How Emotions Control Us
What Is Stress and Can It Be Measured?
Where do emotions come from, and how do they affect our bodies? What is the “three-story brain” and the theory of functional systems?
The first researcher to study stress as a phenomenon was American psychophysiologist Walter Cannon. He discovered that emotions actually precede physical reactions, not the other way around. In the 1920s, Cannon developed the famous theory of homeostasis—the constancy of the body’s internal environment. According to this concept, the body itself maintains stable conditions, adapting to changes in the environment.
During stress, the body releases certain hormones: adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol. Each of these hormones has a specific effect. For example, when cortisol is released, the body can function in tense situations and cope with stress. Adrenaline activates the body, dilating the pupils, bronchi, and heart. Thanks to stress hormones, human capabilities can increase dramatically—there’s the well-known story of American Joe Rollino, who managed to carry four of his comrades off the battlefield at once. However, the same hormones that help us in stressful situations can also harm the body: kidney tubule sensitivity decreases, immunity drops, and the risk of stomach ulcers increases.
Stages of Stress
Hans Selye, a student of Cannon, identified three stages of stress:
- Alarm Stage: The body mobilizes its defenses, performance improves, and due to increased nitrogen and potassium, the liver or spleen may enlarge.
- Resistance Stage: The body’s resistance to various influences increases, but the activity of other systems decreases.
- Exhaustion Stage: The body’s resistance to stressors drops, which can lead to death.
It’s important to note that the body transitions from the second to the third stage on its own, and we often only realize this process after some time.
How to Assess Your Stress Level
It’s crucial to understand which stage of stress you’re currently in. Modern tools can help, such as the Stress Check app for Android, which analyzes changes in cardio intervals and displays your pulse wave. Under stress, your heart rhythm becomes less variable.
Defense Mechanisms
The autonomic nervous system is divided into two branches: the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. The sympathetic system, or “fight or flight,” is activated during stressful situations. During this time, pupils, bronchi, kidneys, and trachea dilate, urine output decreases, and blood vessels constrict. The parasympathetic system, or “relaxed” mode, has a restorative effect: it increases tear and saliva production, and the stomach secretes more digestive juices. It’s very important to learn how to activate the parasympathetic system to help the body recover.
Emotions and Their Impact
Emotions can pose a direct threat to our lives. A vivid example is an experiment by Avicenna (Ibn Sina): he placed a wolf and a lamb in separate cages facing each other. After several days of constant stress from the sense of danger, the lamb became seriously ill and died, even though it had food and was otherwise healthy and young.
According to the scientific school of Anokhin and Sudakov, stress arises when a person cannot satisfy vital needs for a long time, leading to the accumulation of negative emotions. Their theory of functional systems explains this process: a behavioral act depends directly on the satisfaction of needs. Needs create motivation, which leads to decision-making, then an action plan, and finally, a result. The final stage is the “result parameter,” where we compare the outcome with our expectations. Thus, our emotions are influenced not by the result itself, but by the difference between expectation and reality. If the result matches our expectations, we feel positive emotions; if not, negative emotions accumulate, potentially leading to stress. A typical example is when a straight-A student gets a single B on an exam and becomes very upset, sometimes even falling into depression. The key rule here is to set your emotional expectations not for the highest possible outcome, but for an optimal, realistic result.
Experiments on Emotional Response
Russian physiologist Evgeny Yumatov conducted experiments showing that emotions are influenced by personal attitudes. In one experiment, a rat was placed in an area with many wires carrying a mild electric current. The rat jumped around, trying to avoid the wires, but when it saw a small house in the corner, it ran to it and stayed there calmly. Previously, several rats had died in that same house, apparently due to some unfavorable conditions, even though there were no wires near the house and the rats were in complete safety.
How the Brain Works: Understanding and Managing Emotions
To control your emotions, it’s important to understand how the brain is structured. Neurophysiologist Paul MacLean proposed that the human brain consists of three parts layered like nesting dolls:
- The reptilian brain (central part): Responsible for basic functions like breathing, sleep, and blood circulation.
- The limbic system (second part): Regulates internal organs, smell, memory, sleep, and wakefulness. We cannot consciously control the limbic system, but there is always a connection between consciousness and emotions.
- The neocortex (outer layer): Responsible for higher nervous activity. This is the only part of the brain whose processes we can consciously track. Our sense of “self” is formed in the neocortex.
It’s important for everyone to understand what specifically brings them positive emotions, as our emotional state affects all bodily systems. Positive emotions are always short-lived, while negative emotions tend to be chronic. Statistics show that positive emotions depend on three factors: having close relationships, satisfied life needs, and success—especially in areas that are truly important to us.
Tips for Managing Emotions and Stress
- Make an effort to monitor your body and try to control the processes that can be controlled.
- Regular self-reflection can help prevent the accumulation of negative emotions and the development of stress stages. At the end of the day, recall and write down situations and your reactions to them—this makes it easier to change behavioral patterns.
- Pay attention to your breathing, practice breathing exercises, and, as simple as it sounds, get 8–9 hours of sleep each night.