4 ms·

When I worked in psychiatry, I was taught that emotion isn't learned, but behavior is. I don't know if I buy that. I think that many of our emotions are driven

When I worked in psychiatry, I was taught that emotion isn't learned, but behavior is. I don't know if I buy that. I think that many of our emotions are driven by our expectations, and expectations are definitely learned. Hand a wealthy person an imperfect fruit, and they'll react with anger. Hand the same fruit to a hungry person, and you'll get gratitude.

voidhorse 2y ago
It might be that emotion and behavior are so tightly coupled that they are effectively both learned and it doesn't make complete sense to distinguish them. For example, when I used to struggle more with these feelings, I'd get into tirades which were behavioral reactions that, rather than simmering things down, would just further amplify my anger. Similarly, I think forcing yourself to smile and other subtle behaviors actually can have an emotional effect.
nukem222 2y ago
I agree. Also, emotional regulation is a thing—feeling an initial flash of anger is one thing, but allowing yourself to be consumed by it is another. I think I have pretty good emotional control of my anger, I rarely lose my temper at people and I'm generally pretty good at channeling it productively. But the reaction doesn't go away, and it is also linked to other things like taking care of your physical health, diet, sleep, etc. taking accountability for your reactions to things ultimately involves cleaning up a lot of the rest of your life, too. Plus people can find it hard to believe that healthier people are less angry, but I firmly believe this is true based on my own observations of myself—so in this sense, emotions kind of are a choice, with enough practice and desire to achieve this and luck. It is indeed very difficult to separate emotion and behavior, both concepts are encapsulated by the same continual shifting attention. That maintaining control over this shifting of attention is the focus of so many philosophies (eastern and western) shouldn't be ignored.

voidhorse 2y ago

It might be that emotion and behavior are so tightly coupled that they are effectively both learned and it doesn't make complete sense to distinguish them. For example, when I used to struggle more with these feelings, I'd get into tirades which were behavioral reactions that, rather than simmering things down, would just further amplify my anger. Similarly, I think forcing yourself to smile and other subtle behaviors actually can have an emotional effect.

nukem222 2y ago

I agree. Also, emotional regulation is a thing—feeling an initial flash of anger is one thing, but allowing yourself to be consumed by it is another. I think I have pretty good emotional control of my anger, I rarely lose my temper at people and I'm generally pretty good at channeling it productively. But the reaction doesn't go away, and it is also linked to other things like taking care of your physical health, diet, sleep, etc. taking accountability for your reactions to things ultimately involves cleaning up a lot of the rest of your life, too. Plus people can find it hard to believe that healthier people are less angry, but I firmly believe this is true based on my own observations of myself—so in this sense, emotions kind of are a choice, with enough practice and desire to achieve this and luck. It is indeed very difficult to separate emotion and behavior, both concepts are encapsulated by the same continual shifting attention. That maintaining control over this shifting of attention is the focus of so many philosophies (eastern and western) shouldn't be ignored.