The Mind is the Heart to Our Emotions

We always say that our emotions and what we feel come from the heart. But have you ever wondered why mental health is important or where our thoughts come from? Why do we feel and need the things we do?  Why is it that a certain feeling can disrupt our day or our thinking? Why is it that we feel what we do in certain circumstances? Well, that is why thinking and leading with our hearts is not all that true, let me explain why!

Let’s take love as an example. We all have had those instances where we have talked to someone and immediately connected. You really get along as friends, but you feel that tension between you two, something more than a friendship. You suddenly find yourself thinking and thinking. Your heart is not the one that defines what you are attracted to, it’s your brain. Your brain just ran a series of calculations in that short amount of time and that is what defined your attraction to the person. But how? 

By using the five sense we have: taste, hearing, sight, touch and smell.  The eyes are the first thing that comes to attraction. We all have been raised in different cultures and have different ideas of perfection or beauty standards. Which, I may add, is why everyone is unique in their own skin, body and shape. But when we do find something that attracts us, we move closer to it. Now smell, when have we not liked when a guy wears a good cologne? Or let’s say hearing a man’s strong voice? Don’t those things influence who we like? 

Let’s now take the emotion of anger in love. That anger comes from the amygdala, a part that is in your brain which triggers that sense of fight or flight. The amygdala also regulates our anger, pleasure and fear. As this happens, our reasoning part of the brain  moves aside and that’s where we act upon impulse. Maybe this brings you back to remember a time you might have said words you don’t mean to someone important? Or you might have slapped the poor guy in a misunderstanding situation? OUCH!!

 In the long run anger can cause health problems and that is why meditation is important to avoid any health issues. To take time to reflect upon our actions, desires and mistakes. Speaking with your mind can help you change the perspective of a situation. That is why mental health is much more important to keeping a well intact balanced and connected mind.

Now sadness. When sadness is present oxytocin is released in the brain and that is what causes us to cry. Crying, though, has been found to help us communicate our feelings and be able to feel better afterwards. So, nonetheless, crying is and should be appreciated with warmth and comfort. Sadness is something that everyone feels and that is ok. But this feeling is also too strong, strong enough to keep us awake at night, keep us from socializing.

Emotions developed in the brain are not limited to the three discussed above. In reflection, keeping a well-connected and balanced mind helps someone develop a relationship, empathize with others and reflect before acting upon an action. I mostly spoke of love as it plays a powerful feeling in us. It can either drive us crazy or take us into a journey full of new experiences. More than this, any feeling in the mind can be shaped and controlled, whether it comes from any external influences or even within ourselves and our own thought processes. I believe though that the phrase of ‘the heart being the center of our emotions’ is a bit misleading and sometimes takes us aside from thinking that emotions come from our thoughts and reasonings. So, my advice is: let’s start thinking how to shape our thoughts to avoid any negative thoughts and instead focus on the beauty of life, like love.