Emotion and Health

QOTD

Samantha Jacob, Skylar Lea, Lexi Shryack How do you deal with stress? A. Excersise B. Eating C. Sleeping / Meditating D. Social Support etc E. Watching TV / Reading / Shopping

Brady Goldsworthy Do you meditate regularly? And if you do, how does it affect your mood? A) Yes, it positively affects my mood B) Yes, it has no affect on my mood C) I don't meditate

Tyler Wilson Do you believe venting is an effective stragety for dealing with anger? A. Yes B. No C. Sometimes. It depends on what I'm angry about D. I would rather deal with or cope with my anger in a different way.

Tyler Olson What is depression? A. Chemical inbalance B. Long-term severe uncertainty about goals, convictions, or everything C. A word used when nothing else can explain the mental state (being sad while having the 'perfect' life) D. An effect from personal trauma E. Dunno ¯\_( ツ )_/¯

Zoe Golden Do we actually feel physical pain when feeling such emotions as heartbreak? A. Yes, it physically hurts us B. No, it's all mental C. Unsure

Nora Alnajjar When I make a decision, this is the dominant factor: A) My emotions and my heart. B) My logical thinking.

Randy O’Reilly Will AI / Robots need to rely on emotions in the same way that people do for making decisions (i.e., is Spock / Data, etc complete fiction)? A) Yes B) No

Mashari Hasawi Have you ever hated someone so bad to the point where you get really mad so quickly when someone brought his/her name up (and /or wanted to cause them physical harm)? A) Yes B) No

The Big Questions / Issues What is non-obvious about emotion?  Textbook treatment is mostly naming the obvious  Does neuroscience make it more interesting? Key practical points:  How to be happy?  What to do about anger, anxiety, stress?

Start with Taxonomy: Basic Emotions Fear, Anger, Sadness, Happiness, Disgust, Contempt, Surprise Why are these basic? What causes them? What benefits do they provide? Where are Love and Hate? Why not Pain? Hunger? Lust?

Sample Goal Taxonomy

Valence vs. Arousal

Theories: If you ask a stupid question.. Does emotion start in the body or the mind!? - This is a stupid question that people have spent far too long arguing about (James-Lange vs. Cannon Bard) - Emotion is coordinated neural, physiological activity throughout the brain and body! - If you only activate part of it, you’ll get a kind of weird feeling, but it isn’t the full deal..

The emotional brain

Basic Drives: Hypothalamus

Amygdala Encodes Different Emotions

Map of Emotions in vmPFC Driven by subcortical connectivity High-dimensional, multi- factorial representation Consistent with fMRI, MDD in sgACC, etc Map of Emotions in vmPFC Driven by subcortical connectivity High-dimensional, multi- factorial representation Consistent with fMRI, MDD in sgACC, etc

Self Help Psychology What is Happiness, and how can I get it? What is Anger, and what can I do about? What about Fear? Stress? Does it affect Health?

The Two Faces of Happiness Happiness = instantaneous emotional feeling Happiness = long-term life satisfaction Good news: everybody’s happy-ish! Bad news: some people aren’t! Parents are low on instantaneous, high on long- term..

I would be happier if.. A. I won the lottery B. I became a paraplegic C. No difference (long term)

Surprise!?

Money != Happiness Above ~$50k, more $ != more happiness So what does = more happiness?  Immediate social network, relationships  Standing in community / social recognition  Goal achievement  Dopamine driven by social feedback and progress toward goals!!!  And a major (50%) contribution of genes..

Negative Emotions Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. - Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina We have many more negative emotions than positive ones! So we should learn to accept this fact!

Johanna Arch: Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Therapy Acceptance is powerful medicine!

Anger is not a liquid You don’t have to vent it! Leads to rehearsal.. Figure out the underlying source of frustration Deal with it And / or learn to accept the situation

Stress Management.. Stress is mostly “in your head” – does all this stuff really matter that much, or perhaps not?? To reduce stress, become a Boulderite:  Exercise  Meditation  Optimism  Sunshine, fresh air, etc..

I Get Sick When.. A. I’m currently under stress B. After the stressor is over C. When I am feeling cold / underdressed

Stress THEN Sick Stress itself does not make you sick.. It is the depletion period AFTER the stressor is over that makes you sick!

Placebo Tor Wager here at CU studies this extensively! “special cream” can reduce pain felt by significant amount..