WHAT IS CHEMISTRY OF EMOTIONS?
A smile comes to our faces when we see a heart-warming sight. Ever wonder what goes on in our minds from the moment we take that sight in to the moment the smile forms on our faces? What neurons are fired and what chemicals are released? Because in reality, that is the material form our emotions take; chemicals and hormones released by firing neurons.
EMOTIONS AND HORMONES
Hormones and neurotransmitters inside our brains control and shape our emotions. They formulate our feelings and create our perceptions. Their levels in our brain decide whether we feel happy or sad, content or displeased, calm or angry. And we, being the emotional beings that we are, act according to how we feel. Serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins are just a few examples of the hormones that regulate our emotions.
SEROTONIN; THE MOOD STABILIZER
When talking about hormones that shape our feelings, the most important one to note would be serotonin. Any drastic increase or decrease in it can be dangerous. However, there is a considerable normal range through which it waxes and wanes in every person’s mind. And what we understand as our “mood”, is really the levels of serotonin running through neuronal circuits.
The levels of serotonin determine the amount of contentment we feel. It can also affect how confident we feel about ourselves. It can decide for us, our self-worth and also relates to the social status we possess in various overlapping social hierarchies.¹
A person high in serotonin could probably be someone satisfied with his life choices, confident in himself, and well respected in his social circles. A person low in serotonin, on the other hand, would feel wretched all the time and lack motivation. He would not think much of himself. Even the people around him would only think of him as a loser. You might be thinking that too much is controlled by this hormone. But it isn’t as simple as that…
DOPAMINE; THE REWARD HORMONE
Dopamine makes you feel pleasure, especially in the short term. When you gun down that opponent in an online multiplayer, or when you win that client over from another company this is the hormone that makes you feel good.²
Since dopamine is basically a reward hormone, the need for having it can also be the motivating force behind beginning a hard task. A decrease in dopamine would make you feel sad, dull, and lacking motivation.
Dopamine can also be responsible for addictive behavior since it is responsible for happiness and pleasure.³ That makes people prone to performing acts that would give them the greatest dopamine hit with the least amount of effort. Dangerous huh?
“DOPAMINE CAN ALSO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOR SINCE IT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HAPPINESS AND PLEASURE. THAT MAKES PEOPLE PRONE TO PERFORMING ACTS THAT WOULD GIVE THEM THE GREATEST DOPAMINE HIT WITH THE LEAST AMOUNT OF EFFORT. DANGEROUS HUH?”
We control our emotions as much as our emotions control us
It may appear that mere chemicals in our brains control our feelings and thus our actions, but this is just the half-truth. In reality, there is much that we can control.
There are external events that can change how we feel in an instant. Some of them are not under our control, but many of them are. We can control whether we would study for an exam or not. The result, which would be the external event influencing our emotions, would depend to a large extent upon the choice we made.
There are little things that matter just as much. Something as small as improving our sleep schedules can do wonders for how good we feel.⁴
If you feel unconfident about a speech you have to make in front of a thousand people, try appearing confident. Even when every instinct of yours is yelling at you to run. In moments those instincts will be replaced by real confidence.
BASIC EMOTIONS AND THEIR EFFECTS
There are some basic emotions like happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, anger, and surprise that make the foundation of our emotional state of mind. All the other emotions are derived from the combinations of these basic emotions.
These emotions influence the mind and the body. Happiness is related to the production of chemicals which improve immunity and promote bodily functions. Persistent sadness can transform into depression that has negative influences on our physical health. The emotional state of our mind influences our attitude and our approach towards achieving a goal.
The effects of emotions on our physical and mental health are ultimately manifested on a cellular level. If our macroscopic health suffers, then you can expect the same results on the microscopic level. To achieve a state of health where our cells can stay healthy is central to our idea of prolonging our youth and living happily. This is why our emotional health is of utmost importance.
EFFECTS OF NEGATIVE EMOTIONS
Negative emotions create a sense of despair and hopelessness; which transform into stress. That stress brings about hormonal changes that negatively influence physical health. Research suggests that human beings have a “negativity bias” according to which they pay more attention to minor sorrows and devoid themselves of bigger joys. This constant stress of negative emotions has a catastrophic effect on health.⁵
EFFECTS OF POSITIVE EMOTIONS
Positive emotions on the other hand contribute to development and growth, better understanding, improved cognition, thoughts, etc. which have a positive influence on mental and physical health. Positive emotions are necessary for evading the harmful effects of negative ones and they also create emotional resilience.⁶
HOW EMOTIONS AFFECT OUR BEHAVIOUR AND MEMORY
Emotions define behavior. To give a simple example, an angry person is more likely to adopt aggressive behavior compared to a calm person. There are many other ways in which emotions can affect our actions.
Research has proven that the expectation of emotion influences behavior. For example, if a person thinks that an aggressive attitude will help him achieve a goal, he will adopt that attitude which in reality does not make any difference.⁷
A person overwhelmed with the stress that negative emotions have on our brain loses control over his activities and develops disastrous habits such as smoking and drug abuse. Altered dietary habits manifest as obesity or anorexia.⁸
This stress can also disrupt our sleep-wake cycle. This leads to insomnia or hypersomnia. Lack of physical activity alters the normal function of the body, culminating in various diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, etc.⁹
Positive emotions or a lack of stress due to the negative ones, on the other hand, lead to improved dietary and sleeping habits. This also provides us with the motivation to perform physical activity and keep our physical and mental health in check.
Emotions contribute to the development of long-term memory. The emotions associated with the memories are judged by reward and punishment centers in the brain. They in turn strengthen or weaken the nerve pathways involved in the formation of such memories.¹⁰
CONCLUSION
It is apparent that the feelings that fuel our actions are mere chemicals in our neuronal circuits. The actions we take and the beliefs we hold, at the same time, can affect how these chemicals manifest. This gives us some semblance of control over our emotions.
Since our emotional well-being has direct or indirect effects on our cellular health, it is only logical for us to be careful about our emotions. We should be careful not to let our frustration coop up inside of us. We should be ready to leave such habits or environments that are mentally toxic and just as ready to adopt techniques that would be mentally soothing (like meditation and such). You can read more about these techniques in my book “Lead A Horse To Water” ¹¹. This is part of the idea of the holistic approach that we practice here at LiveYounger.
Bibliography
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