The Body`s Emotional Mechanism
How does the intricate relationship between emotions and bodily changes work? The answer lies in the way the brain and nervous system are set up.
The human brain is somewhat like the central processing unit of a computer: It receives and processes information and controls body movements. Another part of the nervous system, the autonomic nervous system (ANS), is like a video display terminal on which the emotional message from the computer is printed out. We read the message in the form of increased secretion of sweat glands, tightening of the stomach muscles, or other physical reactions.
When you stand in front of a classroom to give a report and your eyes survey the sea of faces waiting for your first world, a message goes from your eyes to your brain, which interprets what the eyes see and sends out its own message: panic. The ANS then “prints out” that message, and your hands turn clammy while your stomach churns.
Reference :Marvin R Levy, Mark Dignan, Janet H Shirreffs, Essentials of Life & Health, Fourth Edition, Random House, New York, 1984.
