Do negative emotions like anger, fear, panic etc have any value?
Of course our emotions definitely do have a purpose. When it comes to pleasant set of emotions like happiness, surprise, excitement, serenity, peace etc., we don’t ask this question. But when it comes to negative or unpleasant emotions like anger, fear, panic, jealousy, frustration etc., we do have this question, whether they serve any purpose.
All these emotions do have survival value. To explain this, let’s go back into the past to the time and place where our early ancestors lived and survived. The early ancestors of human beings were Hunters and gatherers. They lived in forests or close to forests, where there is always a danger of wild animals attacking them etc. When that happens, their body needed to go into a response mode which could be a fight or flight response. When there is a situation of danger that they faced, the body is pumped with adrenaline and other hormones which gets them ready to fight the animal/ situation, or to flee from there. The extremities get more blood flow and to accomplish that, the heart rate rises, so that they are able to respond to the situation depending upon the threat level. Emotions that arise in such a situation could be a mix of fear, anger, courage etc. This is called the stress response, that has an impact on us physically, psychologically and emotionally.
Though we have evolved and learnt and advanced today with respect to the way we live, the environment that we are in, the technological advancements we have made etc, our body still responds to a thread in a very similar manner. When we sense a danger, which may or may not be real, since the perception of danger is there, our body responds in a very similar manner. There is also a emotional response which is generated within us. For example, when we feel anxious, what really happens within us is – either a fear or worry accompanied by the physical response that we sense, like sweating, heart rate increasing, unpleasant feelings in the stomach etc. Excessive sense of this can bring us to a panic mode. These emotions push us to take corresponding actions which could be either evasive or addressing the situation.
Similarly the other emotions like anger, fear, jealousy, frustration, irritation etc also can lead us towards taking an affirmative action that enables us to either deal with the situation cope with the situation effectively. For eg., If your partner is talking to someone from the opposite sex a lot more and laughing and enjoying their company a lot more than usual, it could make you jealous. The jealousy can push you to take an action (hopefully a healthy action) to get your partner’s attention back to you.
The key is to be aware of your emotions, to understand where there are coming from. This enables to take appropriate, adaptive and healthy stance and act accordingly.
The problem starts when these emotions become excessive and instead of taking an affirmative action, we are not able to manage the emotion, and that heightened state of emotions itself, if not resolved in a short while, start giving problems to us. That’s where we need to learn to manage our emotions, regulate our emotions in such a way that it enables, energizes us to take an adaptive action to handle the situation that we are in, effectively.
About the Author:
Kala Balasubramanian is certified Counselling Psychologist/Psychotherapist with a Masters in Counselling and Psychotherapy, Diplomas in Counselling and has further certifications specializing in couple/marriage/relationship counselling and family counselling. She provides a supportive, understanding, professional and confidential environment to work with clients – Individuals and Couples explore their emotions, help them understand and manage their challenges, relationships and stress better.