Understanding the role of emotions in our lives takes a lot of time. Today we’re going to talk about the emotion of love. This is the last emotion in this series and one of the most common reasons people are coming in for mental health counseling, because they’re not experiencing enough of this emotion in their lives.
Let’s review some of the emotions associated with love. Some of those associated feelings are adoration, admiration, affection, attraction, sense of arousal, the feeling of care (one of the most consistent feelings for me), charmed, compassion, desire, enchanted, fondness, infatuation, lust, longing, and passion.
There are many events we can experience that evoke love. So if there’s a person in your life that cares about you, gives you something that you want, need, or desire...you may have felt this emotion. Sometimes it’s people who are thoughtful towards you. They enjoy showing affection toward you. Maybe it’s that person that does something for you who you really admire.
What about the interpretations of these events that bring about these feelings of love? If you truly believe the people in your life care about you, this will bring about the emotions of love. On the flipside, if you think people don’t like and don’t want you around, this will diminish those positive feelings of affection.
Like with all emotions, love evokes a biological response. We can experience changes in our physiology when we experience love: increased energy, heart race, happiness, sense of invulnerability, relaxation, calmness, feelings of being safe, wanting to share with others, or a feeling of emotional and physical closeness.
We also express our love in various ways. We may say “I love you.” You may express other positive emotions towards an individual. You might have more eye contact. You may want to hold each other, hug, be intimate, more smiling, more shared time, or reminiscing on moments and memories.
There are also aftereffects from the emotion of love. You may filter out the negative qualities of an individual. You may only want to see the positive in everything they do. You may feel forgetful or distracted with people that you love.
Here’s your challenge and invitation: Think about all those associations and words of love discussed here and find ways you can cultivate those more towards yourself. How can you think about your accomplishments and traits about yourself that you could adore or admire? How can you be kinder to yourself? Practice liking yourself.
#love #emotions #findinglove #mentalhealth #lovingyourself #identifyinglove #caring #affection
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The first program The Life After Series launched was the LifeAfterPornography (LAP) online self-directed program. With LAP, we guide people through a 10 week, program based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) shown effective in research to reduce unwanted pornography.
The LifeAfterPornography Online Program: www.LifeAfterPornography.com
LifeAfterPornography Free Training: http://www.lifeafterpornography.com/LAP-starter-pack
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The information provided in this resource is educational in nature and is intended to be used only as a general educational resource. No therapist-patient relationship is established by reading or listening to this content. The information provided is not intended to replace professional mental health services and should not be used as psychological advice, diagnosis, or treatment of a mental health problem.
