Our emotional experiences often have a physical component to them.
When we’re nervous, we may feel a churning in our stomachs. When we’re disappointed, we may feel our hearts sink. And when we’re embarrassed, we may feel our faces flush.
Our emotions don’t just exist in our minds, but also in our bodies. This is why it’s difficult to rationalize your emotions away, because they usually exist at a visceral level that is beyond thoughts or words.
In The Body Keeps the Score the Dutch psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk does an excellent job describing how this physical component to our emotions plays a huge role in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Part of the reason our emotions have a physical component is because they are often coupled with a desire to take action. When we feel afraid and threatened, there’s a natural instinct to “fight or flight.”
However, during traumatic experiences, individuals are often completely trapped and helpless. They are victims of forces beyond their control. So their nervous systems kick into overdrive, but there is no way to act on these feelings. They are just stuck.
[To read the rest of this article by Steven Handel, click here.]
[Image from theemotionmachine.com]
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