2012 is almost here, and this exciting and troubling 2011 is almost over. I hope you’re warm, safe, and well, and I wish you a Happy New Year! As we head into a year that is being promoted by some as either the end of the world or the beginning of a new dawn inShiver me timbers →
Archive for the ‘ Sociology ’ Category
Emotion Work Revisited!
As I’ve been working with neuroscientist Antonio Damasio’s definition of emotions as action-requiring neurological programs, I created a flowchart to help you understand the difference between feelings and emotions. This is my simplified flowchart: An emotionally evocative stimulus occurs → The stimulus evokes a specific emotion → You utilize your ability to feel that emotionShiver me timbers →
Working through depression
Depression is in the news quite a lot these days. Medical and psychological researchers (and news outlets) are focusing a great deal of attention on depression, and it seems that every week brings a new story about what does and doesn’t work for depression.
This is great; it’s a positive movement that is helping to make depression more of an everyday topic (instead of a hidden shame). However, many media figures report on research they don’t understand very well, and many lump all depression into one category, as if mild depression and bipolar depression are similar things. Or as if major depression can be treated in the same way atypical depression or postpartum depression should be. A great deal of the current news about the ineffectiveness of antidepressants isn’t taking into account the different forms of depression and the different treatments required.
In The Language of Emotions, I focus on situational depression, which is the situation-related low mood most of us have experienced. It’s not a disease state, as the more serious forms of depression are, and it’s usually amenable to all manner of intervention (including placebo) if you catch it early; however, if left untreated, situational depression can lead to more serious depressive disorders.
What I don’t see in this media flurry is people asking questions about why so many of us are situationally depressed. Last month, I retweeted this important public health message from Twitter user Where We At (@picklefight):
Before you diagnose yourself with depression and low self esteem, first make sure you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes.
Hah!
Where We At is silly and arch, but she’s got a serous point: When we’re depressed, we often turn inward and blame ourselves, but depression is not simply a low mood that arises from within. Sometimes, depression is a perfectly reasonable response to trouble in your life; depression is often an important signal about real issues that impede or disturb you. In my book, I call depression Ingenious Stagnation:
Surviving the apocalypse, chapter 743
Okay, we’ve survived the most recent prophecy about the end of the world, but (spoiler!) we always will. Prophecies are richly fascinating, and they tell us so much — sociologically, anthropologically, and historically — about what their believers feel, sense, think, and hope about the world, but they’re never right. This weekend, yet another groupShiver me timbers →
Talking about empathy with Tami Simon
Tami Simon and I got a chance to talk about empathy last year when I was in Colorado recording the audio workshop for The Language of Emotions. She’s a wonderful interviewer, and I want to expand on a few things we covered in this short interview (here’s the the original empath: Gem from Star Trek).
Why are emotions so hard to understand?
They’re not. The problem is that we’re not taught about them directly. We tend to be taught very simple rules about which emotions are right and which emotions are wrong. Sadly, we’re not openly taught about emotions themselves; instead, we’re taught about behaviors that arise from emotions.
For instance, we don’t learn that anger exits to protect our sense of self, our position, our standpoint, and our voice. We don’t learn what the different levels of anger are, how to moderate anger, or when to use it. Instead, many of us were told as children what not to do: No fighting, no biting, no pinching, no punching, no kicking, no swearing, no talking back, and no dirty looks. Some parents say, “Use your words,” which is better than letting a kid drop into a tantrum, but how can a child talk clearly about an emotion she hasn’t been allowed to understand?
With this kind of backward emotional training, kids end up filled with rules but not with understanding. So each time a child feels anger, she won’t gain a greater understanding of it. Instead, she’ll recall a list of things she cannot do (no fighting, biting, etc.), and she’ll have the option to use words, but she’ll develop very little understanding of what anger is about.
RSS
Feed me!Get the Newsletter!
Sign up for Karla McLaren's newsletter. Your address will never be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Thanks!
Awaken Your Emotional Genius!
Emotion Cards
Get the Emotion List!
Free! Download your very own emotional vocabulary list!
Download »
Upcoming Events
- 03/13/2012
- 03/20/2012
- 03/27/2012
- 04/03/2012
- 04/10/2012
- 04/17/2012
- 04/24/2012
- 05/01/2012
- 05/08/2012
Karla on Twitter
Karla on Facebook
Search this Site
Tags
- Anger (16)
- Anxiety (6)
- Autism Spectrum (4)
- Depression (5)
- Emotion Work (47)
- Emotional Hygiene (37)
- Emotions AT Work (8)
- Empathic Skills (22)
- Empathy (69)
- Envy (2)
- Fear (11)
- Happiness (8)
- Hatred (6)
- It Is To Laugh! (2)
- Jealousy (2)
- Listen Up! (6)
- Love (1)
- Sadness (6)
- Shadow Work (4)
- Shame (10)
- Sociology (10)
- Stress & Resistance (4)
- Suicide (3)
- The Language of Emotions (49)