Russ Harris

Scientists have a hard time reaching any kind of consensus on what emotions actually are, but most experts agree on three things:

1. Emotions originate from the middle layer of the brain, known as the ‘midbrain’.

2. At the core of any emotion is a complex series of physical changes throughout the body.

3. These physical changes prepare us to take action.

Emotions are closely tied up with thoughts, memories and images. For instance, when you’re feeling afraid, you may have thoughts about what might go wrong, memories of other times you’ve felt afraid or mental images of anything from a car crash to a heart attack. One particular type of thought process is so intimately linked to our emotions that some experts consider it a core component. This is the process of ‘making sense of’ or ‘giving meaning to’ our experience. For example, with sadness you have a sense of loss, and with fear you have a sense of danger.

Do Our Emotions Control Our Behaviour?
The answer to this is, quite simply, no! Our emotions definitely do not control our behaviour. F