LECTURE 4 EMOTIONAL SELF

What Kinds of Emotions Affect You?

Positive Emtions - a classification of pleasant emotion which may include happiness, excitement, joy, relief, triumph, jubilation. It consists an expression where one find themself smiling or laughing with a feel of “elation”

Negative Emotions - a classification of emotion involving sadness, disgust, annoyance, anxiety, anger, jealousy, fear, and the like. It is shown through facial expression, tears, discomfort, pain and even psychosomatic illness

Fundamentals of Emotion

Bases on Plutchik’s Configuration of Emotion there are 8 fundamental emotions: Joy, Trust, Fear, Surprise, Sadness, Disgust, Anger, and Anticipation

Plutchik’s Configuration of Emotion

  • Demonstrates how emotions are related to one another

  • Emotions are adjacent to one another in the wheel are closely relation and can be combined

  • The combinations can be found on the outer part of the wheel

  • The fundamentals also come in a variety of intensities. Those nearest signify the most intense forms

Stress - state of extreme difficulty, pressure or strain

  • Body responds to the pressures from external environment

  • Is unpleasat

  • Moved out of their comfort zones

  • Life changes, therefore, is stressful

  • Daily hassles cause wear and tear

Hans Selye - broughtforth the theory of stress reaction known as General Adaption Syndrome

General Adaptation Syndrome - that a body under stress generally undergoes response stages: Alarm, resistance, and exhaustion

Alarm - happens when the individual recognizes the threat

Resistance - person desires either to confront the stressor or to run away from

Exhaustion - body’s resources will be depleted

Type of Stress

  1. Positive Stress or “Eustress” - unpleasant stimulus becomes a source of motivation. Individual is motivated to push more to achieve the goal

  2. Negative Stress or “Distress” - pain in the mind but also in the body as it makes the individual literally sick. The frustration created is enough to distress the body and mind

Effects of Extreme Emotions and Stress

  1. Physical Impact - Dry mouth, Cold sweat, increase in the reate and depth of breathing, blood becomes more concentrated

  2. Health Problems - Pain of any kind, heart diseases. digestive problems

  3. Cognitive Symptoms - memory problems, inability to concentrat, poor judgement

  4. Emotional Symptoms - Moodiness. irratibility, Agitation, Feeling overwhelmed

  5. Behavioral Symptoms - Eating more orless. sleeping too much or too little, isolating oneself to others

Handing Extreme Emotions and Stress

  1. Social Engagement - most evolved strategy for keeping ourselves feeling calm and safe. One can thing and feel clearly.

  2. Mobilization - defend ourselves or run away from danger, the body prepares for mobilization

  3. Immobilization - least evolved resposne to stress and used only when social engagement and mobilization has failed. Dysfunctional state, unable to move on. May lose consciousness

Other Ways of Coping

  1. Aggressive Reaction - hurting or causing pain onto something or someone else

    1. Displaced aggression - directing the aggressive act towards another person to the objects

    2. Scapegoating - one blames another person or objects for his failure or fault

    3. Free-floating Anger - resposne which is prolonged as a sign of extreme anger

    4. Suicide - self-destructive as a result of hatred for oneself.

  2. Withdrawal Reaction - involves the use of defense mechanisms which protects the ego or self from further pain usually caused by those significant people surrounding an individual

    1. Denial - refuse to accept an external reality to protect the self

    2. Displacement - Shifting one’s aggression

    3. Intellectualization - use of reasoning

    4. Rationalization - Logical justification

    5. Reaction-Formation - unacceptable emotions are being replaced by its opposite

    6. Projection - Attributing one’s fault or negative emotions onto others to express the sentiment

    7. Regression - revert to a more pleasant past where we are more safe and secure

    8. Repression or Suppression - pushes the unwanted thought onto the unconsious

    9. Sublimation - Refocusing to something more acceptable and productive

    10. Fantasy - Utilizing imagination as a way to escape from life’s real problems and stress

  3. Compromise Reaction - to resolve an emotional stressor by devising way to achieve a better slate for both parties involved.

The Role of Self-Esteem in Coping

Self-esteem - one’s overall regard of the self and its worth, evalutaiton of ability, characiteristics, traits and oter qualitites.

Developing High Self-Esteem

  1. Fix Spelling & Grammar: Developing Hardiness - mitigates the impact of stress and extreme emotions.

  2. Be positive - no need to worry that things would not work as planned.

  3. Be grateful - One should start with an attitude of gratitude so they may see the things they possess rather than their deficiencies.

  4. Use Mantras - Look in the mirror and engage in positive self-talk.

  5. Be Humorous - Find comic relief by watching funny films and reading feel-good books.

  6. Be productive - An idle person is more susceptible to negativity as it preoccupies them with issues.

  7. Be Empowered - Learning more about one’s strengths and investing in them gives an individual higher worth.

Emotion Management Strategies

  1. Smile to make yourself feel good

  2. Smile to make others feel good

  3. Gt up and move

  4. Check in with your body

  5. Physically remove tension

  6. Breathe

  7. Talk to someone

  8. Disengae and re-engage emotions

  9. Label your emotions

  10. Label emotions for others