Human beings act, think and feel. These three dimensions pretty well sum up our psychological experiences. So what then do we target when things are bothering us?
When I first trained as a psychologist, we were taught to work with thoughts and behaviours, hence the term Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy. But what of emotions? Are they not part of the human experience? Well it was argued that our feelings would change as a result of changes in our behaviours and our cognitions (thoughts). In fact, this is a valid assumption.
Our thoughts, our behaviours and our emotions are three facets of the same entity. Every psychological state has three components that cannot be separated. If I am afraid, for example, I will have fearful thoughts (Oh, my God, I will suffocate in this elevator!), I will have a strong physiological response (palpitations, sweating, etc), and I will act accordingly (take the stairs or bring someone with me into elevator, etc). If you target one of these dimensions, you will impact the others. They are like three balls attached with bungee cord, pull one and the others eventually follow…or the two others pull the first one back. They can be played with but they eventually reach a certain congruity.
The reason thoughts and behaviours were targeted was because we had few interventions for emotions. Relaxation exercises did target emotions and were part of many psychological treatment protocols in the 1970s and 80s. Even though they were considered part of the bag of tricks of a behavioural treatment, they really targeted the emotional dimension. The goal was to calm the bodily response (feelings).
While helpful at times, relaxation exercises did not address most problems in a fundamental way. In fact, some people used relaxation exercises as a way of controlling anxiety or other emotion (which acted as a form of avoidance).
Today, the focus is on learning to accept emotions and to let them run their natural course rather than to fight them. Changing our behaviours and questioning our assumptions remain essential ingredients of psychological treatment. They will have an impact on our emotions. But we now know that emotions also need to be targeted more directly whenever possible.
The older I get, and the more experience I gain as a psychologist, the more I realize that emotions are the ultimate targets of treatment. It is why we must understand their function. They are neither good nor bad. Unfortunately, for most people suffering from psychological problems, their emotions have become too strong and have taken too much control over their lives. This is why I called my December 7th column Unnatural acts. It is an examination of emotions and their purpose.
Unnatural acts
(Source: La nature dénaturée. Journal Métro, December 7, 2010)
Is there anything more natural than running away when you’re scared or eating when you’re hungry? Of course not. Yet if these acts are so normal why do they cause so many problems for phobic or overweight people?
It seems that whenever we watch TV there is some expert advising people to listen to their emotions and their bodies. While this may seem like good common sense advice, it may do a lot more harm than good. The reason for this is simple – emotions are signals or alarms that make us act. True alarms are good, false alarms are bad.
The nature of emotion
Emotions are the engines that drive action. When hungry, we eat. When angry, we attack. When afraid, we run. When sexually attracted, we put on deodorant and practice our smiles in the mirror…and suck in our guts.
The ultimate purpose of an emotion is to increase the likelihood of survival. Some emotions target immediate basic survival – as fear and aggression do. Others play more of a social role and serve to ensure long-term survival – as is the case for guilt, social anxiety and sexual attraction.
An immune response
Emotions can act as a psychological immune response. When under stress, our emotions tell us to do things that will be good for us. If I see a bear in the forest, my fear will probably make me run or hide. This is when my emotions are working well. The same goes for guilt. If I have harmed someone, my sense of guilt will make me question my actions.
Overactive immune systems
Just as is the case with our physical immune systems, our psychological defenses can become overactive. If instead of a bear, I am afraid of an elevator, should I listen to my emotions? Of course not. Rather, I need to face my fears and learn there is nothing to be afraid of. The same goes for guilt. If I have been trained to feel excessive guilt I may need to learn to ignore this emotion and consider my own needs on occasion.
Finding a balance
When our emotions are working in balance, we should listen to them. They are our allies. On the other hand, most people who suffer from psychological problems do so because their emotions have taken over their lives. When emotions are exaggerated, we must learn to resist their call and do what makes more sense to us rationally. When they are ringing false alarms, listening to your emotions is probably the worst advice an expert can give you.
Tagged as CBT, cognitions, cognitive-behavior therapy, emotions, resisting emotions.
Posted in Anxiety, Human nature.
Posted on 05 Jan 2011
On Jan 11th 2011 at 19:06
I think is very important to say that some people are difficulties to resist when they have exaggerated emotions because it demand psychic forces and also the influence of environmental and social factors can affect the resistance of someone.
To finding a balance it’s a combat between the mind (psychic) and the corps(physic) because the mind feels and the corps is acting. For to finding a balance we must understand the demand of the mind.