TOPIC · HEALTH · EMOTIONS · EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
Every week I am posting about everything you need to know about hormones. This weeks topic is about molecules of emotions aka feelings
Did you know – feelings
- Emotions are electro-chemical signalling molecules
- They are tangible many of them made from proteins & fats
- With names like Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin
- They flow through us in an unending cycle.
- We feel them all the time
- In the English language, there are over 400 words that describe different kinds of emotion
- We have over 10,000 subtle facial expressions that can express emotions – Ladies repetition of these expressions can create wrinkles
- We recognize others emotions via subtle changes in facial expression
- Botox limits many tiny emotional changes in the face, so we can’t express our own or read others emotions
- During REM sleep were release molecules of emotion that ease mental emotional pain, so wake in a good mood – hence the expression ‘sleep on it’
- Physical pain affects your emotions
- Emotional pain affects you physically – eg. broken heart syndrome
- Smoking Cannabis can change the your emotions
- Exercise can changes your emotions
- Everything we eat and drink can affect our emotions – and can lead to addictions
- The clothes we wear can affect our emotions, and express the way we feel about ourselves
- Colours can trigger different emotional responses
- So how you feel is completely under your control
- Emotions guide us, focus our attention, motivate us toward a specific course of action – good or bad
- There are 8 basic emotions – and countless variations and nuances of those
- Every emotion has a polar opposite, you can’t feel the one without knowing the other – eg. joy and sadness.
Meet Sally and get to know all about emotions
Intro
Molecules of Emotions 101
Molecules of emotion types
How many emotions
The Power of a smile
More Than a Feeling
Emotions
- Come first
- Are associated with bodily reactions that are activated through the molecules of emotion, such as neurotransmitters and hormones released by the brain & body
Feelings
- Come second
- Are the conscious experience of the actions of the molecules of emotions.
Molecules of Emotion 101
- Are neuro-chemical molecules made from proteins and or fats
- Each neuro-chemical has a specific electrical charge which creates a particular vibration aka emotion
- They are created and released in the brain and nervous system in response to the way we perceive the input from our 5 senses – which, btw is completely individual
- They are also created and released in response to the intake of foods and other substances
- They are also produced in our bodies where they can create emotions like gut feelings, and can create changes in physical function, such serotonin
- 90% of serotonin is produced in the gut important for gut movement
- The brain communicates with the body and vice versa through neuro-chemicals
- 80-90% of sensory input goes from the body to brain via the Vagus nerve.
Emotion = Energy In Movement
- E = energy + motion = Energy in Movement
- The movement can go inwards or outwards
- The energy has an electrical charge that and vibrates both within our bodies and without
- Our bodies are giant tuning forks constantly sending out (and receiving) electrical charges aka emotions
- We are constantly broadcasting and receiving emotional messages
- We feel best in the company of those with a similar electrical charge or vibration
- Emotions are contagious and spread between people like a virus, even if we’re not paying attention.
The Neuro-Chemicals & Their Emotions
Feel Good Molecules of Emotion
Nor-Adrenaline
– attentive, motivated, elated, happy, sexually aroused.
Dopamine
– focused, blissful, motivated, appetite and movement control.
Acetylcholine
– memory, creativity, brain speed
Serotonin
– confident, satisfied, high self-esteem
Histamine
– agitation, alertness, sexual arousal
Oxytocin
– love, affection, bonding, orgasm,
Vasopressin
– sexual bonding
Feel Excited Molecules of Emotion
Aspartate and Glutamate
– alertness, increased sensory uptake through the 5 senses see, hear, smell, taste and feel.
Feel Calm Molecules of Emotion
GABA (Gamma Amino Butyric Acid)
– calm and control, decreases stress, panic, anxiety, pain.
Taurine
– calm
Glycine
Feel No Pain Molecules of Emotion
Endorphins / Opiates
– physical and mental painkillers, mood enhancers and euphoria
Endocannabinoids
– inhibits or lessens pain perception and act as anti-inflammatories, also regulate mood, emotion, motivation, memory, pleasure perception, appetite, metabolism, etc.
8 Primary Emotions
- Anger
- Anticipation
- Joy
- Trust
- Fear
- Surprise
- Sadness
- Disgust
Polar opposites
- Joy is the opposite of Sadness – Connect vs Withdrawal
- Fear is the opposite of Anger – Get Small and Hide vs Get Big and Loud
- Anticipation is the opposite of Surprise – Examine Closely vs Jump Back
- Disgust is the opposite of Trust – Reject vs Embrace.
27 Known Emotions
- Admiration
- Adoration
- Aesthetic appreciation
- Amusement
- Anger
- Anxiety
- Awe
- Awkwardness
- Boredom
- Calmness
- Confusion
- Craving
- Disgust
- Empathic pain
- Entrancement
- Excitement
- Fear
- Horror
- Interest
- Joy
- Nostalgia
- Relief
- Romance
- Sadness
- Satisfaction
- Sexual desire
- Surprised
The Power of a Smile
The Mechanics
- Smiling requires the contraction of various facial muscles, such as:
– Zygomaticus Major and Minor
– Risorius
- Muscle movements are registered in the area of the brain called the hypothalamus – the Commander in Chief
- All movements and their purpose are stored to memory in the brain
- All movements trigger emotional responses.
The Biochemistry
- The hypothalamus communicates with other areas like the amygdala and hippocampus to ‘recall’ the purpose of the movement
- This dictates the production of the molecules of emotion to create the appropriate emotions
- A smile increases the production of:
– Dopamine making you feel good
– Endorphins reducing the perception of pain
– Serotonin with tis antidepressant effects
- The reward centre of the brain is also activated making us feel good, encouraging us to smile again
- The fake it until you make it effect – even ‘forcing’ a smile can boost mood and happiness levels. Your hypothalamus doesn’t know if your smile is genuine or not
- The ripple effect – smiling stimulates others to smile, creating an infectious loop of happiness
- Hey – it takes more muscles to frown than to smile.
If that wasn’t enough
- Smiling makes you more attractive
- You don’t have to plan to smile
- You don’t have to put on special clothing
- Just do it – flex those smile muscles.
Benefits of a Smile
- Reduced blood pressure
- Increased endurance
- Reduced pain
- Reduced stress
- Strengthen the immune system
- More likeable
- More attractive
- More courteous
- More competent
- More productive at work
- Make more money.
Simple things to put a Smile on your face?
- I asked my listeners to tell me what puts a smile on their faces and here’s what they said
- Sleeping in a freshly-made bed.
- Clean sheets
- Feeling the sun on your face.
- Finding money in unexpected places.
- The smell of freshly-baked bread
- Favourite song comes on the radio
- Finding a bargain in the sales
- Listening to the rainfall/thunderstorms when you’re inside
- The smell of freshly-brewed coffee
- The smell of freshly-cut grass
- Chocolate melting in your mouth
- The smell of Bacon cooking in the morning
- That “Friday feeling”
- Seeing a rainbow
- The smell of a new car
- Dancing like no one is watching
- Singing in the shower
- Loosening your jeans after you’ve eaten a big meal
- Thinking that I soon get on the plane to fly to Lanzarote 🙂
Love Actually
Is a combination of emotions and the corresponding neuro-chemicals
- Lust – Testosterone & Estrogen
- Attraction – Dopamine & Noradrenaline
- Attachment – Oxytocin & Vasepressin
Lust
- Driven by the desire for sexual gratification
- The need to reproduce
- The passing on of genes to contribute to the survival of the species
- The hypothalamus plays a major role in stimulating the production of the sex hormones Testosterone and Estrogen which increase sex drive and need in both sexes.
Attraction
- Involves the brain pathways that control “reward” behaviour
- Dopamine, produced by the hypothalamus, is a main player in the brain’s reward pathway
- High levels of dopamine and Noradrenaline, are released during attraction
- These chemicals make us giddy, energetic, and euphoric, even lead to decreased appetite and insomnia – which means you actually can be so “in love” that you can’t eat and can’t sleep
- Brain scans of people ‘in love’ show that primary reward centres of the brain fire up like crazy when people are shown a photo of someone they are intensely attracted to
- Serotonin production is reduced.
Attachment
- Is the predominant emotion in long-term relationships
- It mediates friendships, parent-infant bonding, social cordiality, and many other intimacies as well
- The two primary hormones are Oxytocin and Vasopressin
- Oxytocin is often nicknamed “the love & cuddle hormone”
- Produced by the hypothalamus and released in large quantities during sex, breastfeeding, and childbirth, all precursors to bonding
- Some people have more receptors to these chemicals than others
- The people who have more Oxytocin receptors are more likely to stay in a long-term relationship.
Emotional Intelligence
- The ability to perceive, use, understand, manage, and handle emotions
- Traits of good emotional intelligence
– Being able to accept criticism and responsibility
– Being able to move on after making a mistake
– Being able to say no when you need to
– Being able to share your feelings with others
– Being able to solve problems in ways that work for everyone.
– Having empathy for other people
– Having great listening skills
– Knowing why you do the things you do
– Not being judgemental of others.
EQ or IQ
EQ
- Emotional Intelligence, or emotional quotient (EQ), is defined as an individual’s ability to identify, evaluate, control, and express emotions
- People with high EQ usually make great leaders and team players because of their ability to understand, empathize, and connect with the people around them
- EQ is a better indicator of success in the workplace and is used to identify leaders, good team players, and people who best work by themselves
- Abilities – Identify, evaluate, control and express one’s own emotions, perceive, and assess others’ emotions, use emotions to facilitate thinking, understand emotional meanings
- Good at – Teamwork, leadership, successful relations, service orientation, initiative, collaboration.
IQ
- IQ, or intelligence quotient, is score derived from one of several standardized tests designed to assess an individual’s intelligence.
- IQ is used to determine academic abilities and identify individuals with off-the-chart intelligence or mental challenges.
- Abilities – Ability to learn, understand and apply information to skills, logical reasoning, word comprehension, math skills, abstract and spatial thinking, filter irrelevant information
- Good at – Success with challenging tasks, ability to analyse and connect.
Emotions & Results
Q
Should I try to keep control my emotions or just let them run free?
A
Not always a pretty sight and often times regretted as the heat of the moment disperses.
Q
Can my emotions cloud my judgement?
A
Absolutely yes, but your emotions do more than that, they dictate the actions you take and thereby the results you achieve.
Q
Can I control the way I feel?
A
Yes, by using your mental faculties.
Mental Faculties. Also called mental muscles
- Imagination – Which results do you imagine getting?
– Your imagination is incredibly powerful, it allows you to create something out of nothing. However, many times we unconsciously use it to image bad things happening to us or things we don’t want. Use your imagination to create the experiences that you want.
- Intuition – Stop and Listen
– Intuition is the small voice inside that speaks the truth. Learn to turn down the noise around you and the voice of your paradigm. Turn up the volume of your intuition and let it guide you better results.
- Memory – Remember and learn from the mistakes?
– Everyone has a perfect memory, we just need to train it and use it to our advantage.
- Reason – Analyse, compare, and evaluate
– Reason is what we use to think, and is the primary way we choose, and we use it in every choice we make. Use it to stir it up all the information and come up with new ideas. - Perception – Duality is in everything – can you look at things in another way
– Perception controls what you are aware of in your environment, and how you choose to see it. Our beliefs, and what our mind believes is important determines what you ‘see’. - Will – Stay focused on your goal
– Will is what we use to focus our attention, ie. sustained concentration. What you concentrate on and think about most is what you will become.
Check out Bob Proctor’s presentation of the 6 mental faculties!
Questions? Please don't hesitate to contact me
