Howdy do, Warriors. I hope you are well. As I mentioned in one of my recent posts, August can be a bit bittersweet. As the end of the month approaches, it usually signals a return to routine for most of us. And sometimes that comes with emotional consequences, so what better time to dive in to the next in my Dimensions of Wellness Series!
Dimensions of Wellness
If you are new to the concept of Dimensions of Wellness, I’ve got a full blog post that goes into some detail. You can also read my intro to the series post here and the first post on Occupational Health here.
Defining the Emotional Dimension
Emotions rule us. Whether we want to believe that or not, it is a cold hard truth. Our emotional state can color the most neutral of situations. An exchange with a friend or family member can be construed as positive or helpful if we are in a good frame of mind. Or it can be completely the opposite if we are in a bad mood.
The Emotional Dimensions encompasses our emotional state, moods, and regulation of feelings. While that may seem simple, it isn’t straightforward.
Emotional State
The dictionary definition of emotions is an instinctive or intuitive feeling as distinguished from reasoning or knowledge. Our emotions are conditions that happen without the input of rational thought. Current conditions are what contribute to our emotional state. Something happens, we feel a feeling about that action.
Those feelings may be fleeting. If the conditions that triggered the emotion are changing rapidly, feelings and emotions may come and go quickly. The emotions may hold on, though. Again, if the conditions that prompted the emotional response are more permanent, then the feeling may persist.
Some common examples to illustrate my point: During a conversation with friends, you may experience many emotions. Happiness to see a friend. A sense of belonging to be with someone and cared about. Concern if they bring up a difficulty they might be facing. And on and on. The state of your emotions changes with the state of the conversation.
On the flip side of things, think back to winter 2021 and the slog of the pandemic. Many of us were stuck at home, inside, working, taking care of the house and chores, and managing the pandemic. And many of us were feeling exhausted, burnt out, depressed, anxious, and all sorts of other not so fun emotions. The state of emotion was relatively unchanged due to the persistence of the circumstances.
While we generally assign emotions to “good” or “bad” categories, it is important to recognize that our feelings are just simply our feelings. Happiness isn’t necessarily good and sadness bad. Emotions arise outside of logic. By trying to apply the reason of morality to them, we may be missing the bigger picture.
Emotion and feeling happen based on our individual context of lived experiences and memories. It is important to understand that those experiences or memories can trigger different emotional responses in different people. Again, not good or bad, just different.
Regulation of Feelings
Put the differences of lived experiences in a brain that we don’t really understand how functions and it is easy to see how regulating feelings can be tough for many of us. As humans, we have a tendency to react outwardly based on our emotions. Yelling if we are angry. Crying when we feel sad. Smiling and laughing due to happiness.
But emotions are really an inward expression. They give us clues on experiences or memories that may be similar or different. Disturbing or comforting. In doing so, our brain seeks to protect us. Our brain connects the current state we are in to memories to create the emotion. And then our reaction to the emotion creates feedback loops.
If we deem the connection is positive (i.e. we are happy to see a friend) our outward reaction (i.e. smiling and giving them a hug) creates a loop in the brain that we are happy when this person is around. And we are then more likely to react with happiness when we see them again.
If we deem the connection is negative (i.e. a work situation frustrates us) our outward reaction (i.e. yelling) creates a loop in the brain that signals we want to avoid this situation in the future. Thus causing avoidant behaviors at work.
These are obviously very simplified examples. Emotions are extremely complex. But my point remains. Regulating feelings is all about feedback loops. And it brings me back to the point that we should try to avoid labeling feelings and emotions. By allowing our feelings to simply exist, we can spot patterns and then rewire the feedback loops with practice.
This takes much diligence and patience. And sometimes a trigger will happen that is strong or you may be in a an already vulnerable state and emotions may take over. But managing feelings and regulating our response to our environment is key in helping manage Physical, Mental, and Social Health Dimensions too.
Understanding our own emotional states and triggers is important with regards to accepting our feelings and flaws. Being angry isn’t bad, but as with most things we need to dig deeper into the why so that we are better able to regulate in the future.
Until next time, be well friends!
