Exercise Your Emotions

The Western World Tends To Be Cautious When It Comes To Expressing Emotions. But Giving Them An Occasional Workout Can Be Good For You Says Sarah Marinos.

- Sarah Marinos

It all started with ancient Greek philosophers, like Plato, who valued stoicism and a stiff upper lip. Plato believed that emotions were not for showing and that they should be controlled, mastered and kept under wraps.

“Plato characterised emotions as being destructive forces that took control of people, and I think to an extent, that idea continues today,” says Dr Peter Koval, from the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne.

“Emotions have been characterised as very disruptive and as possibly leading to mental illness and the downside of this is that we can often be scared or cautious of expressing emotions and of acknowledging our own feelings.”

But Dr Koval argues that in fact, expressing and exercising emotions can be important for our physical and emotional wellbeing.

Reading the room

While we may try to keep them at arm’s lengths, emotions are a useful barometer and sometimes a warning signal to show how we are travelling through life at any moment.

“When we experience an emotion it’s an indication that our brain has detected a change in the environment relevant to our wellbeing or our goals and concerns. It draws our attention to those things,” says Dr Koval.

“Often people can experience strong emotions quite unexpectedly and that will be a catalyst for them to pay attention to what is going on at that time. It flags something important is happening that they may not have realised. And the intensity of the emotion strongly correlates to how important a situation is for us.”

Everyday exchanges

Whether we see ourselves as an emotional person, or as a steelier character, emotions are involved in almost every facet of our psychological make-up and of our daily lives. From birth, our relationships hinge upon a series of emotional exchanges.