There is no doubt that our emotions affect our thinking – often quite significantly – but seldom do many people really acknowledge this. Decisions we make when we are happy will be different from those we make when we are sad. When we’re anxious, it can be hard to concentrate on anything other than what we are anxious about so our decision making is bound to be affected and when we’re cheerful, we’re more likely to be open to new suggestions.
Considering the potential power of emotions, it can be really helpful to notice and acknowledge the impact they have on our thinking. And of course our thinking will affect the decisions we make in how to deal with any situation so bringing all of this into greater awareness can be really useful.
With children, it can be helpful to talk about ‘the angry brain’ or the ‘anxious brain’. This helps children realise how emotions can affect what we end up thinking about a situation which in turn will impact upon what we choose to do. Here are some emotions listed with the possible impact they have on our thinking:
| Emotion | The (insert emotion) brain |
| Angry | usually only interested in meeting own needs. Has thoughts full of whatever happened to trigger anger and its ‘affront’ Has a narrow fixation on whatever triggered the anger Might add unnecessary ‘fuel’ to the anger by looking for more reasons to be indignant |
| Anxious | Ruminates – has unhelpful thoughts going round and round Catastrophises – starts to assume that everything that can go wrong, will go wrong Struggles to concentrate on things other than what is triggering the anxiety Is unlikely to take any risks – even ones that could prove beneficial |
| Scared | Only concern is attaining immediate safety from real (or perceived) danger or threat Has a narrow focus on the danger or perceived threat Can’t discern between what could truly harm you (e.g. a car heading towards you) and what just feels fearful (e.g. going into a room of strangers) |
| Sad | Struggles to get motivated to do anything Is withdrawn and uninterested Can be numb, ‘empty’ and have little going on |
| Happy | Can make you want to connect with others more Is creative and explorative Is likely to put a positive spin on what’s in front of you Can be more agreeable and open to suggestions |
| Disgusted | Creates a quick judgement to avoid something Gives a clear and rigid message not to try something again Can ‘close’ down thinking about the topic or thing again (which can be unhelpful if we experience social disgust). |
| Surprised | Brings a sharp focus on what is in front of you Can tell you to stay alert Is guarded and poised to look out for any further possible risks Unlikely to hang about considering nuance |
Other emotion brains you could consider include: the disappointed, shamed, awed, excited or bored brains! However, you could easily consider the likely impact any emotion has on your thinking.
It’s good to note that when a particular emotion is triggered, there will be (at least slight) differences in the way each emotion triggers different people to think.
As an aside, Compassion focussed therapy (CFT) uses the fact that our angry, anxious, sad and compassionate brains think quite differently to give us a different perspective on things that happen – which can be really useful. It’s like a therapy version of Edward de Bono’s six thinking hats!