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1. What are emotions? What do they contribute to the human experience of life?
For many of us, we describe our emotions as our feelings. Interpersonal communication demands us to feel something, so it is important for us to understand that although emotions describe our feelings, they involve more than just that. Our emotions are expressed through our physiological, cognitive, and behavioural responses to others. We feel, think, and behave accordingly by our emotions. The stronger we feel or think about events and others, we correspondingly respond physiologically. Our body responds physically to how we feel or think.
Emotions are important in our interpersonal relationships. They tell us and others what we think about them, a situation, and an event. They can confirm what we are saying and/or how we are acting in response to others. Having a good cry or having a good laugh after a negative event often makes us feel better. Sharing our emotions with others is also important. Emotions help us connect with others and can strengthen (or hinder) empathy in our relationships.
5. Discuss the value of self-talk in managing difficult emotions. How is the emergence of “life coaches” related to this concept?
Self-talk in managing difficult emotions focuses on changing how we think about an event. Trying to convince ourselves that an event is not as terrible as it seems plays an important role in managing our emotions. For one thing, self-talk allows us to redirect how we feel by calming ourselves and allowing us to think more positively about an event.
Practising self-talk also puts us in touch with what we are thinking and feeling so that we can monitor our emotions. It can be meditative and reinforcing when we are trying to keep calm.