[Neurons] 2012 Meta Reflections #31 "Neurons"

[L. Michael Hall]

From: L. Michael Hall

Meta Reflections 2012  #31

July 8, 2013

Emotional Mastery Series #5

 

 

 

EMOTIONAL CONTINUA

 

 

Having provided an operational definition and description of what an
"emotion" is (#1-#3) and that no every emotion is a real emotion (#4), I now
want to present another perspective for thinking about emotions- one that
will assist in experiencing more emotional mastery.

 

The perspective is to view any given emotion on a continuum.  If you think
about your emotions in terms of a continuum, you can get a fuller and richer
view of your emotions.  If you position any given emotion (the basic
emotions) on a continuum, you thereby make it possible to begin to identify
the other emotions that cluster around that one.  This will enable you to
see the relationship between similar emotions and that will lead you to see
how one emotion can shade or evolve into another emotion.

 

As an example, think about anger and the emotions similar to anger, the
emotions that cluster around anger.  I first discovered the value of
thinking about emotions in terms of a continuum many years ago when I took a
contract with the Department of Corrections in the State of Colorado.  My
job was to work with men who were leaving one of the Federal Penitentiaries
in the state and to enable them to develop some anger control.  A year or
two later I took another contract on the same subject, but the second group
was composed of a bunch of boys, ages from 14 to 18, who were in a
lock-up-situation for being convicted of a violent crime.

 

   Displeasure Scale

 

    Violence          

     Out-raged

     Rage

     Wrath

     Fury

     Ire

                                                             Anger

     Indignation

     Offended

     Stress

     Frustration

     Agitated

     Upset

     Vexed

     Irked

     Dislike

     Annoyed

     Bothered

     Peeved

 

 

What I stumbled onto in engaging the two groups for anger control was to ask
the men and the boys about the emotions they experienced before and after
they experienced "anger."

Before you get angry, what are you feeling?

What would you call that feeling or emotion?

When anger stops being anger, what is it?  What do you then call it?

 

That led to a whole list of anger words: rage, wrath, fury, ire,
indignation, offended, stress, frustration, agitated, upset, vexed, irked,
dislike, annoyed, bothered, peeved, etc.   Then, working with the men and
boys about this list of words, I put them into a scale- an Anger Scale or as
I later labeled it: A Displeasure Scale.  I did that because displeasure is
the message of anger- displeasure with something that's not going the way we
want it to go.

 

There are many words for describing kinds and intensities of displeasure:

Anger: "Anger" is the general term for the emotional reaction of
displeasure, typically strong displeasure.  Anger refers to a sense of
threat to your person and values.  You can experience rational and
irrational anger, in-controlled anger or out-of-controlled anger, useful
verses unuseful anger; current and appropriate anger and old dated angers.
Anger does not refer to any outward expressions, only to the feeling of
threat and desire to aggress.

 

Prior to the emotion of anger, we experience the levels and intensities of
displeasure as:

Upset: a state a disorder, confusion, disturbed, decomposed, a disorder that
may range from minor to major.

Annoy: feeling disturbed or irritated, something wearing on the nerves. 

Vex: more provocation than just annoyed, feeling perplexity and anxiety.

Irk: having difficultly in enduring & resulting weariness or impatience of
spirit.

Bothered: feeling bewildered, upset, interference with peace of mind.

Peeved: irritation, mild mood shift to resentful, holding a grudge.

Peevish: querulous in temperament, fretful, contrary, marked by ill temper

 

When anger grows in intensity, then we have: 

Ire: great intensity and exhibition in words and deeds.

            Fury: even more violence and connotes a degree of temporary
madness.

Indignation: righteous anger at a commonly agreed upon unfairness,
injustice, or meanness.

Wrath: either rage or indignation and suggests a strong desire to avenge or
punish.

            Rage (anger, sometimes including violent actions. 

 

The Displeasure Scale - of Anger               

When it comes to the emotions of displeasure, there is a wide range of
descriptive terms we can use to sort and separate levels, intensities, and
kinds of displeasure.  By developing the ability to distinguish these kinds
of negative anger emotions saves the emotional energy of true anger for
those events and situations that truly violate our values and call for a
strong emotional response.

    

There's a verse in the Bible that says, "Be angry and sin not . . ." (Eph.
4:26).  Here is some ancient wisdom about properly owning, using, and
registering anger in a way that does not use it to violate another person or
even yourself.   The verse also says, "Neither let the sun go down on your
anger . . ."  That describes the need for releasing anger so that it is not
stored up and turned into "cold" anger (e.g., malice, ill-will, resentment,
bitterness).

 

Construct an Emotional Constellation for Emotional Awareness

This works with lots of other emotions.  Because emotions occur along a
range and have varying degrees of intensity, we can gauge an emotion's
intensity on a scale and distinguish emotions at different levels of
significance.

           What is the range of the emotion and on what scale?

           When is the emotion more intense, less intense?

           What is it?  What do you call it?

 

These questions and distinctions allow us to create emotional scales and
distinguish emotions at different degrees.  This means that there are
typically a constellation of emotions around an area of emotionality.  And
as we did this with the Dislike Scale, we can do it with other emotions.
How? 

1) Choose an emotion.

            2) Make a list of similar emotions, words that indicate a
closely related emotion.

            3) Invent a continuum to put the emotions on.

            4) Put the various emotions along the range of emotions from
least to most intense.

 

Here are some more examples:

 

          Fear                                    Sadness
Joy                       Guilt / Wrongness

                │ Terror                                │ Depression
│ Ecstasy              │ Overly conscientious

                │ Panic                  │ Bitter, victim
│ Happiness       │ Guiltiness

                │ Paranoia                           │ Emptiness
│ Delight              │ Self-betrayal

                │ Fear                                   │Grief-stricken
│ Mirthful            │ Pained Conscience

                │                                             │ Grief
│ Joy                      │ Guilt

                │ Worry                                │Sadness
│ Playful               │ Shame 

                │ Apprehension               │ Loss, miserable             │
│ Embarrassment

                │ Stress                                │
│ Pleasant           │ Remorse

                │ Upset                                │
│ Content            │ Disappointed

                │ Out of sorts                    │ Hurt
│                             │ Feeling bad

    Avoidance

 




 

 

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

                Neuro-Semantics Executive Director 

                Neuro-Semantics International

P.O. Box 8

Clifton, CO. 81520 USA                             

                1 970-523-7877 

                Dr. Hall's email:
<mailto:meta at acsol.net\hich\af31506\dbch\af31505\loch\f31506> meta at acsol.net


     

    

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