Emotional expression and interpretation are critical components of our daily lives.
We are all born with the ability to express our feelings. The question is whether we choose to do it in a healthy manner. When we experience emotions, we have three choices: we may express them and let them pass, we can conceal them, or we can obsess over them, allowing them to fester inside us and cause all sorts of difficulties.
Our bodies are programmed to experience emotions — whether or not we express them is entirely up to us. Suffering from grief, rage, or joy is a natural reaction to the experiences our brains process on a daily basis. Emotions have been a significant factor in human evolution throughout history. Our brains evolved emotions millions of years ago to pass down responses to specific stimuli in order to aid in the species’ survival. That is why seeing a predator instils terror in us — it alerts us to the fact that we must flee for our lives. Emotional expression is just the recognition of the feelings that we are wired to feel. Healthy expression enables us to comprehend our feelings, feel them fully, and move on.
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Source of Our Expressions
Every encounter we have is processed by our brains and given an emotion. From our morning breakfast through our evening television show. It is a primary function of the brain. That is why particular smells may make our hearts skip a beat or why an old song might make us cry. However, for the process to operate and for us to experience good emotions, we must communicate our sentiments appropriately. We must identify which one we are experiencing, express it, and then move on. When we experience emotions, we frequently respond in one of two ways:
Concentrate on the source of the feeling — “I’m furious because he said that.”
Next rationalise and say it – “I’m not going to think about this and let it spoil my day.”
Neither of them are effective modes of emotion expression. We must feel our emotions and then let them go in order to cope with them in a healthy manner.
Expressing an emotion does not have to be physical, such as slamming a door or yelling into a pillow, or even speaking about it. It can also occur solely within our heads. Rather than becoming upset at someone, we must ignore who we are angry at, set aside the context, and allow ourselves to fully feel the feeling within. “I’m incredibly mad, and that’s fine,” we can tell ourselves.
Simply by doing so, we loosen emotion’s hold on our well-being. Additionally, expressing our feelings has a slew of other benefits. Let us continue reading about it.
Say ‘Hi’ to your Emotional Well Being
In order to have a healthy life, emotional release is necessary. It flushes out our negative emotions. It sidesteps the fight-or-flight response, which is associated with a myriad of health problems. And by expressing our feelings, we reclaim control of our minds from the tension that frequently overwhelms them.
We must be conscious of our emotions as they occur. Understanding how things make us feel is the first step toward awareness. Additionally, it is critical to understand the circumstances surrounding their occurrence. This enables the body to process and release emotions in a healthy and productive manner. For instance, venting or letting off steam is not always beneficial. Indeed, it has the potential to do more harm than good.
The following benefits accrue from a healthy emotional life:-
- Helps see problems in a new light
- Makes decision making and problem solving easier
- Gets rid of the power of the feeling
- Reduces anxiety
- Eases depression
Here’s a technique for fast resolving unpleasant emotions:
- Recognize the emotion that is affecting you. Is it rage, melancholy, dread, or contempt?
- Concentrate solely on the emotion without regard for the reason for the emotion. This will be challenging because we are accustomed to thinking about why we are feeling a specific way or to stuffing our feelings.
- Concentrate on the location and sensations of this emotion in your body. Perhaps it would be beneficial to assign it a form or colour and concentrate on that. If you begin to consider why you are experiencing it, pause and return your attention to the core emotion.
- Take several deep breaths and visualise the emotion dissipating as you exhale.
- Carry on in this manner until you have a sense of relief. If you omit the storey, the relief should come soon – within five minutes.
When we regain control of our stress levels, we may refocus our minds on more meaningful activities that offer us joy and satisfaction. Here are some additional exercises and activities for emotional expression to aid in stress management.
Emotional coaches suggest following exercises to take care of your emotional wellbeing.
- Relaxation Exercises
- Journaling
- The Exercise of Situation. Options. Consequences.
- Self-talk
- Soft Heart Tool
- Facial Expressions Exercise
When we fail to express our emotions, our brain can often go into a fight-or-flight state. This is a physical reaction to stress that sets off a chain of events throughout our bodies. It increases our heart rate, slows digestive functions and makes us feel anxious or depressed.
Exploring the authentic source of our ‘expressions’ at TCC 2021
Our capacity to express ourselves makes us human. Every minute we are expressing ourselves through our thoughts, words & actions, but most of the time our expressions are either not conscious or we try to express something that we are not. This creates a divided personality within us. Unless we know the source of our expressions and unless we make it a conscious process, our work, personality & our whole being can never be joyful, impactful and content. Let’s explore this essential dimension of our holistic well-being.
Sri Anish is speaking live at The Coaching Conclave 2021. An ex-corporate executive & entrepreneur, Sri Anish was part of the high technology & consulting industry in Gurgaon. But quite early in his career, he was guided to move to the Himalayas to explore the other side of life—spirituality.
Over a decade of intense sadhana brought many realizations & transformations in his life and he was guided to share his learning with the world. A simple yet profound being, now Sri Anish is a spiritual teacher with a vision to spread ‘the light of inner wisdom’ to make this world much more beautiful & awakened. His work involves public talks, spiritual mentoring, writings, poetry, meditation retreats, works of seva & community building.
What is an emotional expression?
Emotional expression is just the acknowledgment of the emotions that we are wired to experience. Healthy expression allows us to understand, feel, and move on from our emotions.
What is the source of our expressions?
Our brains process every interaction we have and assign an emotion to it. From our morning breakfast to our evening television show, we’ve got you covered. It is the brain’s primary function.
Why is emotional wellbeing important?
Emotional wellbeing is important as allows you to perceive challenges in a different way, makes decision-making and problem-solving easier, removes the power of feeling, reduces anxiety.
What choices do humans have when they experience emotions?
When we experience emotions, we have three options: we may express them and let them go, we can hide them, or we can obsess over them, enabling them to fester inside us and produce a variety of problems.
What are the techniques of emotional wellbeing?
Some techniques that emotional coaches recommend for emotional wellbeing are as follows:
Relaxation Techniques
Journaling
The Situation Exercise. Options. Consequences.
Self-talk Facial Expressions Exercise Soft Heart Too
