Do you know where our emotions live?

[Teacher]

In modern culture, it is customary to hide and suppress your emotions, not to express your true feelings. Instead, it is supposed to wear a mask, and it is better to keep smiling all the time. The child is brought up in the prohibitions on the expression of emotions: “don't cry”, “don't shout”, “don't run”, “don't make noise”, “sit quietly and calmly”, “Don't grimace”; prohibit "showing" anger, rage, and aggression in general.

Any emotion is energy, and, according to the law of conservation of energy, it does not disappear anywhere. Therefore, the expression of emotion can be suppressed, but it cannot be destroyed. It remains to live deeply in a person, being unmanifest, and does not disappear until it is expressed outside.

​

EMOTIONS.​

What is emotion? The word emotio presupposes action (the preposition e - "outward, outward", motio - "movement"), and in this sense emotion ("outward movement") is a universal manifestation of all forms of life. Back in 1872. Charles Darwin, in his book Expressing Emotions in Man and Animals, wrote: "Expressive movements of the face and body are extremely important to our well-being." Later, Sigmund Freud discovered that the therapeutic effect is achieved only through the experience of emotion.

Each emotion, in its own way, is experienced by our body. From joy - “the chest is bursting”, from resentment - “everything shrank in the chest”, from disgust - “the stomach turns out”, from shame - I want to “burn out” (burning in the diaphragm), and from fear - “the stomach is cramping”. Emotion always requires expression by facial expressions (facial muscles), gestures (mainly the muscles of the arms and shoulder girdle), body movements (muscles of the whole body).

But for the expression of emotion, the energy provided by deep breathing is also necessary. Therefore, for the normal expression of emotions, a free, plastic state of the muscles of the face and the whole body, free, light and deep breathing are necessary.

CONTAINING EMOTIONS.

If we restrain the external expression of our emotions, hide them from people, then we achieve this only by blocking their expression with our own muscles. We interfere with the normal functioning of our own body by blocking muscle movements. If a feeling is very strong, and we hold it back for a long time, muscle blocks are formed, which, in turn, disrupt the entire work of the corresponding segment of the body, and not just the expression of a specific feeling.

Expression of emotion is suppressed by muscle tension and blocking of body segments corresponding to the given emotion. In many cases, not only the expression of a specific emotion is blocked, but also emotionality in general, by reducing the energy supply of the body - weakening the depth of breathing. This is often accompanied by a predisposition to colds. At the heart of blocking breathing is an unconscious fear of receiving a flow of energy that will break through all muscle blocks, and emotions will come out.

CONSEQUENCES of holding back emotions.

What happens to us when restraining ourselves, limiting the expression of feelings and emotions?

Unbeknownst to us, this leads to the following:

• neuroses are formed,
• there is a painful feeling that you are not living your life,
• we do not what we want,
• we suffer, justifying ourselves by the fact that, supposedly, “everyone lives like this”, “nothing can be done”, etc.
• our loved ones receive less love and tenderness from us, which we do not know how to express,
• “swallow grievances,” instead of fighting back, and so on.

Blocked energy "circulates" inside our body in search of an outlet.

The person continues to experience impulses of unexpressed emotions, but struggles with them. As a result, the body, instead of bringing joy and pleasure, brings pain and suffering, "earns" diseases (psychosomatics). A person turns away from his own body, betrays it (one of the books of the famous psychotherapist A. Lowen is called “Betrayal of the body - Betrayal of the body”). What, apart from harm, can bring a person ignoring his own body by his mind?

Our bodies reflect our experiences.

Example. The feeling of resentment "squeezes" the chest, regardless of whether the person shows his resentment to people or not. After a while, if, being unexpressed, the offense persists, back pain may occur between the shoulder blades. You can go to a massage therapist, but the procedures will only bring temporary relief. He may even be given the wrong diagnosis - "osteochondrosis of the thoracic region." But until he removes the chest block and betrays his insult, the back will not go away ...

Example. Increased control of the mind over emotions leads to the formation of a cervical block. A "squeezed" neck, in turn, leads to stoop, neck pain, upper respiratory tract diseases, and chronic colds. (We will talk about what happens with the voice later). Can a massage therapist help? Again, there will be an erroneous diagnosis of osteochondrosis, but now of the cervical spine. But this person can learn to express his emotions, and stop suppressing his cry, crying ("a lump in his throat stuck") ...

WHERE EMOTIONS LIVE.

So where do emotions live? Lowen identifies 9 "basic" emotions:

-Basic emotion - Where the Feeling that is generated in this area lives

- Joy - in the chest expansion, lifting, opening

- Sadness - chest compression, reduction

- Offense - reduction in the chest, squeezing

- Tenderness - pleasant warmth in the chest, expansion, "spilling"

- Anger - in the chest, comes from the pelvis, goes up through the whole body "bursting", expansion

- Shame - the area of the diaphragm (between the chest and abdomen) burning

- Disgust - upper abdominal compression, rolling over, eversion

- Fear - lower abdomen contraction, constriction, reduction

- Sexual arousal - in the pelvic region, a pleasant expansion, "spillage".

Perhaps this list looks too short. It lacks many well-known emotions and feelings: rage, longing, guilt, etc. Because now we are talking about basic emotions. The rest of the emotions are "superficial", that is, they "cover" the basic ones. There is always a basic emotion under the "superficial" emotion. Basic is always more authentic and has a much greater energy than any superficial. Therefore, with all the possible variety of feelings and emotions, Lowen recommends that for therapeutic purposes, it is always the basic emotion that is identified.

What does Body-Oriented Therapy suggest to do?

Understanding the unity of the mind and body allows in body-oriented psychotherapy not only to diagnose the psychological causes of bodily diseases, but also to eliminate them. After all, a muscle block can be removed, and a person can be taught to show his own feelings and emotions held by him.

You cannot make movements graceful just by lying on a couch or sitting in an armchair and talking about your experiences. Such a conversation is necessary and useful, but the chronic muscle tension, which is accompanied by a loss of grace, must be fought in motion.

"All emotions belong to the body, the mind only recognizes them." D. Lawrence.
It's scary to show people your true emotions, isn't it? And even to myself it is scary to admit them. If the answer is yes, then we will look at the table - where does fear live? And let's get started!

The exercise.

We study our face.

We approach the mirror. We carefully look at the facial features that have developed over the years. What emotion do they express? Raised eyebrows? Surprised or frightened? Or maybe shifted? Out of rage? Are the corners of the mouth down? In sorrow? Or has a smile frozen on your lips for years? Do the eyes smile then? Or just lips? Or maybe your eyes are wide open? Scared? Are your lips turned out? Disgust? Or tensely drawn into a thin line? Out of anger? Are your cheeks puffed out? How's a kid about to cry? Or is your face thinned and your muscles tense? From pain and suffering? Let's take a closer look ... Is this the expression on the face of a person who wants to grin? Or maybe it burst into tears? Let's be attentive to ourselves ...

"Everyone, in order to maintain mental health, should make faces at their reflection in the mirror for at least 3 minutes every day."
DO YOU KNOW WHERE OUR EMOTIONS LIVE?

In modern culture, it is customary to hide and suppress your emotions, not to express your true feelings. Instead, it is supposed to wear a mask, and it is better to keep smiling all the time. The child is brought up in the prohibitions on the expression of emotions: “don't cry”, “don't shout”, “don't run”, “don't make noise”, “sit quietly and calmly”, “Don't grimace”; prohibit "showing" anger, rage, and aggression in general.

Any emotion is energy, and, according to the law of conservation of energy, it does not disappear anywhere. Therefore, the expression of emotion can be suppressed, but it cannot be destroyed. It remains to live deeply in a person, being unmanifest, and does not disappear until it is expressed outside.

EMOTIONS.

What is emotion? The word emotio presupposes action (the preposition e - "outward, outward", motio - "movement"), and in this sense emotion ("outward movement") is a universal manifestation of all forms of life. Back in 1872. Charles Darwin, in his book Expressing Emotions in Man and Animals, wrote: "Expressive movements of the face and body are extremely important to our well-being." Later, Sigmund Freud discovered that the therapeutic effect is achieved only through the experience of emotion.

Each emotion, in its own way, is experienced by our body. From joy - “the chest is bursting”, from resentment - “everything shrank in the chest”, from disgust - “the stomach turns out”, from shame - I want to “burn out” (burning in the diaphragm), and from fear - “the stomach is cramping”. Emotion always requires expression by facial expressions (facial muscles), gestures (mainly the muscles of the arms and shoulder girdle), body movements (muscles of the whole body).

But for the expression of emotion, the energy provided by deep breathing is also necessary. Therefore, for the normal expression of emotions, a free, plastic state of the muscles of the face and the whole body, free, light and deep breathing are necessary.

CONTAINING EMOTIONS.

If we restrain the external expression of our emotions, hide them from people, then we achieve this only by blocking their expression with our own muscles. We interfere with the normal functioning of our own body by blocking muscle movements. If a feeling is very strong, and we hold it back for a long time, muscle blocks are formed, which, in turn, disrupt the entire work of the corresponding segment of the body, and not just the expression of a specific feeling.

Expression of emotion is suppressed by muscle tension and blocking of body segments corresponding to the given emotion. In many cases, not only the expression of a specific emotion is blocked, but also emotionality in general, by reducing the energy supply of the body - weakening the depth of breathing. This is often accompanied by a predisposition to colds. At the heart of blocking breathing is an unconscious fear of receiving a flow of energy that will break through all muscle blocks, and emotions will come out.

CONSEQUENCES of holding back emotions.

What happens to us when restraining ourselves, limiting the expression of feelings and emotions?

Unbeknownst to us, this leads to the following:

• neuroses are formed,
• there is a painful feeling that you are not living your life,
• we do not what we want,
• we suffer, justifying ourselves by the fact that, supposedly, “everyone lives like this”, “nothing can be done”, etc.
• our loved ones receive less love and tenderness from us, which we do not know how to express,
• “swallow grievances,” instead of fighting back, and so on.

Blocked energy "circulates" inside our body in search of an outlet.

The person continues to experience impulses of unexpressed emotions, but struggles with them. As a result, the body, instead of bringing joy and pleasure, brings pain and suffering, "earns" diseases (psychosomatics). A person turns away from his own body, betrays it (one of the books of the famous psychotherapist A. Lowen is called “Betrayal of the body - Betrayal of the body”). What, apart from harm, can bring a person ignoring his own body by his mind?

Our bodies reflect our experiences.

Example. The feeling of resentment "squeezes" the chest, regardless of whether the person shows his resentment to people or not. After a while, if, being unexpressed, the offense persists, back pain may occur between the shoulder blades. You can go to a massage therapist, but the procedures will only bring temporary relief. He may even be given the wrong diagnosis - "osteochondrosis of the thoracic region." But until he removes the chest block and betrays his insult, the back will not go away ...

Example. Increased control of the mind over emotions leads to the formation of a cervical block. A "squeezed" neck, in turn, leads to stoop, neck pain, upper respiratory tract diseases, and chronic colds. (We will talk about what happens with the voice later). Can a massage therapist help? Again, there will be an erroneous diagnosis of osteochondrosis, but now of the cervical spine. But this person can learn to express his emotions, and stop suppressing his cry, crying ("a lump in his throat stuck") ...

WHERE EMOTIONS LIVE.

So where do emotions live? Lowen identifies 9 "basic" emotions:

- Basic emotion - Where the Feeling that is generated in this area lives

- Joy - in the chest expansion, lifting, opening

- Sadness - chest compression, reduction

- Offense - reduction in the chest, squeezing

- Tenderness - pleasant warmth in the chest, expansion, "spilling"

- Anger - in the chest, comes from the pelvis, goes up through the whole body "bursting", expansion

- Shame - the area of the diaphragm (between the chest and abdomen) burning

- Disgust - upper abdominal compression, rolling over, eversion

- Fear - lower abdomen contraction, constriction, reduction

- Sexual arousal - in the pelvic region, a pleasant expansion, "spillage".

Perhaps this list looks too short. It lacks many well-known emotions and feelings: rage, longing, guilt, etc. Because now we are talking about basic emotions. The rest of the emotions are "superficial", that is, they "cover" the basic ones. There is always a basic emotion under the "superficial" emotion. Basic is always more authentic and has a much greater energy than any superficial. Therefore, with all the possible variety of feelings and emotions, Lowen recommends that for therapeutic purposes, it is always the basic emotion that is identified.

What does Body-Oriented Therapy suggest to do?

Understanding the unity of the mind and body allows in body-oriented psychotherapy not only to diagnose the psychological causes of bodily diseases, but also to eliminate them. After all, a muscle block can be removed, and a person can be taught to show his own feelings and emotions held by him.

You cannot make movements graceful just by lying on a couch or sitting in an armchair and talking about your experiences. Such a conversation is necessary and useful, but the chronic muscle tension, which is accompanied by a loss of grace, must be fought in motion.

"All emotions belong to the body, the mind only recognizes them." D. Lawrence.
It's scary to show people your true emotions, isn't it? And even to myself it is scary to admit them. If the answer is yes, then we will look at the table - where does fear live? And let's get started!

The exercise.

We study our face.

We approach the mirror. We carefully look at the facial features that have developed over the years. What emotion do they express? Raised eyebrows? Surprised or frightened? Or maybe shifted? Out of rage? Are the corners of the mouth down? In sorrow? Or has a smile frozen on your lips for years? Do the eyes smile then? Or just lips? Or maybe your eyes are wide open? Scared? Are your lips turned out? Disgust? Or tensely drawn into a thin line? Out of anger? Are your cheeks puffed out? How's a kid about to cry? Or is your face thinned and your muscles tense? From pain and suffering? Let's take a closer look ... Is this the expression on the face of a person who wants to grin? Or maybe it burst into tears? Let's be attentive to ourselves ...

"Everyone, in order to maintain mental health, should make faces at their reflection in the mirror for at least 3 minutes every day."

 

[Brother]

Recognizing emotions: biases and distortions​

Scientists on how our biases distort the perception of reality and others, and why recognizing emotions is not our strong point.

Remember the Soviet scientific pop "I and Others", in which we were shown a number of experiments proving how suggestible we are, not independent in judgments and dependent on the opinions of others? In one of the tests, the participants were shown a portrait of the same person, first introducing him to a scientist or a murderer, after which the respondents had to make a psychological portrait of the person they presented. Of course, those who described the "killer" noticed the cruelty in the eyes, and a sly grin, and secrecy. Those who described the prominent scientist saw kindness, decency, intelligence in the same portrait. But is it really just a person's suggestibility and a natural inclination to conformism (they said a murderer means a murderer)?

Recently, scientists from the United States of America, New Zealand and France conducted research that confirmed that our initial perception of other people's emotions distorts our later perception and memory of their facial expressions.

That is, as soon as we interpret an ambiguous or neutral species as anger or joy, we subsequently remember or actually see this very emotion.
According to co-author of the study, professor of psychology at the University of California, Peter Winckelmann, their work asks "the good old question":

"Do we see reality as it is, or is what we see is influenced by our prejudices?"

According to him, the results do confirm that what we think has a noticeable effect on our perception, and recognition of a person's emotions becomes biased. Another study co-author, Iamin Halberstadt of the University of Otago in New Zealand, explains:

“We imagine that our expression of emotions is an unambiguous way to communicate and convey feelings. But in real social interaction, facial expressions are a mixture of several emotions - and they are open to interpretation. This means that two people may have different memories of the same emotionally intense episode, but both may be correct about what they "saw." So when my wife perceives my grin as cynicism, she is right: her explanation of my facial expression at some point distorts her perception. But it's also true that if she explained my expression as empathy, I wouldn't have to sleep on the couch. This is a paradox - the more we look for meaning in the emotions of others, the less accurately we remember them. "

Scientists note that the phenomenon under study goes far beyond everyday interpersonal misunderstandings - it is especially found among those who are characterized by persistent or dysfunctional ways of understanding emotions, such as people with anxiety disorder of personality or those with psychological trauma.
For example, anxious individuals are characterized by negative interpretations of other people's reactions, which can permanently color their perception of feelings and intentions and perpetuate their erroneous beliefs, even in the face of evidence to the contrary.

Another area in which the research findings can be applied concerns eyewitness memory: a witness to a violent crime, for example, can attribute anger to the perpetrator - an impression that researchers believe will influence the memory of the attacker's facial expression.

During the experiment, the researchers showed participants photographs of digitally manipulated faces that reflect ambiguous emotions, and asked respondents to think of these faces as angry or joyful.

The participants then observed a slow change in facial expressions - from angry to happy - and needed to find the photograph they had originally seen.
People's original interpretations influenced their memories: faces initially interpreted as evil were more often remembered as expressing anger than faces initially interpreted as happy.

Scientists were especially interested in the fact that faces with indefinite facial expressions were perceived so ambiguously and caused such different reactions. By measuring subtle electrical signals from muscles that control facial expressions, the researchers found that participants mimicked previously interpreted emotions on their faces when re-viewing faces with vague expressions.

In other words, when viewing facial expressions that they once thought of as evil, people were more likely to express evil emotions on their faces than people who looked at the same face but initially interpreted it as joyful.

As the researchers note, these are largely automatic processes - such mimicry reflects how people perceived a face with an ambiguous expression, and demonstrates that participants literally saw different expressions. Professor Winckelmann of the University of California notes:

“Thus, we were able to discover that our body is an interface: a place where thoughts and perceptions meet. Our research supports the growing field of research on “embodied consciousness” and “embodied emotions”. And our bodily self is closely intertwined with how and what we think and feel. "

Adapted from: Halberstadt, J., Winkielman, P., Niedenthal, PM, & Dalle, N. (2009). Emotional conception: How embodied emotion concepts guide perception and facial action, Psychological Science, 20, 1254-1261.