Emotions - Feelings
Q. How come anger and fear are positioned between joy and sadness on the emotions staircase?
Q. I’ve been depressed recently but don’t want to take antidepressants. Isn’t psychotherapy equally effective?
Q. What is it about the human existence that causes people to be ridded with anxiety?
Q. In my family it seems that anxiety accompanies hopelessness. How do you describe anxiety and what is its link, if any, with hopelessness?
Q. I would like to know some characteristics of individuals whose brains are anxious.
Q: When you hear the term “broken heart,” does that mean the neurons actually die or is it just a euphemism?
Q. I’ve attended several of your seminars and notice you use only black and white overhead transparencies. You do know that color and PowerPoint® technology exist?
Q. Before I lost my father to cancer, the hospice volunteer discussed with him the stages of death and dying. While it gave him some peace, it hasn’t done much for me. Is there something wrong with my brain? I’d appreciate your comments.
Q: My beloved partner of 40 years died six months ago. I cannot accept that this really happened. Why am I left alone? Why me? I wander around the house looking at pictures and crying. A friend of mine says this behavior is slowly killing me. I don’t want to live anyway. What’s the difference?
Q. Why do people react differently to decisions, and why are some people more emotional or less emotional about the decisions they make?
Q. How does depression affect our brain? People say that when you’re depressed, you lose memory, so how does depression affect your brain?
Q. I suffer from severe depression and take antidepressants, which have mostly stopped thoughts of suicide. My doctor told me that I need to “change the way you think” if I get a suicidal thought (which I sometimes do if I get exhausted and lose sleep). I’m not sure what that means.
Q. My mother seems more prone to depression than my father. Do you know of research on depression rates by gender?
Q. Would you list factors that can contribute to depression?
Q. What is depression? Can you give me a definition or description?
Q. My nephew has been hospitalized for weeks after a horrible vehicle accident in which he sustained a concussion. His girlfriend recently asked if I thought my nephew was suicidal. I had no idea. What would I look for?
Q: How is it that everyone has different thoughts? And what causes strong thoughts and emotions?
Q. My 10-year old son takes trumpet lessons; my 13-year old daughter plays flute. Sometimes they blank out at recitals and forget the notes. Why do I get so embarrassed?
Q. I've always used the words emotions and feelings as synonyms. Recently I heard a comment that makes me think they may refer to different functions in the brain, right?
Q: Once again I find myself depressed. My cousin and his wife did not invite me to their son’s wedding. What is it with their brains that makes them exclude me, and what is it with my brain that I let it bother me?
Q. Do you have references about love affairs, depression, and suicide attempts?
Q. Sometimes I feel like I'm about to fall off the edge. What do you do when you feel that way?
Q. I once heard you use the term “flippant forgiveness.” You said it is filled with hidden dangers and can be a counterfeit for genuine forgiveness. I’m confused. I thought forgiveness was forgiveness.
Q. Wouldn’t life be easier if you could be free of emotions?
Q. I've heard you talk about a positive mind set, and that it's a choice to be happy, but many days I do not feel happy and don't understand how it's possible to change that.
Q. The holidays were a total bust as usual. There’s always a lot of conflict—I’ve learned to expect it—with family members picking on each other and bringing up all the sad stuff that’s happened throughout our lives. It doesn’t help that my name is Holly! If I could afford it, I’d take myself on a cruise over the holidays next year.
Q. Is there some way to tell if people really love you?
Q. I’ve never heard anyone talk about Life Satisfaction at all until I read your book, “Longevity Lifestyle Matters.” I cannot think of any things or events in my life that would qualify as “life satisfaction.” Am I looking for the wrong thing?
Q. Can I make ONLY logical decisions without emotion?
Q. My father, aged 62, seems to be having memory problems. Do you think this could be related to his depression?
Q. I read your article on “forgiveness” in a recent Brain Bulletin. I also finished the book “The Body Never Lies” by Alice Miller. She made a comment about how honoring your parents can be misunderstood with resulting dire consequences. How could that be?
Q. A friend of mind recently told me that I contribute to my own depression by a negative mindset. Is that possible?
Q. A friend of mine told me recently that I needed to learn “patience.” I don’t understand what patience really is much less what it has to do with brain function!
Q. I’ve heard you speak...and the process of completing a personal Loss Line has been very helpful. Is there something like that for anxiety?
Q. Three of our four children are readers. The fourth child prefers to listen to contemporary music. Strangely enough, this fourth child is the least happy of all the children and I don’t understand this.
Q. How does rejection affect the brain? How can you overcome and process the feelings of being rejected?
Q. Nearly every day someone ruins mine. Is this going to happen for the rest of my life?
Q. I suffer from severe depression and take antidepressants, which have mostly stopped thoughts of suicide. My doctor told me that I need to “change the way you think” if I get a suicidal thought (which I sometimes do if I get exhausted and lose sleep). I’m not sure what that means.
Q. I suffer from severe depression and take antidepressants, which have mostly stopped thoughts of suicide. My doctor told me that I need to “change the way you think” if I get a suicidal thought (which I sometimes do if I get exhausted and lose sleep). I’m not sure what that means.
Q: My twins, a boy and a girl, must be going through the “terrible twos,” so-called. Well, they really are! It’s just “no, no, no, no, no....” until I want to tear out my hair. My neighbor says that every time the twins say “no” if we put them alone in their room they will learn to say “yes.” Do you think this will work?
Q. I’ve heard you talk about four core emotions but the other day I read an article that mentioned seven “universal” emotions. What’s that about?
