All The Feels: Explaining & Exploring Emotions
Being someone who works (and lives) mental health, is it any wonder I’m kind of obsessed with Inside Out? I feel like Inside Out has provided a simple and easy way to better explain and understand emotions, helped along a little by some of the fantastic creations from fellow fans (here and here) and the incredible Atlas of the Heart book/ emotion encyclopedia from researcher/ storyteller, Brené Brown. One of my most important learnings is that all emotions have a purpose. Shall we explore them a little?
Anger
Since my first viewing of Inside Out, my understanding of anger’s purpose has strengthened. Anger has become my cue that something might be unfair or unjust, which fits with the inclusion of anger in Brené Brown’s Atlas of the Heart as ‘a place we go when we feel wronged’.
Anxiety
Anxiety has been close by for most of my life. I felt so seen by the portrayal of anxiety in the Inside Out sequel. The key lessons of anxiety were a revelation. Anxiety wants to control everything- so do I at times! But, the unfortunate (maybe slightly unsettling) reality is that we can’t control every single thing in life. Which is why it’s important to try to slow down, take a breath, identify what we can control and focus (as much as we can) on that instead.
Joy
Joy has been a constant companion for me. I’m often described as a sunshiney, optimistic kind of person. I love finding moments of joy, whether they be big or small- we need both. Joy can also help you identify what things might feel fulfilling and purposeful for you, thereby potentially allowing you to engage with them more.
Disgust
I think the role and importance of disgust was highlighted for me through Inside Out, not to mention the amazing Disgust-centric pieces of fan art (on which note, thanks is also due to the artists for their insights). Everyone has sensory preferences. They’re important and they matter. Disgust can help us identify what these are and enhance our wellbeing in the process.
Sadness
I have grown to love sadness. Through the first Inside Out especially, her powerful purpose was spotlighted. Similar to anger, sadness is important to release. Though confronting for some, crying is cathartic. Sadness can bring people together, and it can show us what we consider most important.
Ennui
Ennui, I’ll admit, is a new emotion for me. Ennui is something I discovered and started learning a little about because of Inside Out. Ennui is an emotion I’m still getting to know. From what I can tell so far, ennui encourages us to preserve our energy for things that are important. Ennui could also be a signal to stop and rest before continuing on with something, especially if it’s taking a while.
Fear
Fear, a close friend of anxiety. Also a consistent presence in my life. I loved the way Inside Out highlighted Fear’s purpose and number one goal- to keep us safe. The thing is though, sometimes, especially when there has been experiences of trauma, fear’s perception of what is unsafe can be a little… off sometimes.
Embarrassment
Ah, embarrassment. That classic feeling of self-consciousness and awkwardness that can often come up in relation to things that may be considered outside the acceptable social norms. Going from this, embarrassment can act as a cue to reflect, because a lot of the time, these instances are mistakes that we can then take as an opportunity to learn from. There is also the option to laugh at the situation.
Envy
Envy, often confused with, but not necessarily the same as, jealousy. Described by Brené Brown in her book Atlas of the Heart as ‘a place we go when we compare’, envy can come up when we want something that someone else has. In that sense, envy can be a motivator to take action or make change by highlighting things we want, which can then allow us to start working toward them.
I should note that obviously, this is not all the emotions that exist, nor an exhaustive list. They’re only the ones featured prominently in Inside Out to at least get started. But, if we can get to know our emotions, learn to understand and live with them, even come to befriend our emotions, things might be a little easier.
Further Resources if you’d like to explore this topic more:
Inside Out movies- available through Disney+ here
Brené Brown’s Atlas of the Heart hub
Dr. Marc Brackett’s Permission to Feel + interview with Brené Brown