Emotions Are Signposts

I’ve voiced this blog post in case you’d like to listen.

I heard on CBC Radio news today that psychologists are finding more and more people are struggling with their mental health. This latest trend, Trump induced anxiety, is robbing people of mental wellness at increasing rates. And no wonder. Every day the ground shifts under us and we need to adjust. So, just how do we do that?

Like many of you, I find some relief in listening to podcasts as I go about my day. A few days ago, I stumbled upon one that I found helpful called “A Slight Change of Plans.” In my found episode, cognitive scientist and host Maya Shankar speaks with researcher and psychologist Dr. Ethan Kross about new research about emotion regulation, a key component of reasserting balance when we’re feeling off-kilter. As we continue on this roller coaster of change, it’s worth a listen.

Kross is a Professor of Psychology and Management, and Director of the Emotion and Self Control Laboratory at the University of Michigan. He is one of the world’s leading experts on controlling the conscious mind.

I’ve read this before, and I think it’s true: Kross says that emotions are neither good nor bad, they’re just information. Emotions are signposts about what is going on inside me at any one time. I make meaning out of those emotions based on any number of factors, and that meaning making can colour the tone of my day and affect my behaviour.

Kross says that many of us try to live our lives avoiding difficult emotions, which he says is both impossible and undesirable. I would say, it’s natural behaviour... human, even. None of us like to be trapped in discomfort. But if you believe that difficult emotions give us information, then allowing them to tell us things we need to know is pretty important.

Different emotions tell us different things. Like, when I was hiking around Mont Blanc in Europe a few years ago, fear was a daily companion. I don’t like heights and my fear kept me on my toes while navigating rocks slides and hiking along sheer cliff drops. These are realities of hiking in the Alps.

My anger helped me in the early days of single parenting through my divorce recovery… I simply could not fail as I felt I’d been treated unjustly. My anger helped me find words to defend myself in the face of unfairness. There is a certain power in righteous anger.

Of late, I’ve felt sadness about the changing world and the loss of USAID in Africa. In the face of this, I’ve begun to donate monthly to the Stephen Lewis Foundation to help their Grandmothers programs in sub-Saharan Africa. Grandmothers are often left raising their grandchildren, who’ve been orphaned by the death of their parents due to AIDS. This Canadian Foundation also supports education and health programs. Gaps have been created by the withdrawal of USAID.

In these ways and many more, my emotions have guided my behaviour, leading to different outcomes and I hope, some good in this world.

If we are able to pause, and turn towards what we are feeling with an attitude of openness and curiosity, we can often act with more intention in our lives. Emotions are signposts, they help us clarify our values, and can inform our next steps.

Kross has a lot more to say about this. I hope you’ll have a listen.

Photo credit: T. Chapman, fall 2024, Fattoria del Colle, Trequanda, Italy