The Science Behind Your Feelings
We like to think of our emotions as purely mysterious, deep feelings that just happen to us out of nowhere, but there is actually a massive amount of biology and chemistry driving every single mood swing. Your brain is constantly running complex calculations, firing off neurotransmitters, and shifting your physical state to help you navigate the world around you. With that in mind, here are 20 incredible scientific discoveries that shed light on what is actually going on beneath the surface whenever you feel a strong emotion.
1. Neurochemicals Drive Moods
Your brain needs to maintain specific levels of different chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin in order to feel the way you do on a daily basis. These neurotransmitters rush through your body when you achieve something you've been working toward or snuggle up next to your significant other.
2. Physical Sensations Precede Conscious Awareness
The James-Lange theory of emotion states that your body reacts to stimuli before you are consciously aware of what you're feeling. Your heart might begin racing and your body tensing up before you realize you are afraid or excited. You interpret your own bodily reactions in order to understand how you should be feeling.
3. The Amygdala Acts as a Security Guard
Your amygdala is a small, almond-shaped mass of nuclei that monitors everything going on around you and inside you. When it senses danger, it can take over your brain and make you instantly terrified or incredibly angry. Because protection is its number one priority, your amygdala will often override your logical brain.
4. Facial Expressions Can Alter Internal Chemistry
Your brain can be tricked into thinking you are happy or angry by simply changing your facial expressions. This is known as the facial feedback hypothesis. When you force yourself to smile for a few minutes, your brain kicks into gear to help you feel better.
5. Contagious Feelings Are Driven by Mirror Neurons
Mirror neurons fire in your brain when you perform an action and when you see someone else perform that same action. Mirror neurons are why you're sad when your friend is crying or you feel like yawning after watching someone else yawn. Your brain mirrors other people in order to develop empathy for them.
6. Emotional Pain Registers Like Physical Injury
Your brain perceives social rejection in the same areas that process physical pain. When you experience pain, whether emotionally or physically, your anterior cingulate cortex lights up. Your brain treats losing your friends as it would losing a physical limb.
7. Core Emotions Are Universal Across Cultures
Paul Ekman discovered that there are six basic emotions that everyone displays regardless of culture or upbringing. Happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, and surprise are expressed the same way around the world. Even people born blind make these same facial expressions.
Jacqueline Munguía on Unsplash
8. Suppressing Feelings Elevates Overall Stress
Suppressing your emotions can actually stress your body out. Studies have shown that when you hold back from showing your emotions, your blood pressure rises and your brain stays alert. When you try to hold in your emotions, your body works harder.
9. Memories Are Tinted by Current Moods
Memories aren't stored in your brain as hard copies that you can pull out at will. They are reconstructed every time you remember something. So if you're feeling pessimistic, you'll remember negative things about a past event.
10. Heart Rhythms Synchronize With Strong Feelings
When your heart is beating all over the place, you're most likely upset. But when your heart rate is steady, you're calm and feeling thankful. Heart rate variability is linked to your ability to handle strong emotions.
11. Emotional Tears Contain Stress Hormones
Psychologists have found that the tears you cry when you are emotionally overwhelmed contain fewer stress hormones than your tears of joy. Crying when you're happy or sad can help cleanse your body of stress hormones. That's why you feel so much better after crying it all out.
12. Gastrointestinal Microbes Influence Daily Moods
Your gut contains as much serotonin as your brain does. Your gut and brain often communicate through your vagus nerve. If you eat the wrong foods, your gut bacteria can change and cause you to feel anxious and irritated.
13. Sleep Deprivation Amplifies Negative Responses
When you don't get enough sleep, your amygdala doesn't communicate with your prefrontal cortex as well. So when something small upsets you, you'll feel more upset than you should. Your emotions are heightened when you don't sleep.
14. Nostalgia Can Boost Psychological Resilience
Sharing old memories can make you feel more connected to those around you. Research has shown that nostalgia can help you feel less alone and believe in yourself more. Even if you feel alone in the cold, thinking about better times can make you feel warm again.
15. Disgust Originated as a Survival Mechanism
Back in the day, feeling disgusted helped us avoid rotten foods and dangerous bacteria. Today, we use the same part of our brain that processes disgust to judge social offenses. So if someone wrongs you, your brain is telling you that what they are doing is as bad as rotten eggs.
16. Labeling an Emotion Diminishes Its Power
Once you put your emotion into words, your brain moves activity from your amygdala to your frontal lobe. This is a cognitive behavioral therapy technique known as affect labeling. Giving your emotion a name lets your brain rationalize what you're feeling.
17. Boredom Sparks Creative Problem Solving
Allowing yourself to feel bored opens your mind up to creativity. Once you don't have anything to stimulate you, your brain will entertain itself. Your brain will want to seek out new goals and get you out of your boring routine.
18. Chronic Stress Shrinks Brain Connectivity
When you are stressed for long periods of time, your brain releases cortisol. Too much cortisol can damage your prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is what allows you to keep your cool and think logically.
19. Awe Alters Your Perception of Time
Staring at photos of cute puppies increases feelings of awe. People who feel more awe every day live happier and healthier lives. Studies have shown that feeling awe actually made participants feel like they had more time to live.
20. Expectations Shape Your Actual Feelings
Before walking into a room full of strangers, you may believe you are going to hate yourself for being there. While in that room, your brain will subconsciously look for reasons to make you believe that you don't belong. If you change your expectations, you can change how you feel.
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