Feelings and Health

In some Western philosophies of life, feelings are secondary. They are seen as mysterious, erratic and untrustworthy friends. Science and other philosophies show quite a different picture. It has been shown that certain emotional states correlate with disease and others with increased levels of health [1]. Feelings turn out to be the way the subconscious communicates with the conscious brain [2]. As such, this information is

1) Timely

2) Accurate

3) Highly Useful

Why is it then worth spending time to deeply understand our feelings?

For a start, it leads to clarity.

Do you know the feeling when you have been working on a problem for a long time and finally solve it?

How do you feel in that moment?

Can you recall the feelings of lightness, of eureka?

The more we are in touch and understand our feelings, the more experiences of lightness and bliss we will feel.

In future articles, I will discuss helpful ways to better understand and make peace with our feeling selves.

References

[1] TRUDEL-FITZGERALD, C., BOEHM, J. K., KIVIMAKI, M., & KUBZANSKY, L. D. (2014). Taking the Tension Out of Hypertension: A Prospective Study of Psychological Well-Being and Hypertension. Journal of Hypertension, 32(6), 1222–1228.

[2] What Part of the Brain Controls Emotions? Fear, Happiness, Anger, Love. (2018, July 23). Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/what-part-of-the-brain-controls-emotions