For years, society has exalted the value of logic and rationality. Therefore, we believe that acting rationally and objectively is the best option. However, this isn’t always the case; in some cases, it can lead to genuine cognitive asphyxiation.
Our “cognitive” brain is responsible for regulating conscious attention and emotional reactions before they become disproportionate. In a way, this control exerted by the “cognitive” brain frees us from what could be a tyranny of emotions, a life completely ruled by instincts.
Research conducted at Stanford University has revealed the role of this “cognitive” brain. When participants looked at unpleasant photos of mutilated bodies or disfigured faces, their emotional brains reacted immediately. However, if they tried to control their emotions, cortical regions took over and blocked the activity of the emotional brain.
From this perspective, we can understand how the “cognitive” brain can save us unnecessary suffering and also prevent our emotional reactions from getting out of hand. However, what may seem positive at first glance carries a great risk: by resorting to reason, we can end up losing touch with the emotional brain and its cries for help—what is known as “cognitive asphyxiation.”
It is more difficult to make decisions when the emotional brain is “off”
Excessive control of emotions and feelings can lead to an insensitive temperament. When the brain doesn’t allow emotional information to play its part, other problems arise. On the one hand, it’s more difficult to make decisions because we don’t experience any “inner” preferences—that is, we don’t perceive those sensations in the body that tell us which path to follow, and which are merely a “visceral” echo of our emotions.
Due to cognitive asphyxiation, we can see people who have highly developed intellectual abilities but have neglected their emotions. For these people, decision-making is difficult because they get lost in endless considerations of details; they have no instinct or sixth sense to guide them; they have lost the emotional compass that tips the balance and helps us decide.
In fact, the emotional brain is just as important as the cognitive brain, because it’s primarily responsible for alerting us to any potential danger. The emotional brain evaluates information from the environment and can trigger the fight-or-flight response, which can keep us safe if our lives are in danger. It’s also responsible for alerting us when a decision isn’t in our best interest because it could cause us emotional harm. The emotional brain is a jealous guardian that can also be very useful when making decisions.
In fact, a particularly interesting study conducted at the University of Amsterdam found that when people have to choose a painting, thinking rationally about the details isn’t the best option. In fact, after a month, the people most satisfied with their choice were those who followed their intuition, who let their emotional brain speak.
Cognitive asphyxia kills us little by little
Cognitive asphyxiation also has serious consequences for our well-being. Allowing the cognitive brain to “tune out” emotions means we won’t be able to perceive the small warning signals sent by the limbic system. This means we’ve lost connection with our deepest self, ultimately violating our values and causing ourselves to suffer, perhaps tying ourselves to a job or a relationship that doesn’t truly satisfy us.
A perfect example of cognitive asphyxiation is seen in men who learned, as children, that their emotions were unacceptable. They grew up hearing that “boys don’t cry,” so they learned to repress their feelings and later find it very difficult to express them. However, it has been proven that repressing emotions doesn’t calm them; we won’t feel better by hiding the pain.
Furthermore, repressing emotions in favor of reason can not only make us very unhappy but can also translate into physical problems. In fact, illnesses such as stress, unexplained fatigue, gastrointestinal disorders, skin problems, heart disease, and recurrent infections are all rooted in a pattern of emotional repression.
When we suppress or hide emotions instead of expressing them, they end up causing health problems that can be very serious. In this regard, a study conducted at the University of Berkeley concluded that repressing emotions weighs more heavily on our heart and arteries than the emotions themselves, even though they have a negative valence.
In this experiment, the researchers observed that emotions are very intense reactions that trigger physiological changes. However, to control emotions, we must initiate a process of inhibition. In theory, suppressing them shouldn’t provoke physiological activation, but it turns out that’s not the case. In fact, repressing emotions produces an increase in somatic activity and heart rate, as well as sympathetic activation. All of this suggests that attempting to suppress emotions, both negative and positive, has a high physical cost.
Emotional repression comes at a high cost, both to our psychological balance and our physical health. Emotions are not our enemy; they are signals we must pay attention to. The secret lies not in hiding them, but in experiencing them and overcoming them.
References:
Wiseman, R. (2009) 59 seconds.Think a litle, change a lot. Nueva York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Dijksterhuis, A., & van Olden, Z. (2006) On the benefits of thinking unconsciously: Unconscious thought increases post-choice satisfaction. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology; 42: 627–631.
Gross, J. & Levenson, R. (1997) Hiding Feelings: The Acute Effects of Inhibiting Negative and Positive Emotion. Journal of Abnonnal Psychology; 106(1): 95-103.
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