What actually makes emotions or feelings like love/excitement/happiness “feel” good? And what makes anxiety, sadness, depression “feel” bad. What part of the body are the physical aspects of the feeling affecting?
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Emotions are like different colors that you can feel inside your body. Sometimes you feel happy and excited, like when you get a new toy or play with your friends. That’s like feeling yellow or orange.
Sometimes you feel sad and lonely, like when you miss your mom or dad or when someone is mean to you. That’s like feeling blue or gray.
Sometimes you feel angry and frustrated, like when someone takes your toy or when you can’t do something you want to do. That’s like feeling red or purple.
Sometimes you feel love and affection, like when you hug your mom or dad or when someone is nice to you. That’s like feeling pink or green.
These colors are not good or bad by themselves. They are just different ways of feeling things that happen to you or around you. But sometimes your brain tells you that some colors are good and some colors are bad. It does this because it wants to help you make sense of the world and protect you from things that might hurt you.
Your brain also makes some chemicals that go along with these colors. These chemicals are called hormones and they help your body do different things. For example, when you feel happy and excited, your brain makes a hormone called dopamine that makes you want to do more of what makes you happy. When you feel love and affection, your brain makes a hormone called oxytocin that makes you want to be close to the people who make you feel loved.
These hormones can make the colors feel brighter and stronger in your body. They can also make you smile and laugh and have fun.
But sometimes your brain makes too much or too little of these hormones, or it gets confused about when to make them. This can make the colors feel darker and weaker in your body. They can also make you cry and scream and feel bad.
For example, when you feel sad and lonely, your brain makes less of a hormone called serotonin that helps you feel calm and happy. When you feel angry and frustrated, your brain makes more of a hormone called adrenaline that helps you fight or run away from danger.
These hormones can make the colors feel more painful and scary in your body. They can also make your heart beat faster, your muscles tense up, your stomach hurt, or your head ache.
The good news is that these colors and hormones are not permanent. They change all the time depending on what happens to you and how you think about it. You can also do things to help yourself feel better when the colors are too dark or too strong.
For example, you can talk to someone who cares about you and tell them how you feel. You can do something that makes you happy, like playing a game or listening to music. You can breathe deeply and slowly and relax your body. You can think of something positive or funny or grateful.
These things can help your brain make more of the good hormones and less of the bad ones. They can also help the colors become more balanced and pleasant in your body.
So remember, emotions are not good or bad by themselves. They are just different ways of feeling things that happen to you or around you. And they are not permanent either. They change all the time depending on what happens to you and how you think about it.
You can always do something to help yourself feel better when the emotions are too dark or too strong. Does that make sense?
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