Anxiety, depression, panic attacks are just some of the common words associated with the struggles we can have with our wellbeing. What if we then started to have an awareness of how these are felt in the body?

An interesting study by Nummenmaa, Glerean et al published in PNAS.org. was carried out across many cultures to start finding out if there were commonalities in how people felt emotions within the body.

This body map below shows regions of the body where people noted increased activation (warm colours) or decreased (cool colours) when feeling each emotion

The study didn’t just ask people to recall a feeling, they were obtained when participants were asked to report their actual online bodily sensations during actual emotions induced by viewing movies or reading stories.

The study shows that different emotions are clearly felt physiologically in various areas of the body, adding science to the psychological understanding of emotions.

The researchers found that most basic emotions were associated with sensations of elevated activity in the upper chest area, which was suggested to be most likely due to corresponding changes in breathing and heart rate. 

Similarly, sensations in the head area were shared across all emotions, which the study suggested reflecting both physiological changes in the facial area as well as the felt changes in the contents of the mind triggered by the emotional events. 

Sensations in the upper limbs were most prominent in approach-oriented emotions, anger and happiness, whereas sensations of decreased limb activity were a defining feature of sadness. 

Sensations in the digestive system and around the throat region were mainly found in disgust, which I found an interesting emotion to be observed.

If we take the findings of this study and consider that we experience our feelings not just in our mind but as a felt response in the body, it opens up the discussion more widely about which comes first, our physical reaction to a situation/environment or an emotion led by our mind that then triggers a physical response.

There is no definitive answer. Many different theories are still developing to help us understand ourselves as human beings.

Dr Stephen Porges suggested an update on Descartes quote to,

“I feel my body, therefore I am”.

Dr Porges with his development of The Vagal Theory, interpreted by Deb Dana argues that ‘story follows state’, meaning that the ‘state’ of our nervous system then drives the story that we form about why we feel scared, anxious, low in mood. The Vagal Theory works with the idea that if we find ways to alter the ‘state’ our nervous system is in, to a more ‘safe and social state’, then the more positive emotion will follow. 

This theory also gives us the tools to create a map for the different states our nervous system can be in, which makes understanding ourselves more accessible when we are connecting mind and body in this way. I will be writing more about this theory in future posts and how it helps us to understand ourselves better. 

One finding of the Emotions body map study that I enjoyed, was that in contrast with all of the other emotions, happiness was associated with enhanced sensations all over the body. 

We are beings that seek happiness and it makes sense that we experience this positive emotion in the whole of our bodies. When we feel in a safe place, connecting with others and doing something we love, we can create this whole body sensation and with this comes the ability for the body to heal, grow and restore.

The challenges with the way we are encouraged to live our lives today is that the busy nature of work and home life, create even more of a disconnect between what our body is needing and telling us, and what our mind is telling us. 

If we are not attuned to our physical state then we are more likely to feel anxious, for example, and have many unhelpful negative thinking patterns without noticing what has created this anxiety in the first place, or what is keeping us ‘stuck’ there. 

Maybe you are someone who can identify with what your body is telling you it needs, or maybe you are someone who is not sure where to start tuning into what your body is telling you. 

A good place to start can be to take a few moments to be present in the moment and try noticing how your body feels. Starting with the fundamentals of energy levels and if breathing is shallow or is it slow and easy, is your heart rate steady or racing fast? These are some starting points to reconnecting and from there you can start to develop the understanding of what ‘state’ your nervous system is in and what you need to feel more at ease.

The Emotions body map gives us a platform upon which to have more meaningful discussions about how our feelings and our thoughts can lead to physiological sensations and then, what can we do with this information and how can we understand them more? 

I look forward to more studies of this type to get us noticing more and reconnecting to the physical state. 

Now more than ever we need to understand this connection as we continue to live in stressful times, managing the impact of the pandemic. The fear that many people are living in is felt in the body and the mind, we need more understanding of the knock on effects of this chronic fear and how we can reassure the body and the mind.

My work as a therapist, and from my own personal health experiences, have shown me that we need to look at ourselves and others as whole beings, body and mind in order to heal ourselves and others.

Jane McPhillips Hypnotherapy