
Bodily maps of emotions - mxfh
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/12/26/1321664111.abstract
======
aw3c2
In case you are wondering where the download link is: You probably browse with
Javascript disabled. The website hides it by default. Here is a direct
(wgetable) link:
[http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/12/26/1321664111.full...](http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/12/26/1321664111.full.pdf?with-
ds=yes)

~~~
trothoun
Shame appears to be the spiderman emotion. Interesting.

------
orasis
Cool hack: You can re-create these emotions by hacking the body sensations.

Neuronal connections are bi-directional ("Neurons that fire together wire
together"), so if you want to experience happiness, focus on feeling sensation
all over the body just like the emotions maps.

A really easy (though not necessarily fun) one to try is disgust. Right now,
just focus on the sensations in your neck. If you have any body awareness you
should feel some yuckiness there. If you are unable to feel it, you may be a
habitually hyper head-oriented person and may be totally disconnected from
your emotional body. If this the case, I highly recommend learning to meditate
to fix the issue.

For larger body sensations like happiness, just focusing your attention may
not be enough though since your concentration may not be high enough and will
naturally flit around. So in addition to focusing attention, move those parts
of the body to generate sensation.

~~~
cstavish
I wonder to what extent the results of such experiments would be due to the
power of suggestion.

~~~
orasis
From my substantial subjective experience with Vipassana meditation I have
found the correlations very strong. When doing Vipassana, especially the form
called "Mahasi Noting", attention will "randomly" move around during the
session. At various points you might have spontaneous thoughts of fear or
disgust. Without any scripting it will be apparent that the body energy
changed which caused the emotions associated with those body areas to arise.

It's really really weird to be blissed out one second and experiencing
existential fear the next, but that's what happens.

~~~
hosh
And sometimes the bliss and fear happens at the same time.

------
shadowcats
Fascinating stuff.

I guess non-mainstream methodologies/frameworks like NLP, chakras and yoga
were on to something when they said that emotions have locations in the body.

~~~
thelamset
By the way, emotions having a bodily basis and function is absolutely
mainstream psychology, I think Darwin wrote about it, William James, Paul
Ekman of course... Mindfullness is included in some therapies. Even new agey
ideas by likes of Lowen and Reich are often mentioned in academic textbooks.

------
wtbob
That's really cool, and each of those pictures makes sense. Anger, for
example, looks like turning on the brain and arms in order to strike; disgust
is the gut and mouth trying to retch; happiness is mostly in one's head;
depression is a void; pride is a bursting chest and so forth.

~~~
hosh
You can actually bring these emotions to any part of the body, and train to
adjust the intensity and clarity of these emotions.

There's one bit about the happiness: it might be mostly in one's head, but it
covers the whole body. Happiness is related to contentedness, that feeling
that you don't need to go anywhere and you're good right here. If happiness
did not cover a part of the body, then usually, that part will start agitating
for attention. You are no longer content.

------
Sprint
This is very interesting, thanks!

The warm-dark color scales have a slight emphasis on the warmer colors though.
They are not exactly of same lightness.

------
JoeAltmaier
Pride and Anger are almost identical maps! Also, Happiness, Love and Anxiety.
No surprises

------
dgreensp
Incredible! This is great.

