Understanding Emotions – A Guide To Mastering Your Feelings
- May 2, 2024
- 2 min read
Tessa is driven by a mission to eliminate unnecessary suffering. She is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, a Rapid Transformational Therapist and Neuroscience Coach. Additionally, she is an international speaker and an advocate of the power of the mind, delivering numerous talks at schools.
Emotions often feel like inherent reactions, integral parts of who we are. However, contemporary neuroscience ( led by Lisa Fieldman Barrett) has revealed something revolutionary: emotions aren’t hardwired into our brains at birth, nor do they have specific 'fingerprints' within our neural architecture. Instead, our emotions are crafted by our brains, constructed from the experiences we accumulate over our lives.
This revelation leads us to an important question: What exactly are emotions? Contrary to being innate, emotions are the product of our brain's predictive capabilities. Our brain continually draws on a reservoir of past experiences to interpret current situations and forecast our immediate reactions. In essence, your emotional responses today are shaped by the remnants of your past.
This understanding shifts our perspective on emotions: they don't just happen to us—we actively create them. The empowering takeaway here is the control we have over these emotions. By altering the 'ingredients'—the memories and experiences our brain uses to make predictions—we can change our emotional responses.
Consider the common scenario of test anxiety. Many teenagers and young adults experience severe anxiety due to past testing experiences, anticipating symptoms like a racing heart and sweaty palms, to the point of being paralyzed during exams. But what if we reframe these physical responses? What if sweaty palms aren’t a sign of impending failure but rather a preparation for success?
Research supports this reframing approach. By consciously choosing empowering words and cultivating determination, we can override our initial predictions of anxiety. This new mental narrative can lead to enhanced performance, goal achievement, and overall happiness.
The process isn’t effortless, but it is accessible to everyone. The journey begins with awareness. Recognizing that you can influence your emotional state with positive thoughts is the first step toward feeling better and achieving more.
This message is not only uplifting but also empowering, backed by extensive research. It provides a powerful message: You have the capability to reshape your emotions and conquer your fears. Embracing this knowledge can radically change how we understand and manage our emotions, paving the way for a life where we master our feelings rather than being governed by them.
As a clinical hypnotherapist, sharing this knowledge with my clients prior to each session and it makes them aware that they are capable of changing their emotions and fears.
For more information, email: tessa@tessagrazzini.com.
Tessa Grazzini, Mental Health Expert and CEO of Free Young Minds
Tessa is driven by a mission to eliminate unnecessary suffering. She is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, a Rapid Transformational Therapist and Neuroscience Coach. Additionally, she is an international speaker and an advocate of the power of the mind, delivering numerous talks at schools. She has a wealth of experience in working with teenagers and is CEO and Co-Founder of of Free Young Minds, whose quest is to inspire, educate and empower young adults.
