Your Body - Your Emotions

by Richard C. Raynard, Ph.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist

We bathe in emotions from sun up to our dreams asleep. Our emotions reveal our relation to whatever we care about, all the time.

Emotion Location

Yet we don't talk so easily about our feelings - no matter that we are pushed and pulled by them all day long. Instead we say "I felt like slugging him", speaking of the action, not the emotion of anger. We speak of conclusions like "I'm going to watch another program" instead of our boredom. For some, emotions are not manly, and "toughness" is the virtue. For others, emotions are upsetting and irrational. Emotions? Fahgedaboudit!

It may be a cultural norm - let's talk about everything but feelings. Feelings are forever in the background, taken for granted, things you drag along in life, like wearing an old pair of pants. We put up with them, more than listen to them.

Yet when I ask, nearly everyone can say what they are feeling, the urge to act on it, the direction it gives, etc. All are affirmed when they listen to their inner guide. We trust our feelings.

Imagine my delight in coming across recent research (Numennmaa et al, 2013) that shows where in our body each or our emotions originate, consistently, faithfully. Over 700 people from Europe and East Asia showed in a computerized human form where their body was active for each of the emotions of fear, anger, etc. (See diagram) Damazio, the neuroscientist, commented that it confirmed his thinking that each emotion activates a distinct set of body parts, all of which helps us identify that emotion.

My question: why has it taken so long to establish such basic facts? Answer: the science's distrust of subjective report, the focus on neuroscience, the late recognition of the centrality of emotion.

Hopefully, there will be more research into the role of emotion in every psychological event. And more interest in my book, The Purpose of Emotion.

About Dr. Raynard
Dr. Richard Raynard is a licensed clinical psychologist with 35 years experience resolving a broad range of emotional problems. As a cognitive-behavioral therapist who has specialized in anxiety and phobic disorders since 1980, he has spent the last 35 years fulfilling his life-long desire to explore and define the true purpose of emotions and how people can easily use emotions to create meaning and satisfaction in their lives. Dr. Raynard's series of books on emotions can be found on Amazon.com. His other books include Don't Panic, and Anxiety & Panic Medications.