2023-07-01 11:00:00
Embarrassing, unpleasant, a sign of weakness… Emotions still have a bad reputation. And yet, they are often true allies. The proof !
Our emotions make us suffer for the good cause. Obviously, we prefer joy to anger! But all emotions, even the most unpleasant ones, give us valuable information. Scientists attribute them to two functions: adaptation to the environment and communication. Thus, they define six basic emotions, each of which plays a role. Fear warns us of danger and prepares us to react. Anger protects us and gives us energy to solve a problem. Disgust allows us to reject what is bad for us. Thanks to the surprisewe focus our attention on the unexpected. Joy motivates us and strengthens our social bonds. About the sadnessit favors the support of those around us.
Our emotions can make us sick
Sometimes feeling sad or anxious is normal. THE unpleasant emotionsdirecting attention to the discomfort, lead to the search for solutions. But when they persist, it can ruin life. “They are accompanied by painful sensations (knotted stomach, tight throat) and tend to be self-sustaining. They are like glasses that make life look black”, notes Jean-Baptiste Pavani, lecturer in psychology at the University of Aix-Marseille. When the suffering is such that it disrupts daily life (raising children, going out, working…), it is an illness: social anxiety, phobia, depression…
It is better not to repress certain emotions
We can hide our anger you that sadness, we still feel it… “It’s better to express it, but in a way that others can understand”, tempers Jean-Baptiste Pavani. Thus, it is best to avoid contempt or threats in anger. And it turns out to be easier if you can understand what need is behind it – for example, a need of recognition. “Some are even terrified by their emotions. They are ashamed of them and equate them with a risk of depression. In this case, they lose their useful and motivating character”, notes the doctor in psychology, also author of the book Act on your emotions (ed. UGA/PUG), in which he details three strategies to live them better: attenuate the negative with cognitive-behavioral therapies, increase the positive with positive psychology, or even accept them with mindfulness meditation.
Our emotions read on our face
Each basic emotion would be characterized by an expression linked to the activation of specific facial muscles. These innate manifestations would be common to all individuals. But recent discoveries qualify this theory. The work of Rachael Jack, of the University of Glasgow, shows that the facial expression of an emotion would have universal markers (such as the contraction of muscles around the nose in the event of disgust), but also differences according to cultures, or “the activation of additional muscles”, details neuroscientist Julie Grèzes, of Inserm. Moreover, the face does not always betray our feelings, because of the social norms. These teach us, for example, not to show our anger.
Our emotions influence our decisions
It has long been thought that emotion disturbs the raison. In reality, there is no reason to oppose them. Emotions are even “one of the main drivers” of reason, and more generally of cognitive processes (attention, memory, etc.), underlines Hervé Chneiweiss in our brain (ed. The Iconoclast). According to the work of neuropsychologist Antonio Damasio, when a choice has to be made, regions of the brain linked to reasoning (prefrontal cortex, etc.) and emotions (amygdala) communicate with each other, which generates representations of the various possible options. The emotional states associated with these scenarios contribute to their evaluation, and therefore to the decision making.
To read :
The hidden face of emotionsby Sylvie Berthoz (ed. Le Pommier)
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