All about The Human Emotion

WHAT IS AN EMOTION?

The word emotion comes from the Latin term 'Emovere' which means - to set in motion. As the etymology implies, emotions are energy or physical sensations associated with thoughts in our mind which move through our body. Simply put E-motion is Energy in motion.

In our lives we all have experienced a wide array of emotions right from happiness to sorrow, anger, fear, surprise, etc. As we can distinguish between these emotions it implies that the distribution of emotional energy within our mind and body is different - either in the amount of energy being distributed or in the direction it is distributed or both. Even the vibrational frequency of the emotional energy makes a huge difference. Everything in the world we see manifested as form and phenomena are vibrations, each with a different vibrational frequency. For example water has one and when its turns to ice it has different vibrations. The vibrations again change when it turns to vapour. Macroscopic images below show how particles in gas vibrate and move freely at high speeds when compared to liquids and solids.

Gas particles

Liquid particles

Solid particles

So its no surprise that even our physical body, its cells, organs and tissues vibrate at a precise frequency. The emotions of peace, love, happiness, excitement, security and gratitude have higher vibrations which are in harmony with our physical vibrations and thus support general well-being. However emotions of anger, fear, sadness hold lower vibrations which are not in sync with our physical vibrations and cause impedance to our health. Now our thoughts too have energy so can we not direct this intellectual energy to override the effect of emotions? The answer to it is that our heart emits a stronger electro-magnetic force than the brain hence the brain becomes coherent with the vibrations of the heart. So even if we are intellectually editing ourselves our true emotions are still being broadcast throughout our body and arguably beyond it too. That's the reason why health is not a matter of just having happy/positive thoughts but actually being happy at the subconscious level. Now that we know the importance of emotions, let's understand how we feel them and what happens in our body when we feel them.

HOW EMOTION WORKS?

To understand how emotions work we must first know about the special structures in our brain which are evolved to comphrend emotions. Its only then we can understand how they impact the internal organs using the autonomous nervous system and also overall health by chemical signals to cells of our immune system.

Emotions and nervous system

Emotion involves the entire nervous system, of course.  But there are two parts of the nervous system that are especially significant:  The limbic system and the autonomic nervous system.

Human brain has emerged to its present form in 3 distinct layers of evolution.

1. The reptilian brain is the oldest (forms the central core) and is used for self preservation.
2. The limbic system emerged in mammals (marked in red in the image) is responsible for  emotions.
3. The neocortex emerged with the primates and is our conscious brain used for intellectual tasks like reading this article.

The brain’s limbic system is the seat of emotions. Different organs within our limbic system like the olfactory bulbs, hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, cingulate gyrus and several other nearby areas recognize the patterns of events in our life and respond. Even bodily sensations trigger impulses to the insula in the limbic system. All these signals trigger emotions, which instantly decide our attitudes and modify our behavior. The limbic system swiftly and continually switches control from one group of emotions to another. At any point in time, a single family of emotions rules, actively inhibiting conflicting objectives. Love subdues the onset of anger. These emotions micromanage the fluidity of muscle movements, facial expressions and the choice and tone of words using the peripheral nervous system.

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) has two components: the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system which operates on a subconscious level and is regulated by the hypothalamus. It regulates pulse, blood pressure and breathing and is also responsible in controling functions of internal organs and glands which secretes harmones and is involved in our ability to experience emotions.

As shown in the adjoining figure activation of the sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for action - increased blood flow to the muscles and other responses known as "fight-or-flight (just like the gas pedal in a car) whereas the parasympathetic nervous system functions when body is at rest and can be compared to the break pedal, which helps the body store energy for future use.

For smooth functioning both operate in sync, example during exercise the sympathetic nervous system increases heart rate whereas after exercise the parasympathetic nervous system helps to slow down the heart rate. However emotions like anger, anxiety or worry can cause the signals going to these two parts of the ANS to get out of sync with each other. This can be likened to one foot on the gas pedal and one foot on the break simultaneously which causes jerky rides and burns more fuel. This kind of disharmony between the two branches of ANS causes a lot of stress, wear and tear on our body and depletes its energy. Prolonged imbalance causes high blood pressure and heart attacks.

Emotions and the immune system

Emotions originate as distinctive patterns of nerve impulses also trigger neurochemical event. With every charged thought we think, there is a release of miniscule neuropeptides - chemical proteins  that function as neuromodulators in the nervous system and as hormones in the endocrine system. They trigger a specific physiological response to try to keep our overall system in homeostatis. These peptides that flood our bodies are, in fact, the molecules of emotion. Emotions thus form the key to understanding psychoimmunology's emerging picture of how body and mind affect each other. For example, it's through the emotion-modulating peptides that an embarrassing thought can cause blood vessels to dilate and turn a face beet red. In the same way, the molecules of emotion can mobilize immune cells to destroy an incipient tumor. Negative thoughts rooted from fear, are associated with inflammation and tissue break-down (catabolism). While positive thoughts rooted in love, are associated with anti-inflammatory chemicals and tissue regeneration and repair.

Examples of neuropeptides are endorphins like the ones released when we have sex or go for a jog, and other hormones, like oxytocin, the natural ‘love’ drug, adrenaline, the natural drug of excitement and fear, cortisol, the hormone of stress, and so on. There are dozens of these neuropeptides being released at any given moment. Neurochemicals such as dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin are important components of the limbic system. The adjoining figure shows their correspondence to 8 basic emotions. Example - Anger is combination of low serotonin, high dopamine and high noradrenaline.

So we know that our experience, physical or emotional, releases peptides. But once these peptides have been released, what do they do? They start swimming and fan out toward hundreds or thousands of receptor cells. The major components of the immune system, leukocytes (white blood cells), function in a dynamic chemical environment involving messenger molecules of the nervous, exocrine, and endocrine systems.

A cell receptor

The peptides travel through our extra-cellular fluids often in areas with no electrical neurons and hook up with specific, highly selective receptors located on cells as 'ligands' . Once attached, they impart molecular messages that enter the cell through the tail and can dramatically impact our physiological functioning at the cellular and systemic levels. In the adjoining figure the cell membrane is shown in blue with the extracellular cell receptor with ligand (shown in purple) and the 'tail' within the cell. The receptor, having received a message, transmits it from the surface of the cell deep into the cell’s interior, where the message can change the state of the cell dramatically. A chain reaction of biochemical events is initiated as tiny machines roar into action and, directed by the message of the ligand, begin any number of activities – manufacturing new proteins, making decisions about cell division, opening or closing ion channels, adding or subtracting energetic chemical groups such as the phosphates – to name just a few. In short, the life of the cell, what it is up to at any moment, is determined by which receptors are on its surface, and whether those receptors are occupied by ligands or not.

On a more global scale, these minute physiological phenomena at the cellular level can translate to large changes in behavior, physical activity, even aging (see adjoining image). They can impact everything from how efficiently our metabolism runs, to how we digest food, to whether or not we are vulnerable to a cold or virus and also how our gene are expressed.

The kicker, of course, is this: How much of a particular peptide we have available and active in our body is directly impacted by, among other things, our emotional experiences.

HOW EMOTIONS GO WRONG

The very nature of energy is movement. Positive emotions have few specific outward reactions; rather they act in the service of homeostasis, restoring quiescence. Negative emotions cause specific outward reactions; like anger calls to mind the urge to attack, fear the urge to escape, disgust the urge to expel, and so on. However such instinctive reaction to emotions is socially not acceptable. Hence we mask them with an intellectual response. In such case when emotions are repressed, denied, not allowed to be whatever they may be, our network pathways get blocked, stopping the flow of the vital feel-good unifying chemicals that run both our biology and our behavior. When we bury or control such feelings, their energy can't flow outward properly and dissipate naturally. We may think you have controlled how we felt, but the energy of it is still at work as it is now directed inward and exist in the subconscious waiting to seek expression mostly in the form of diseases as mentioned in my previous article.

STAY AWARE OUR BELIEFS BECOME OUR BIOLOGY

Emotions and Diseases

If someone wishes for good health, one must first ask oneself if he is ready to do away with the reasons for his illness. Only then is it possible to help him. ~ Hippocrates

Any illness enters our body only because of our limiting beliefs. These could be beliefs in lack, isolation, separation, or extinction. Once beliefs of helplessness and vulnerability get formed, they attract a whole gamut of thoughts and resultant experiences which further reinforce those beliefs. An illness is an experience born out of the basic fear that something is wrong. This fear creates a baggage of unresolved issues, which settle down in our body tissues. Hence, an illness is nothing but a combination of ‘issues in our tissues’. This article deals with some common conditions and their probable corresponding causative unconscious unmonitored thoughts and emotions.

LOOKS - The image we project about ourselves 
The first and foremost aspect of our body is our looks and personality. All our beliefs about our self worth and the way we wish to interact with others manifests here.
1 SKIN
Our skin forms the boundary between our physical self and environment. Any emotional conflict within where one is unable to form boundary with people around manifests as skin disorders like acne and pimples. Our skin starts showing premature aging symptoms like blemishes and wrinkles if we feel a lack of meaning and contentment in our lives.
2 BODY FRAME
Our build up also defines how we feel. A desire to impress others and draw their attention makes one overweight. Sometimes excessive stress also projects itself in the form of obesity. Cellulite formation is often triggered due unexpressed anger within. A desire to be evasive about our presence and pensiveness results in poor appetite and being underweight.

SENSES - The way we experience the world around us
Our beliefs about the world around us trigger each and every emotion we experience and these emotions consequently affect our sensory organs.
1 EYES
Eyes are like windows. They provide a perspective of the world. Nearsighted people tend to live in the moment and not plan for their future. Farsighted people tend to plan for the future and project their thoughts to the 'what if's'. They have a hard time staying in the here and now Eye problems can indicate you aren't looking at something clearly, or don't want to examine something.
2 EARS
Hearing problems or excess wax buildup indicate no interest to hear what is going on around. Its like effectively 'tuning out'.
3 NOSE
Our ability to smell diminishes when we catch cold or flu. Anger and stress is the main cause behind such respiratory problems.
4 MOUTH
Our mouth is how we taste the world. It deals with our senses, our 'sensuality'. A sense of disconnect from the physical world leads to loss of taste. Craving for sweets is caused when there is a desire to get more love in life. Inability to speak truth and being assertive leads to craving for salty food. Whereas desire to shatter boundaries and no longer live under restrictions leads to a craving for junk food
5 TOUCH
Strangely enough we start feeling extra cold when there is a desire to be left alone.

INFLAMMATION AND PAIN - The precursors of any illness 
Any emotional imbalance which we have immediately triggers pain and fear. This shows up as inflammation or pain in body. If ignored these common symptoms might just turn out to be major health issues.
Inflammation is usually caused due to fear. Its like seeing red. The body activates the fight or flight mode even in the absence of actual threats.
The most common form of pain which we usually experience is headache. These indicate that we are ignoring our deep needs or gut feelings. Also not living in the present and being anxious about future or guilty of past causes headaches So pay attention to this rap on the head before it turns to severe migraines.
However pain in the back of head just where it joins the spine is caused due to our inability to forgive ourselves for our past mistakes and being harshly judged
Emotions of guilt and bitterness long held within our bodies often show up as chronic pain. Its like having a guilt inside which is seeking punishment.

BODY STRUCTURE - The basis of our support and movement
Our spinal column supports our body and our limbs aid in all external visible functions of our body. Hence our inadequate belief about our support and movements manifests itself as pain in these body parts as shown in the chart below...

BODY SYSTEMS - The way we function internally 
All major negative emotions have a specific impact on each of our system and its major organs. They impact the respiratory,  circulatory, digestive, reproductive and even our immune system to cause major diseases. Most of the times its a combination of negative emotions which triggers a major illness.

Here's a list of diseases linked with their major negative emotion.
1 Constipation is caused when one is unable to release old painful ideas or has a miserly nature.
2 IBS irritable bowel syndrome happens when one has deep insecurities and a lot of worry and stress.
3 Gastritis and ulcers are a consequence of choleric emotions like anger hatred and also difficulties in sharing opinions.
4 Other stomach problems like distension, bloating,  colic,  gas and stomachache are symptoms of melancholic emotions of stress and worry.
5 Urinary problems like bedwetting and polyuria are triggered by fear
6 Kidney stones indicate holding a lot of resentment towards someone we fear to confront.
7 Diabetes and dementia are stress induced disorders
8 Liver and gall bladder issues are caused due to anger.
9 Fatigue is normally caused when we worry too much. This anxiety weakens the spleen.
10 Asthma, dyspnea and shortness of breath are caused by a lot of sadness within and also the inability to share love and care.
11 Heart suffers due to sudden spurge in our joy levels and also when we are unable to live our lives joyfully. People who suffer from depression and loose hope on getting their needs met often have clogged arteries and veins and are susceptible to stroke and other heart ailments.
12 High blood pressure is an indication of unresolved stress.
13 Reproductive system disorders are an indication of our vulnerabilities and insecurities. They show up when we are stifling our creativity and are unable to experience pleasure.
14 Cancer indicates a deep secret, hatred or guilt which is eating us away. There is also a lot of unexpressed anger within.
15 Motion sicknesses is felt when there is a strong belief of being trapped or bonded in life.

All these diseases should not make us feel that our emotions are the cause of our illness. Rather it should help us understand that any sudden change in emotions or excessive long suppressed emotions are unhealthy. Diseases are not malfunction of some dysfunctional organ, which can be corrected, replaced or removed. They are the best triggers which we have installed within our system to understand ourselves, to confront issues we are avoiding and to accept and  release the emotions involved.

Do not wait for mind-body disconnect to show up as health issues.
STAY AWARE. BE HAPPY.  BE HEALTHY.
To know how these emotions work check my next article...

Activate Innate

Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, once said, "Everyone has a doctor in him or her; we just have to help it in its work. The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well." Inspite of having this wise physician within us called our innate intelligence we do fall sick, implying that it is not  functioning smoothly.  Now to get the desired good health output from it we must check the inputs we provide to our innate intelligence - Our perceptions, beliefs and emotions.

Yes our mind has the ultimate power over our overall health. As explained by the Greek philosopher Socrates “There is no illness of the body apart from the mind.” This is mind-body medicine in a nutshell. Mind-body medicine uses the power of thoughts and emotions to influence physical health. The key to any mind-body technique is to "train" the mind to focus on the body without distraction. So here's how to master our own minds and improve our health...

But wait; do i need to share this knowledge? Its our innate intelligence and by definition we all are born with it and we know how to utilise it. We all have used this mind-body technique at some point of time without even realizing it. Doubts? Ever got down with a bad cold or flu with an important schedule the next day, be it exam at school, presentation at office or family function at home? What do we do in such a circumstance, when we cannot afford to get ill or rest to regain our health?  Mostly in such case we take some medicine and stongly wish to pull through that day without any illness. Voila, thats exactly what happens! The special day passes without any major symptoms of cold or flu. Now depending upon the intensity of the invasion and the effectiveness of the bodys defence mechanism the condition may or may not resurface after the special event. We experience similar kind of spontaneous healing even without the aid of external medicines and easily overcome our fatigue or minor body pains. Though we may not realise it then but such incidents are a proof of the mind-body technique.

So now lets scrutinise this same incident step by step to understand how exactly the mind influences our body.

1. Awareness of body
We felt the discomfort caused by the ailment. We observed its symptoms. Thus we acknowledged the presence of the disease. 

2. Awareness of mind
We perceived that such ailments lasts for a few days (Perception based on our previous experience or the information available). We believed that NOW is not the time to get sick because of the upcoming event.

3. Acceptance to heal
We then decided to take some steps to heal ourselves - could be medicine, rest etc. Our innate intelligence by default is working at the same time to bounce back to ideal health. However when it receives this special strong belief input to maintain good health for the specific period it acts accordingly by boosting the levels of immunoglobulinA which acts as a protective coating for our cells against the invading bacteria or viruses. Thus it ensures that our special event is devoid of discomfort.

By following the above 3 steps we can heals all reparable body injuries and maladies. Health emergencies are handled well at hospitals and within the doctor's office, but for our day-to-day wellbeing, our own health depends on us and real health comes from within.

Now the best part of mind-body medicine technique is that we can prevent ourselves from getting sick. Research has shown that 70% of our ailments are created by ourselves be it as simple as a pimple or as severe as cancer. Its like saying that we are providing input to our innate intelligence to create a pimple or enable the growth of cancer cells. Shocking, isn't? To know more about this connection of illness and our emotions check my next blog... 

Always remember :

"Our beliefs can change our biology" - Bruce Lipton a cellular biologist.

What I’d like for you to take away from this article is that you have within you an innate, inborn intelligence. This intelligence is always working to help you adapt to your environment. It is geared toward health, happiness, and vitality. JUST TRUST IT