Understanding Emotions

Understanding Emotions Emotions – signals that tell your mind and body how to react

Emotions affect all sides of the health triangle • Joy • Release brain chemicals that make you fell warmth and a sense of well-being • Promotes mental/emotional health • Improves relationships • Fear • Fight or flight response – physical changes • sweating, increased heart rate, increase breathing rate, tightening of muscles, slowed digestion

Identifying your emotions • Sometimes you know exactly why you feel a certain way • Sometimes you have no idea what caused that emotion to occur • Hormones – a chemical secreted by your glands that regulate the activities of different body cells • Accurately identifying what emotion you are feeling will help you respond in a healthy way

Happiness • What are some words that describe how you feel when you are happy?

Sadness • A normal, healthy reaction to difficult events • What are some words that would describe how you feel when you are sad? • May be mild and fleeting or deep and long-lasting

Love • What are some words that describe how you feel when you are feeling love? • Can be expressed through words or actions • How can you show love to others?

Empathy • The ability to imagine and understand how someone else feels • Different from sympathy

Fear • What are some words that describe how you feel when you experience fear? • Phobia – exaggerated fear • What are some examples of phobias?

Guilt • What are some words that describe how you feel when you experience guilt? • Results from acting against one’s values or failing to act when you should have

Anger • What are some words that describe how you feel when you are angry? • Common reaction to being emotionally or physically hurt • If not handled in constructive ways it can result in violence • Hostility – the intentional use of unfriendly or offensive behavior • Hostile people are 4-7 times more likely to die from heart disease

Dealing with emotions in a positive way • Every time you experience an emotion, you have a choice of how you will handle it • Strategies for responding to your emotions • Look below the surface – What are you really reacting to? • Will this matter later (tomorrow, next week, next month, next year)? • Thoroughly consider the possible consequences before taking action • Let positive feelings inspire you. Relieve negative feelings. • If a negative feeling doesn’t go away…seek help.

Defense Mechanisms • Mental processes that protect individuals from strong or stressful emotions or situations

Common Defense Mechanisms • Suppression • holding back or restraining – conscious, intentional pushing of unpleasantness from one’s mind • Repression • involuntary pushing of unpleasant feelings out of conscious thought • Rationalization • making excuses to explain a situation or behavior rather than directly taking responsibility for it • Regression • reverting to behaviors more characteristic of an earlier stage of development

Common Defense Mechanisms • Denial • unconscious lack of acknowledgement of something that is obvious to others • Compensation • making up for weaknesses and mistakes through gift-giving, hard work, or extreme efforts • Projection • attributing your feelings or faults to another person or group • Idealization • seeing someone else as perfect, ideal, or more worthy than everyone else

Handling Fear • Some fear is healthy and natural. It is only a problem if it is irrational or uncontrollable • Overcoming fear • Identify your fear • Talk about your fear • Learn about fear

Managing Fear • You can choose how to approach your fears • 1. Forget Everything And Run • Or • 2. Face Everything And Rise • The Key is having the knowledge, skills, and support to know how to face the fear.

Dealing with guilt • Try to get to the source and deal with the problem • Do your best to right the wrong • Learn from the experience and be more responsible in the future • Check yourself to make sure it was within your control. If not, it is not your guilt.

Managing Anger • Get at the underlying source and address it • Even if you can’t do anything about the source • Cope with your feelings

Strategies for Managing Anger • A 12-step program developed by doctors at Duke University Medical Center • Some examples • Try seeing an upsetting issue from the other person’s perspective • Learn to relax • Practice trusting other people • Develop your listening skills • Learn to assert yourself. Using assertiveness – instead of aggression – can improve your relationships and help you achieve your goals • Remember that life is short. Ask yourself whether you really have time to get angry

Managing Anger Activity • Write the following headings on your paper • Do something to relax • Re-channel your energy • Talk to someone you trust • Get some physical activity • Under each heading list at least 2 activities you can try the next time your are Angry and record them in your phone. For extra Credit if you qualify (meaning all your other work has been completed) you can access your “Anger Management Techniques” in your phone the next time your are angry and put one or more of them to use. Then write a paper clearly communicating the following;

1. What made your angry? • 2. How did you feel before and after using your “Anger Management Technique”? • 3. Were you able to move forward in a positive way in the relationship with the person or people you were angry with? • 4. Did you use your healthy communication skills to try and move beyond the argument?

Understanding Emotions