Emotions
Jaak Panksepp discovered that the lower brain seems to be organized in such a way that one primal affective state prevails at any one time. He calls this monomania and it causes the upper thinking neocortex to follow the lower brain and also focus obsessively or ruminate on one thing at a time. And so Panksepp considers a goal of therapy to facilitate taking control of one’s passions by understanding the “low-minded” ways.
Public Domain
Working in his lab for a lifetime with rats, Panksepp found seven basic primary-process emotions, all in the midbrain. These primary-process emotions were built into the brain by evolution. They are ancestral “memories.” We are born with innate neural capacities with these seven primary-affective emotions hardwired into the subcortical networks of all other mammalian brains.
Seven Primary Affect Systems
- SEEKING (expectancy)
- RAGE (anger)
- FEAR (anxiety)
- LUST (sexual excitement)
- CARE (nurturance)
- PANIC/GRIEF (sadness)
- PLAY (social joy)
Short Shrifted Emotions Therapy
In many, if not most psychotherapies, these basic primary-process emotions are given short shrift or completely left out of the therapy. If a child had endured physical and emotional abuse as a child and bullies as an adult, the therapist might work through this background in terms of behavior today. It might be found that the client bullied the weak and vulnerable to vent rage at a parent that could not be expressed to the parent. Or if the client were a man, perhaps the bullying might be to restore his masculine self-esteem. The point being that exploring and connecting past abuse and current bullying would lead to a happier life and even a cure.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) focuses primarily on the present, leaving both the past and primary-affects out of discussions. CBT is effective for problems in daily life, but not very effective with severe emotional trauma. I tried CBT for years with very little improvement. My problem was a violent rage that when erupted had to run its course. I knew I would end up in prison if it could not be dealt with. My RAGE was frighteningly uncontrollable. When I tried to hold back, I felt it ripping me apart, like my heart might erupt in cardiac arrest.
The RAGE primary affective circuit of the brain can be sensitized by childhood abuse and become hyper-responsive. Thus, even when the patient fully understands the origins of their RAGE and makes an extreme effort to curb it, they are unable to staunch the chronic emotional irritation. If somehow they were able to control outbursts of RAGE, they might continue to suffer as much as before, perhaps even more, because pressure would continue to build with no outlet for their simmering RAGE.
Even though cognitive issues are important to deal with, primary-process emotions have to be dealt with on their own terms. Thoughts are not always stronger then affects, which is why cognitive therapeutic interpretations often do not work well with serious psychopathologies. Cognitive therapy is rendered ineffective in the face of dominant primal passions.
Affective neuroscience provides a data-based taxonomy for discussing the foundations of emotional life, The seven basic emotional systems offer a comprehensive data-based brain taxonomy of primary-process emotions. Knowledge of these primary systems offers a comprehensive, detailed view of how human emotions operate.
Affective feelings are an important part of our subjective lives and should not be ignored in therapy. They influence our behaviors, mold our relationships, and shape the textures of our everyday mental experience.
Social Creatures
Relationships are another overlooked aspect of therapy. PLAY is one of the seven prime affects. The PLAY system concerns relationships that allow children to learn about social rules of conduct, for example, when to cooperate, when to compete, and the necessity of reciprocity and giving way on occasion. Children will learn these skills because if they do not, their playmates begin to reject them.
PLAY facilitates social bonding, social cooperation, social rank, leadership, and the ability to communicate effectively. Not only social skills though, PLAY develops physical fitness, cognitive functioning, creative thinking, the skillful use of tools, and the ability to innovate in the face of unexpected events.
So those of us who have not learned to play are at a great disadvantage. We may not be aware of just how disadvantaged if this is not an issue in therapy. A play-deprived child probably has a higher than normal probability of not only being diagnosed with ADHD but of becoming reclusive and even a potential menace to society as an adult. Social play fosters empathy, an understanding of others, prosocial tendencies, heightened sociality, and empathy.
Social relationships and mental and emotional worlds are intertwined. When raw feelings mix with our higher mental abilities, many further variations and permutations are bound to arise to create complex social emotions like envy, guilt, jealousy, and shame, as well as hope, and humor.
When we have abundant levels of endogenous opioids in our brain, we experience positive affect and comfort, the kind of feeling one has in the company of good friends and lovers. When these chemicals are low, and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is high, we feel lonely, distressed, and often miserable. These painful affects are relieved when and if we find companionship, partly because of the release of endogenous opioids, but also partly because of elevated oxytocin and prolactin activity within our brains.
We need to be aware of the roots of our feelings. We need to be aware that they come from our bottom-up midlevel brain, so we have no control of these feelings. They will come along with intruding thoughts. We cannot stop feelings and thoughts from intruding.
We deal with emotions and feelings the same way we deal with intruding thoughts, through attention therapies like Ki Breathing Meditation, Open-Focus, and Insight Meditation (Vipassana Meditation).
Self-help books that help:
Total Self-Renewal through Attention Therapies and Open Focus
The Open-Focus Brain: Harnessing the Power of Attention to Heal Mind and Body
