Emotions, Thoughts and Behaviors
In our body and mind there is a constant dialogue between emotions,
thoughts and behaviors. We find it helpful to reflect on these
interactions to understand how techniques like Trauma Tapping
(sensory input) can alter emotions con- nected to memories or other
signals to our senses.
Emotions
An emotion is technically a state of consciousness in which various
internal sensations are experienced. Emotions can be produced by a
thought, a memory or an external motivator triggering one of our five
senses (sight, touch, sound, smell or taste). An emotion can often
change our physical state by causing our body to react in different
ways, controlling hormones and glands as well as the immune and
defense systems.
An interesting aspect of our emotions is that it is only possible to feel
most of them one at a time. It is hard to be happily angry or
hysterically calm. When an emotion is strong you can switch from one
feeling to another at the same strength: for example from scared to
angry to laughter.
Thoughts
A thought may seem simple enough, but have you spent a thought
thinking about how you actually create a thought? To create a thought
you need to observe a thought or access a memory, which is
associated to one or more of your five senses: an image (still or
moving), a sound, a feeling, a smell or a taste. These memories are
labeled by your rational brain, where language resides, into a cluster
of information that holds a specific meaning to you. This is why the
smell of roses in combination with wet feet can trigger the memory of
a grand- mother and being young, safe and happy for some people,
and a feeling of hiding in the garden from a violent drunk parent for
others. Ultimately, thoughts are our way of processing memories and