Primary emotions

The brain uses two pathways for emotional response. Anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise are primary emotions, which stem from one of the oldest parts of the brain. As the body’s first reaction, these rapid sensations shoot up strongly to help you make instant judgments. Feelings like these are sometimes described as energy in motion, reflecting how they surge and swell.


...emotions follow a slower brain pathway. Responses such as pride, guilt, satisfaction, regret or confidence are like a rising flood. These complex emotions represent the ongoing reaction to your primary sentiment, and the sensations they cause are chronic and intense, which causes you to turn inwards and reflect. Because they last longer, these feelings create an enduring mood, covering up the vulnerability provoked by that strong initial rush of emotion.

    Coping mechanisms help you balance the flow!

    Good feelings raise you high…until you crash back down in a tailspin, gripped by a dark mood. Riding this emotional roller coaster of highs and lows is exhausting. Long-term, it can seriously affect your resilience.

    Emotional pain spawns avoidance 

    The most harmful strategy is repression, although distraction and stimulation tactics also create problematic behaviours. Do you recognise these emotional issues?

    • Anger
    • Grief
    • Depression
    • Anxiety
    • Fear / Phobia
    • Sensitivity
    • Instability
    • Trauma

    Without emotional balance, you constantly live on the edge. Step back from that dark hole and break the cycle right now…