The Emerging Language of Emotions and The Body

by Robert B McNeilly MBBS

Therapists and other human beings know about emotions and their importance. We all know that we have a body. But what are emotions? What is the relevance of the body? How can we integrate them into therapy?

These are questions we have been concerned with since the beginning of therapy conversations, and there are many differing understandings in the field.

Emotions – another view.

Traditionally emotions have been regarded either as they are bodily fluids which build up, need releasing, needing to be expressed rather than repressed, or alternatively, as sign posts of issues lurking beneath the surface requiring exploration. While these approaches continue to be valuable, even curative at times, there is an additional view which can contribute to our clinical effectiveness.

This additional view emerges from the thinking of Maturana, and some of his past Chilean students – Echeverria, Flores, and Olalla. They propose that emotions can usefully be explored as predispositions to actions, or domains of actions, and like Heidegger used “languaging” to express the action aspect of language, they offer “emotioning” to remind us of this dynamic. The word “emotion” has “motion” as its core, implying action, and our common sense observation informs us that we are variably predisposed to act in various emotions.

When we are in an emotion of confidence, there are a vastly different cluster of actions available to us from that of fear. When we are peaceful, we act very differently from when we are frustrated. Even the expression “We are peaceful” points to the central influence of emotions – in an emotion of peace, we are a certain way.

More options for the therapist.

Observing emotions this way gives us an additional set of observations, and as a direct result, an additional set of possible interventions in working with clients. The more observations we are able to make, the more options for intervening will appear to us, the more use we will be to clients.

Brief, Solution Oriented therapy has been criticised for being cerebral, mechanistic, and emotionless, prompting Cade & O’Hanlon [1993] to dedicate a chapter to emotions, but these authors limit their comments to the essential need to acknowledge and validate clients’ emotions. While this brings emotions into the field, they don’t take the next step of exploring the associated actions and the possible shifting of the experience at an emotional level.

I have found [McNeilly 2000] a predictable value in exploring some finer details of emotions which have been clustered in unhelpful groups. In the arena of anger, for example, I like to explore the differences between resentment, frustration, indignation, and rage. By observing the actions we are predisposed to in resentment, for example, a silent promise for revenge following some past damage of importance is often reported. Of course, different individuals will have their individual experience, but many report something similar. These observations open conversations about the validity of the past damage, a questioning of its present importance, an exploration of the value of sacrificing the self for the sake of getting revenge on another, and so, a wider range of options. The possibility of forgiveness may appear, perhaps for a selfish reason rather than as a “should” for a good person, since it can relieve the suffering of the resenter.

Frustration is usually accompanied or constituted of some stifled expressiveness, and exemplifies the value of emotional release as a predictably useful action.

Indignation is a very different emotion, while still in the realm of anger. It is commonly expressed as a cluster of actions which protect the space or dignity of the client in the presence of some potential damage similar to some which have been troublesome in the past. In my view, indignation is to be enhanced as a solution, never a problem.

Rage, which is feared by any sane human being, is frequently experienced as an indiscriminate predisposition to damage anything and everyone without concern for consequences, which is why we fear it and if resentment and frustration are effectively dealt with, and indignation enhanced, then rage could be lessened or prevented.

More options for the client.

Conversations following the question “When you are anxious / depressed / terrified / uncertain, what are you doing in that situation?” can be usefully insightful to clients, allowing them to see some things which were previously not apparent to them. It’s not uncommon for a client to recognise their actions for the first time, and this can be sufficient to break the pattern of doing.

New options for the therapy.

As well as exploring the doing aspect of some limiting emotion, we can also ask clients “What emotion would you rather have?”, and explore the actions which might constitute that preferred emotion so that it can be created from the component actions. Instead of “anxious”, a client might prefer “secure” and by exploring the actions associated with security, those actions become available, and frequently lead to the desired emotion being generated.

O’Hanlon [1989] writes of his accidental discovery of the value of actions in his assisting a woman to overcome her depression when she recounted the actions she had taken to overcome the problem previously – telephoning a friend, rising her bicycle, continuing her regular activities – and in recounting them to Bill, reminded herself of the action she was not taking, and now could. The depression lifted as they spoke, and she continued in good form at follow up

Moods and the Body.

When particular emotions have been around for a time, they can seem to move in, and make themselves at home, however unwelcome they may be as guests. When this occurs, the body can change to accommodate them. If a client began to have an emotion of fear, as a response to a specific event, such as a rough plane trip, or a humiliating classroom criticism, there can be a readily recognised stooping of the shoulders, widening of the eyes, smallness of the steps when walking, so that even though the original experience may be forgotten, the memory lingers bodily.

We have all made observations of “body language”, but following Maturana and languaging and then emotioning, we can explore “embodying”. As with the emotional field, where we could ask about how a client would rather feel, and so assist them to access that emotion though the constitutive actions, we can also ask a client to place their body in a position, or move their body in a manner which would support or enable a preferred way of being.

If a client has poor self esteem, I frequently invite such a person to stand on my desk, placing their feet a little apart, shoulders straight, head high, stretch out their arms and say “This is Me. This is who I am”. The response can be dramatic, and can forward the therapy so beautifully.

Depression, which is being promoted as the next epidemic, due to some hypothetical imbalance of brain chemistry, can more usefully be regarded as an embodied mood, frequently of resignation, hopelessness, helplessness or overloaded. Inviting a shift in body position, a lifting of the direction of the gaze, an increase in the pace of walking can allow for a delightful reconnection of the client with their partly forgotten body memories of being more fully themselves, and facilitate therapeutic progress. This can assist a client with depression to have some influence on their own experience, become more self-reliant, self-authoring – all relevant to enhancing a more desired mood, rather than encouraging dependence on some magic pill, as if such could ever exist.

A businessman wondered about resuming Prozac. Business was booming, but he was feeling overloaded, and was not attending to projects, placing his company in jeopardy. I took him for a brisk walk outside, and asked him to recount his dilemma. He was puzzled to discover that the words wouldn’t come, and he experienced relief. When we continued the session inside, his mood was sufficiently changed for him to begin to move into action, and he continues to prosper, without the “miracle help” of Prozac.

A single conversation involving “How would you rather feel?” or a brisk walk is rarely enough to totally deal with a problem, but viewing emotions and the body from this action perspective can offer us and clients additional sets of observation, additional interventions, additional actions, which is always useful in our ongoing effectiveness and learning.

References:
Cade, B. & O’Hanlon, W. H., [1993] pp 42 – 48, A Brief Guide to Brief Therapy. WW Norton New York.
McNeilly, R. B., [2000], Healing the Whole Person – A Solution-Focused Approach to Using Empowering Language, Emotions, and Action in Therapy. John Wiley & Sons, New York
O’Hanlon, W. H. & Weiner-David, M, [1989] p 3, In Search of Solutions – a New Direction in Psychotherapy WW Norton New York