There is a famous theory propounded by neurologist Antonio Damasio that emotions precede feelings. While the terminology can be confusing, what this essentially means is that what we experience as sadness, anger, or fear are really just our mind’s interpretation of our body’s state. Fear, for example, is the experience of your body undergoing rapid changes in the face of some threat: the spike in blood pressure; the quickening of your heart rate; the tension in your muscles.
There is a surprising amount of evidence for this theory. Many people have heard, for example, that if you smile — even if you do not feel happy — that your mood will actually begin to improve. Remarkably, this is well researched and true (and works just as well for other faces: fear, disgust, anger…).
One recent bit of evidence for the theory comes from the success of using beta-blockers to treat post traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders. Beta-blockers prevent the body from engaging in the familiar flight-or-fight response caused by adrenalin. Because anxiety disorders are characterized by excessive fear of a stimulus, and fear is the feeling of what happens in your body in response to this stimulus, then by preventing the body’s normal response to fear, anxiety can be un-learned.
An even odder example comes from a new study published in the May issue of Dermatologic Survey. Ten women suffering from chronic major depression were given Botox injections in their ‘frown’ muscles. The theory being that if the physical expression of depression is prior to (and causative of) the mental experience of depression, then preventing frowns could help alleviate the women’s depression. Two months after treatment, 9 of the 10 women no longer met the clinical standards for depression.
Though the study was small (10 patients) and did not involve a control group, the findings are interesting, and should prompt additional research into this area.
If you want more information on the theory, Dr. Damasio’s book, “Looking for Spinoza
[tags]Antonia Damasio, Botox, depression, anxiety, PTSD, beta-blockers, emotions, health [/tags]