To grasp how feelings work within the physique, Fedrick says that it’s crucial to grasp how they’re filtered by way of the mind.
“The limbic system has been recognized as the first a part of the mind that processes our emotional experiences. The mind has a particular emotional filter, often known as the amygdala, which stimuli are processed by way of,” she explains.
The amygdala is designed to retailer sensory reminiscence from our earlier experiences and makes use of this data because the gauge to find out the right way to really feel about present-day experiences. The amygdala then sends out corresponding data to different components of the mind, which leads to the release of certain neurotransmitters and hormones primarily based on the interpretation of that occasion.
“For instance, if the amygdala processes an occasion as thrilling or pleasurable, there can be a launch of dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and many others., that may affect how the physique reacts to this occasion,” Fedrick explains. “If the amygdala senses one thing as scary, shameful, irritating, worrisome, and many others., there can be a launch of epinephrine, norepinephrine, adrenaline, cortisol, that are all chargeable for our fight-or-flight response that’s designed to maintain us protected.”
Thus, feelings are skilled within the physique as the results of how the mind processes an occasion and what neurotransmitters and hormones are launched into the physique in response to this interpretation.
