10 Surprising Ways Emotions Can Affect Your Body
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Here’s a fun fact we bet you didn’t know: the myriad of emotions you experience in your day to day life has a direct impact on the state of your body! So, for example, if you’re angry, you will be able to feel its effects on a certain part of your body. Same goes for happiness or sadness or even jealousy! Knowing about how different emotions affect your body can help you manage both your mental and physical health in a much better manner. Just read our list of 10 emotions and how they control your body state to know more!
1. Love
Love is an emotion they say, and this particular emotion has a strong impact! When you feel the first effects of love, you may notice your heart beating fast and your palms getting sweaty. A clinical sexologist, Kat Van Kirk explains this happens due to the increase in production of the hormones norepinephrine and adrenaline (1). Moreover, the love hormone – ‘oxytocin’ – contributes to the feeling of happiness and acts as a painkiller (2)!
2. Anxiety And Anger
Two different emotions no doubt, but they go hand in hand. When you’re angry, you can experience bodily symptoms such as headaches, digestion and skin issues, insomnia or even a heart attack (3). Plus, if you worry a lot, your anger can make things worse and cause anxiety disorders (4). So, whenever you’re angry, take a moment to relax and figure out what you can do to improve things.
3. Depression
More of a disorder than an emotion, depression can cause emotional anguish (5). A state like this can significantly raise your chances of getting several diseases that weaken your immune system (6). You’re also likely to suffer from insomnia while increasing your chances of getting a heart attack due to the constant stress you feel (7). It may even lead to poor memory and decision-making skills.
4. Fear
The signs of fear your body displays are the most obvious ones. Your face turns pale as your automatic nervous system tries to decide between fight or flight (8). Fear can make your blood vessels restrict blood flow to your face, sending the extra blood to your muscles and the rest of your body so you’ll be prepared to face your fear or run from it.
5. Disgust
Disgust is an emotion that’s hard to control. When you experience this emotion, your heart rate slows down and you can even feel nauseated if you feel this emotion strongly. The reason for this is that disgust produces an antipathy that shares the same psychological elements that are a part of your digestive system (9). Take deep breaths whenever you’re disgusted to control the emotion.
6. Shame
If you feel ashamed for healthy reasons, you won’t feel under-confident. However, if it’s toxic and bred by a past incident, you might feel constantly stressed (10). Such shame can increase the levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) in your body, which can consequently increase your heartbeat and constrict your arteries (11).
7. Contempt And Pride
The contempt for another usually leads to the feeling of pride in yourself. This link between the two can stress you out, which can cause heartburn, high blood pressure, stomach aches, and more (12). The only way you can fix this and prevent yourself from getting these health issues is by inculcating empathy and humility in your life.
8. Jealousy
The green-eyed pangs of envy might seem sweet in moderation but they can be suffocating in excess. Even for the person who experiences it! Jealousy makes your heart beat faster and increases your blood pressure (13). You may even experience other symptoms such as loss of appetite, insomnia, digestive issues, and noticeable weight gain or loss, etc.
9. Happiness
When you’re happy, you’re healthy and vice versa. The feeling of happiness improves your heart function, your immune system, your life expectancy, and also reduces stress, aches, and pains (14). Studies have proven that happiness can decrease the chances of death in healthy people by 18% and in ill people by 2% (15).
10. Involuntary Emotions In Rubinstein-Taybi And Cornelia De Lange Syndromes
Both these genetic disorders impact the social behaviors of people (16), (17). Now studies have shown that patients with these disorders are more likely to display the spontaneous emotions they feel in the expressions on their faces (18). They actually prefer a visual representation of their impromptu emotions.
Bonus: Depression And Anxiety Increase Disease Risk
We covered them individually in earlier points, but they deserve specific mention as both these emotions have the potential to severely damage your liver and heart. According to a recent study, mental disorders such as depression can increase your susceptibility to cardiovascular diseases, which, in turn, can act as a cause of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and lead to liver failure (19).
It’s safe to say that negative emotions are best kept in control, while positive emotions should be inculcated and actively practiced as much as possible in order to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. So, keep smiling!
