions. You either learn to numb yourself to them or react based on them.

Why on earth do we have emotion?

I definitely ask this question too many times, but I am starting to get a better idea. To understand, let's talk a bit about God. God often expresses himself to us through love, joy, mercy, compassion, anger, etc. Therefore, we can argue that God conveys himself through emotions. Genesis also tells us that man was created in God's image. As God himself expresses emotions, so do we. Having and expressing emotions are part of being human beings. It gives us the ability to express ourselves, have creativity, and, to some extent, have free will.

Cast your burdens onto Jesus, for he cares for you …

It still amazes me that the bible is littered with emotions. Some refer to joy, love and hope. Some are anger, bitterness and sorrow. Others address anxiety, fear and worry. Nevertheless, they are all there. Sometimes, I forget that God cares about our emotions. Otherwise, why talk about it? God calls us to cast our cares on him, because he cares for us, our health and our well-being. God knew that we needed emotion to be individual and he gave us free will. He knew that we needed emotion to know how to experience life, how to worship, and give thanks. And he knew emotions, unchecked, can cause us danger or self-harm. For example, God tells us not to fear, because he is with us. He tells us that he has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.

But then, could he not allow us to have some emotions and not others? For example, could we not have fear, disgust, or sadness in the first?

All emotions at their core are necessary …

From a philosophical, physiological, or evolutionary point of view, emotions are essential for survival. As mentioned before (for better or for worse), emotions help us make sense of our experiences. Disgust helps us avoid things we do not like, joy reminds us to keep doing the things we love, and fear is meant to keep us from danger. This comes with quicker decision-making as we can start to make decisions based on a gut feeling or compare how much we like something versus something we don’t (although quicker decision-making is not necessarily better). Emotions help us connect and bond with one another by talking about shared experiences.

The best stories are stories that make you feel something. They evoke emotions. They compel you to do. Memories often evoke a certain feeling. It is much easier to show vulnerability and draw support from others when you're sad ( and invite people to support you), and it is much easier to slow down to reflect and reassess. Emotion directly impacts our physiology. This is best demonstrated when patients get better despite taking a placebo drug in a drug test. Our emotions affect how our bodies function. For example, fear increases adrenaline; joy increases dopamine, which improves immune function and relaxes our muscles; sadness decreases dopamine, and anger causes us to strain. Emotions are powerful and affect our physical health.

Stewarding our emotions

As much as emotions are necessary, some groups can control us better than we can. Also, some are not good for us when lumped together—building more complex emotions or states—under certain circumstances. For example, anger, pride, and love are common feelings that can evoke us to do things that we would not normally do or understand why we did them. Emotions can easily dictate our decisions.

One thing I must (un)learn is that I need to master my emotions rather than trying to numb them - trying to bottle them up. I will achieve a much higher emotional intelligence when I know what I am feeling and what I feel deeply about it and not let my feelings dictate my next actions. Recognising, understanding, and managing my emotions is the ultimate way to steward emotions, which is something we ought to do. Sometimes, managing may look like giving them to God so they do not intensify or distort perception, actions and experiences. Otherwise, things like sadness, guilt, and worthlessness evolve into depression or chronic fear, and uncertainty develops into anxiety or rage from intense anger and frustration. Emotions grow and evolve like Pokemon.

The point I make is that emotions can be powerful. They relate us to our experiences, keep us unique, protect us from danger, connect us with each other, and help us make decisions quickly. Emotions influence our decisions and perceptions. Left unchecked, they can take more control of us than we have of them and build into states like depression and rage.

There is so much to explore with emotions. We often use emotion to protect ourselves, relate to things differently because of experiences or trauma (e.g., money, dating, imposter syndrome), and develop beliefs and perceptions that just aren't true. Whatever you need to (un/re)learn, know that I am still beginning this journey of keeping up with my emotions and am excited to see where you get with yours.

Shine Bright

Steph