motional Awareness.

motions play an important part in our daily lives. As a species we have developed emotions. We all at some stage in our lives have shown some form of emotion. Let it be as crying to show sadness, happiness or in pain, it could also be a person showing emotions of sadness at the loss of loved one, emotions of anger, guilt and so on.

Emotions can altar our mood and our perception in negative or positive ways depending on a variety of reasons. Ill health and stressful situations can make us feel emotional, vulnerable and frightened.

As we begin to become acquainted with our emotional processes we may come to notice that some emotions make intuitive sense and are in proportion to the events occurring around us. These are adaptive emotions.
On the other hand we have maladaptive thinking which causes and maintains emotional problems. Maladaptive thinking may refer to a belief that is false and rationally unsupported.

Emotions provide us with information and help us survive and thrive. When we try to suppress “negative” emotions like Sadness, loss and pain we lose touch with our adaptive emotions like love passion, warmth or desire, and, therefore, lead a much more deadened life. When we feel our feelings, our lives have meaning, texture, depth and purpose. We cannot live in darkness, we need light, As we cannot have love without sadness. This is the fundamental process of Emotions.

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller

EMOTIONS The Science In Brief.

Emotions are a reaction to some form of stimulus. Negative/positive. A stimulus (plural stimuli) is a detectable change in the internal or external environment. The ability of an organism or organ to respond to external stimuli is called sensitivity.

Stimuli is something that evokes a specific reaction in an organ or tissue or, Something that promotes activity, interest, or enthusiasm. Anything that elicits or evokes action in a person or creates a response in a muscle, nerve, gland or other excitable tissue or organ of the body. It is like holding you hand over something hot and you feel the heat, this is the stimuli or sensitivity.

Emotion is a strong feeling such as love, fear or anger; the part of a person’s character that consists of feelings. IMPORTANT ! All emotions are NORMAL

The Link Between Thoughts & Emotions

Emotions stimulate the feelings that may be born from perception.
Although how we perceive something does not necessarily make it true, real, right or wrong.
Thoughts come automatically in relation to situations. If we are experiencing a negative situation our thoughts or emotional state is more likely going to become negative. The same could be said for positive situations leading to positive thoughts and a positive emotional state.
For example a negative situation: You have just found out that a friend has be taken to the hospital after a car accident. This is all the information you have received. You start to think the worse. (THOUGH).
Your thinking is distorted. As your thinking spirals out of control you may start to experience many different (EMOTIONS).
Your emotional response is the stimuli which creates sensory (AFFECT).
Question ; What type of thoughts could you be Thinking?
Question; What types of emotion could you be exhibiting?
Question; what types of sensory affects could you feel?

Thought, Emotion, Affect (TEA)

T.E.A is an abbreviation for Thought, Emotion, Affect.
This is taking a realistic approach to situations.
T - Thought. After you got the limited information from the example above, you started to process it. Because of the scenario and lack of information your imagination feed you negative thoughts. ( death, pain, blood).
E - Emotion. Your negative thoughts feed you an emotional response.( fear, worry, dread, apprehension, tenseness, distress).
A - Affect. Your emotional response feed you sensory affects.( felt sick, trembling, sweating, etc.).
By now your headspace is in total disarray, your heart rate is elevated and your judgments somewhat distorted..

How could you have handled the situation differently?

You could have use T.E.A to rationalize your experience.
Thought - think the thought through clearly and mindfully.
Emotion – Try not let one emotion lead to another. Catch the emotion from spiralling out of control.
Affect – don't try to fight the affect, explore it. Ask what, why, how, etc.
Here is another Solution for awareness.
ROOM -
Rationalise it– I don't have all the information. OR have I got all the relevant information.
Own it– I own this emotion. I am in control of the emotion not the emotion in control of me.
Overcome it – overcome TEA by being mindful
Mindful of it– I know these thoughts are unrealistic and this is why I'm feeling the way I'm feeling.
How is this achieved you ask? It is achieved through the practice of Mind Cultivation.
Mind Cultivation is a subject covered, but for now read the next lesson.

Next Lesson - THOUGHTS.