TED Conversations

Derek Young

Thinker and Experimenter,

TEDCRED 30+

This conversation is closed. Start a new conversation
or join one »

What are some techniques to compartmentalizing emotions in order to think logically with reasoning?

I often find myself paralyzed by my emotions to make any sense sometimes.

I either; get excited too quickly, get upset, get confused, get stricken with fear, etc. So, I am sure you may relate, but you also have the knowledge to deal with it.

Call me naive, but teach me the ways of keeping your swirling emotions down. Whether it be a good nutritious breakfast to a breathing excercise to controlling the mind through pushing mental buttons to excercise to....well you get the picture; anything you can contribute will be wonderful. Thanks in advance for allowing me to see your thought process and sharing it with me. =)

Topics: agnostic breathing excercise ideas mind nutrition psychology religion technologies thought processes
+1
Share:
progress indicator
  • thumb

    Derek Young 30+

    • 0
    Apr 2 2012: Posing a side question to hopefully get more ways of seperating emotions.

    What have you done, if you did, lose your composure completely, to the point of where you seemed to feel like you almost blanked the period of time out, to regain your composure?

    Thanks to all that have read and shared thoughts. Feel free to bring some conclusive ideas to wrap up the almost ending conversation. =D

  • Mercedes Aspe

    • 0
    Apr 1 2012: I have observed that thoughts have a lot to do with feelings. If i start trying to watch my thougts and not allowing negative thoughts to continue.
    • thumb

      Derek Young 30+

      • 0
      Apr 2 2012: Hi Mercedes,

      Could you elaborate a bit more about what you mean?
  • thumb

    E G 10+

    • 0
    Mar 24 2012: Go and learn to fight , to beat .
    • thumb

      Derek Young 30+

      • 0
      Mar 30 2012: That is why I ask the ted community, to learn how to "fight" the issue and overcome these obstacles.
  • thumb

    Ken brown 30+

    • +1
    Mar 22 2012: Bring forward the logical man from within you when you are confronted with a post that excites an emotional response from you,examine it then ask yourself why these written words affect me this way.Don't worry about the time for you to reason it out,pixels don't count time,try not to let the irrational thoughts carry you off on an imaginary holier than thou track.I'm always constantly getting caught slipping down that road,it's not pretty.

    We're men and what do men do best? we like to fix things,conquer a puzzle or try to figure out what hell is dark matter or dark flow.Just be aware that if the logical man has too much preference then one can justify anything using logic.I wouldn't try to suppress your emotions,They are just facets of the whole and they find other ways to manifest themselves that could be bad for your health.

    I'm by far not an expert bud i'm just relaying what the being behind my eyes is saying in response to your question and i could be 10 AU off the mark completely.

    Do you Daydream? or are you a daydreamer?

    Google famous daydreamers,it surprised me as i'm always off on a tangent.
    • thumb

      Derek Young 30+

      • 0
      Mar 24 2012: I daydream while in the middle of conversations, so I yeah I kinda do daydream, but maybe not the way that Issac Newton did. I do have a hard time in schools though, but teachers have told me that 'grades aren't everything'. Hopefully, me as a package is better measured than me in a single facet of life. =)

      Thanks, that made me feel better about this all. =)
  • thumb

    Sina Elli 10+

    • +1
    TED Translator
    Mar 21 2012: Continuing my first comment.

    Your mind (the software over your brain hardware) has a super conscious state in which you can choose what to do and actually do it. I suggest using that super conscious mind to follow what seems logically right and disregard the annoying emotions until you find the cause and the solution to your problem.

    it may be a serotonin depletion, an temporary or permanent imbalance in other neurotransmitters like nor epinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, etc. there are medications that can help solve that problem and of course has to be perscribed by your doctor. and there may also be cognitive therapy sessions helping you manage feelings and tweak your EQ.

    I am not in anyway suggesting that you have some kind of mental illness. I am just covering all the possible causes that comes to my mind with the hope that someone reading these may actually benefit from that.

    your Question also made e think of creating a video to address this very question in more details and with graphics to explain it more. If I get positive responses here I may do it this week.

    • Comment deleted

      • thumb

        Derek Young 30+

        • 0
        Mar 22 2012: Beware, Emelda is a ploy I've seen in other conversations on the site. Others suspect she is a bot. =)
    • thumb

      Derek Young 30+

      • 0
      Mar 22 2012: HA! I will try not to fuel my own hypochondria. I found this to be very intriguing regardless of relevance, but I am highly intrigued in waiting for your video. =)

      Email me or post me a link if you do make a video.

      Thanks for the detailed description and positive encouragement. =)
  • thumb

    Sina Elli 10+

    • +1
    TED Translator
    Mar 21 2012: Ok, first let me congratulate you on your excellent question. asking this question does not mean you are naive but in fact shows how courageous you are to be able to ask that.

    Now , let me tell you a little bit about the structure of emotion creation and the battle of emotion and reasonging with a brief look at brain biochemistry.

    Amygdala is where your emotions are generated, it is in fact the place for emotional learning, your emotions have deep roots in your child hood and your unconscious education received from your environment. Amygdala can learn but can never unlearn. when you face a situation it simply generates an emotional signal expressing it. amygdala in implicit for the brain and although it has a logic we are not aware of it ourselves.

    OFC (OrbitoFrontalCortex) is where you think logically. it is explicit to the brain and you know how and what it is you are thinking.

    usually when there are enough logical clues the signal from OFC will override the negative signal of emotion generated in Amygdala and the problem will be solved, sometimes the OFC signal can not override the emotional signal and that is when you will continue feeling what ever emotion you were feeling. this will make OFC to further investigate and come up with another logical solution but that too will not help and the whole system will be put in a loop. no logic will be good enough and nothing will seem to silent that emotion.

    In a healthy person it is normal to sometimes follow the emotions because evolutionary they are showing a threat or a survival way, and sometimes foloowing the logic (when there are enough clues to recognize what is right).
    but sometimes the brain does not function perfectly and because of a problem in neurotransmitters, caudate lobe, etc. there may be a halting state.

    more information is needed to be able to suggest a possible cause and solution.
  • thumb

    Ana Petrovic

    • 0
    TED Translator
    Mar 21 2012: Derek, that is a question with a life saving answer :) I have the same struggle in my life. But, that is, I think, lifelong struggle for all of us. We are our own biggest enemy. If you find a definite answer to that question, please let me know. I will give you all my life savings as a reward :P :) tc
    • thumb

      Derek Young 30+

      • +1
      Mar 22 2012: Oh, I would take up your offer, but I would feel obliged to slowly give it back to you in some shape or form. =P

      I will definitely give you the heads up though. =)
Showing all 14 comments