Emotions Revealed: A Peek Beneath Behavior

Do you ever wonder why tears insist on coming out when you are upset? It is almost like your body can force you to express when you may even try to hide your feelings.

How about when you laughed in middle school…when your teacher threatened to send you to the principal’s office if you smiled one more time? When the body is stimulated with joy, it laughs and this can be very difficult to control.

When humans are mad, the body expresses that feeling in its own way. It can be tough to hold back. The same goes for fear (anxiety) and even guilt or shame.

The body is built specifically to react in such a way that meets the needs of the soul, using emotions and hormonal processes.

You can look at it from an emotional, spiritual, neurological or physiological perspective. The result is the same. The body knows how to reach for what it needs.

A great example of this is a baby who is born knowing to cry or reflex upon danger, hunger, or discomfort.

So what do our emotions need anyway?

According to Linda Tonnesen, “Emotions are a GPS that prompt us to get our needs met”.

All feeling have various words to describe them. Below are the core emotions. They all need some form of connection or a kind of love that others can give. It is ultimately about that connection that humans need starting in the womb.

Sadness needs comfort.

Fear needs safety.

Anger needs validation and change.

Happiness needs to be shared.

Guilt needs forgiveness (from self or others). 

Shame needs acceptance.

Why do we react impulsively when we have these emotions? 

As children, humans attempt various behaviors until they get what they are looking for. These behaviors are then confirmed when they get the reaction of which they were seeking.

This is how behavior is learned. They then become a part of who you are whether you like it or not.

If you think about it, why would a child stop pouting and throwing a tantrum at the candy store if it always gets her that candy bar?

That is why parents play such a large role in the development of child behavior, personality and emotional regulation. Behavior reinforcement is inevitable as a parent, simply because of the role.

 Your Challenge

This week, focus on the reason why you react when you feel your emotions heighten. These behaviors can be altered by the way that you think.

This means that you can choose to interpret information about the world differently and therefore alter the way you respond. This is the key to changing behavior.

To learn more about the healing process contact us @GrowthGroups , (954) 546-2271 or at info.growthgroups@gmail.com.