Mapping Emotions in the Body

Emotions originate in the brain, but can manifest as physical feelings throughout the body.

Have you noticed that you and I don’t feel things like love and fear in our head?  Emotions are felt in the chest, in our gut and in other areas.  They’re just recognised and understood through our consciousness.  We feel things in different parts of the body where the hidden energy centres that have no physical form are located – the chakras.

It’s believed that the seven chakras in the body regulate all parts of your bodily system, influencing emotional processing.

A study of 700 men and women from different countries across the world looked at how accurately emotions could be linked to bodily sensations.

Researchers used stories, videos and pictures to provoke emotional responses in the people in the study, who then used a computer to record physical changes.  Increased responses registered as warmer colours while decreased responses registered as cooler colours.

Certain emotions triggered strong sensations in the upper body.  Other emotions registered as diminished sensations in the lower body, while some emotions combine both types of responses.

In this way, emotions prepare us for any dangers but also they prepare us to react to any opportunity, such as pleasurable, social interactions.

Awareness of the corresponding bodily changes may subsequently trigger the conscious emotional sensations.

The research may shed light on the basis of each emotion and their biological function.  Mapping these physical changes could also lead to new methods for understanding and identifying mood disorders.