Frisson is an emotion that is difficult to describe
Many music lovers feel a pleasant shiver throughout their body while listening to their favorite compositions. Such a surge of emotions is familiar to many music lovers and even to those who have listened to music at least once. However, few people know the term that describes this feeling. And he is! Frisson is a word borrowed from French and means “trembling.”
A large amount of research has been conducted on this topic for almost half a century. Are all people capable of reacting to music this way? Why does a person get goosebumps and so-called “goose bumps” appear? What causes this reaction? What kind of music can you achieve this state of mind with? Why do humans enjoy music, unlike animals? Scientists are still studying this issue, and they have some information about this phenomenon of human physiology.
Emotions and relationships
Unexpressed emotions continue to affect you and your loved ones, even when you forget about it. New suppressed feelings are layered on old ones, only aggravating internal discomfort, which sooner or later turns into constant irritability and anxiety. Emotions accumulate their charge, as if in a battery, ready to explode at any moment. As a result, people close and dear to us usually suffer from this. After all, despite the fact that we want to protect them, our loved ones fall under a crushing surge of emotions that finally burst out.
Such emotional outbursts, which can lead to neurotic reactions in the future, are almost impossible to control. The result is severe family quarrels, problems at work, divorces and many other unpleasant things that could have been avoided without hiding your feelings in the first place. In this case, emotions become the source of problems. It is quite difficult to deal with an emotional outburst and one can come to the conclusion that the approach is reasonable, the essence of which is not to accumulate negative emotions in oneself.
The results of many studies by scientists from all over the world, psychologists, sociologists, indicate the need to talk through all aspects that, in your understanding, are unpleasant and could potentially lead to negative consequences. Discussing topics that are exciting and difficult for you with loved ones can become a panacea that can relieve you of a rather heavy burden in the future.
Taking the first steps towards revealing your emotions is quite difficult, so you need to be prepared for the fact that the first time you most likely will not be able to express everything that you have been avoiding for so long. If necessary, you should not deny yourself the services of professionals, psychologists or psychotherapists. In our fairly orthodox society, many people think that going to a consultation with a psychologist is beneath their dignity. People do not want to admit the existence of a problem as such, they do not want to let someone into their innermost, purely personal space, or they perceive psychologists as people who are unable to solve real problems.
Also, going to a specialist is strongly associated with the presence of mental pathology, but remember that this is not the case. After all, psychologists, psychotherapists and psychoanalysts solve the problems of mentally healthy people, who, however, may also have their own difficulties. But mental pathology is the lot of psychiatrists, whose patients are often previously quite healthy people who did not pay attention to the presence of warning signs in time and did not initially turn to the right specialist.
Remember, fear of expressing emotions is not a pathology at all , but it can develop into one if you ignore it. Is your reluctance to honestly admit to yourself that you have a problem worth your health?
Scientific data
Mitchell Clover, a graduate student who conducted research on the human body's responses to musical stimuli, published a paper in 2020. It talks about the mechanism of this process, its causes, and also which people have a tendency towards this.
About 55-80 percent of people were in an emotional state of frisson. However, not everyone gets goosebumps while listening to music. Why? It turns out that only some individuals who have a number of qualities have the ability to fall into a state of frisson. The most important criterion is the degree to which a person is immersed in the composition. In a number of experiments, the largest number of subjects “with shivers” had such character traits as openness to new things, have a good imagination and often reflect.
The cause of frisson is not only music: this condition also occurs due to climax moments in movies or observing amazingly beautiful natural landscapes. Although this feeling is a trigger for the body, unlike stress, it is pleasant.
The main reason for trembling in the body while playing music is contrast. That is, the melody may not be very harmonious, but the more unexpected transitions it has, the more likely it is to fall into a state of frisson. This phenomenon of the human body works on the principle of polarity (hot-cold).
method 3. NEUROGRAPHICS
“Let’s make a cheerful butterfly from this sad platinum caterpillar.”
I recently learned about neurography, tried it and was pleased. It was invented by psychologist and business coach Pavel Piskarev. Neurography can be used for various purposes, for example, to design your future or heal a headache. But I use it to get rid of negative emotions.
To learn how to do this, I watched two video tutorials, and it was enough for me. The video clearly describes all stages of the work: 1 - throw out the emotion; 2—smooth it out; 3—fit into living space; 4—fix the result and release.
I will not describe the methodology further, but will give links to these lessons:
Quick overview in 7 minutes Long and detailed lesson for 2 hours
In my opinion, the time spent learning the instrument is worth it. Neurography is reminiscent of a chemical laboratory in which we can change the content of our inner world. We can take a negative emotion and, by passing it through glass flasks, springs and tubes, get something positive out of it.
Working through one emotion takes about an hour, this should be done alone, you need markers and a sheet of paper. It’s nice to draw neurographics - it calms you down, colored markers lift your spirits.
But the main thing is that the problem we are working on is really starting to change its shape. You sit down to draw with one person, and finish the drawing with a completely different person. Fears decrease, tension subsides, and the attitude towards the problem changes. In this way, the effect of neurographics is similar to the effect of the Master of Fairy Tales cards: both lead to insights and discoveries, but in different ways. The Master of Fairy Tales works through seeing the situation from the outside, and neurography biologically transforms a negative mood into a positive one.
One day, when I started drawing one emotion, I realized that the root was much deeper than I thought. This realization made me happy, because I would not have gotten to it analytically.
In some ways, neurography is reminiscent of coloring. But coloring acts as a calming meditation for me, and after a while I lose patience with the monotony.
The process of neurography is more fun because of the different tasks at the stages, and it solves the desired problem more clearly. The result of neurography is more predictable and guaranteed than coloring.
I like the first stage of drawing for the feeling of release - you need to raise an emotion and draw it on the sheet with a quick movement. I also love the last stage, when waves are drawn across the entire sheet, which seem to consolidate the changes and set one in a positive mood.
I tried neurography only for emotions from unpleasant situations and for psychological blocks, but, in my opinion, it is perfect for working on relationships: resentment towards people, irritation, anger.
Why does the body react this way?
Some experts and scientists believe that goosebumps and chills are an evolutionary rudiment. Thus, according to this thesis, the body of an ancient person with a greater degree of hairiness had thermoregulation under the hair. By the same principle, residents of southern countries have curly hair. However, wool, unlike hair, warmed the entire surface of the body.
With the evolution of man and his acquisition of a species close to the modern one, the trigger has changed. Now the body's reaction - trembling and chills - are a consequence of sudden changes in the emotional background, and not temperature. Frisson is primarily emotional stress. We can conclude that a stimulus can be any action that can cause a strong emotional breakthrough.
human emotions: How to cope with emotions
Controlling your emotions will allow you to use your own psychological resources more gently and effectively. Only a few manage to achieve absolute success in this area. For example, Buddhists spend hundreds and hundreds of hours in meditation in order to cope with their inner emotional world. Through many years of practice and meditation, they achieve impressive results. But this does not mean that each of us does not need to strive for this. Let's be honest, it is unlikely that any of you will achieve the same results, because you need to spend years, or even decades.
You can't control what happens, but you can control your reaction to it. It's all about perception. © Marnie Olivia Olson
However, for everyday life, simpler recommendations will be sufficient. An important thesis in solving your emotional experiences can be the phrase: “The main thing is not the problem, but its solution.”
Let's consider a few recommendations:
- Don't be afraid of failure. Often people focus their attention too much on the situation, on the negative side of the process, and at the first failure they immediately withdraw into themselves, without really trying to make an effort and properly think through the possibilities and options for their actions. Don’t be afraid of the first failures; even negative experiences are priceless, because you have already seen the problem and decided to fight it.
- Avoid emotionally unstable people. Another useful tool on the path to peace of mind can be avoiding communication with overly emotional people. Remember if there are people around you who are prone to excessive emotional reactions to stimuli. Avoid frequent contact with them, as they will have a negative impact on your already unstable emotional state and negate the results already achieved.
- Surround yourself with emotionally stable people. Calm, focused people in your environment, on the contrary, can become a lifeline that you can use.
- To prevent emotions from becoming a source of problems, try to avoid emotional overload. Being in situations in which emotional stress occurs too often is extremely undesirable. Even people who by nature have a very stable psyche and good health exhaust their limit of psychological resilience very quickly. Remember firefighters, criminologists, emergency doctors. Each of these professions is characterized by constant and persistent stress and, as a result, emotional burnout. Of course, leaving a job that suits you well in terms of career growth, financial security or any other benefits is not easy. But is money worth your health and relationships with loved ones? Your task is to find the most comfortable and natural environment for yourself in which you can do the things you need without much risk to your nervous system.
- Take breaks. Of course, there are situations that require your attention and your actions simply immediately and do not allow any delay. But let's be honest, what percentage of them are truly urgent? Most things don't need your super-fast response time. Calm down, catch your breath and make the right decision carefully.
What kind of music does frisson occur to: the opinions of scientists
Many physiologists and specialists who have conducted research on this phenomenon have identified the ideal music for the galvanic skin effect. The compositions used in the experiment include the first minutes of Bach's St. John Passion, Chopin, Vangelis' Mythodea: Movement 6 and others. These songs gave listeners goosebumps. The main feature of these compositions is the unexpected musical transition.
If a participant in the experiment had goosebumps running through his body, he pressed a special button. The equipment recorded the following pattern: the most clicks occurred at the climax of the work. A discussion on this topic has been created on the Reddit platform: each participant posts music and moments from films that had a triggering effect on them.
Category of people susceptible to frisson
As mentioned earlier, about 55-80 percent of people were susceptible to this emotional state. After analyzing all the participants’ questionnaires, experts calculated some criteria. First, the main characteristic of people with feelings of frisson is openness to new experiences. This conclusion is the result of studying statistical tests and questionnaires. Secondly, having a vivid imagination and a love of daydreaming have a positive effect on the frequency of frisson. Thirdly, reflection and introspection also contribute to this phenomenon. Fourthly, the desire for variety in life and the search for new sensations is inherent in people who most often experience “emotional chills.”
From the above we can conclude that only emotional and open subjects were in a state of frisson. However, more reserved and less dreamy people need not worry. After all, this state depends not only on the qualities of the listener, but also on his mood. Almost everyone can experience frisson. It's not difficult, the main thing is to enjoy your favorite music and relax.
Negative emotions: how to protect yourself from emotional outbursts (part 2)
What are emotions and how do they serve us?
Emotions are born from thoughts. Sadness exists in our life only when we have sad thoughts. When we understand that emotions are just an extension of thoughts, they lose their ability to distort our lives and upset us. Just like other thoughts, they will pass. When we stop thinking about them, they die.
Many modern psychological approaches view emotions as tangible objects living in the mind. But emotions are no more real than dreams. No one is afraid that yesterday's dream can affect our lives. If we dreamed that we ran out of gas in the middle of the highway, we would not walk to the gas station early in the morning. Emotions need to be considered in the same way. They can only influence us when we actively think about them. Emotions are mirages of consciousness. Are mirages real? Certainly. Mirages are real phenomena. Any physicist knows that the angle of the sun's rays, the angle of your vision and the slope of the surrounding terrain can all converge and cause you to see water where there is none. The mirage seen from the scene is real.
Now imagine that you are engaged in an intense conversation with a friend. You are both upset and depressed. Suddenly you are informed that there is a fire in the building. You run to help put out the fire. Are you still upset? Of course not. You can't afford to be upset. You must concentrate all your attention on putting out the fire. To some extent, your unpleasant feelings have been replaced by fire. When the fire is put out, will your depressed state return? Most likely no. You will feel relief and joy. The conversation that took place earlier may seem stupid. What happened to the emotions that were so real and important? They are simply temporary weaknesses that are superseded by important events. If emotions can be put on hold in emergency situations, can they be put off at any time? Certainly. They are just illusions. Too often people treat emotions as something that carries information about life. If they feel anger towards someone, they believe that person did something to justify their anger. If they feel dissatisfied, they think that something is wrong with their life.
Emotions never make a statement about what life is like around us. They always make a statement about our momentary perception of life. Emotions are a quality control device for our thinking. They tell us whether we view life with balance and how accurate our judgments are. When we experience dark emotions like anger and despair, we know that we are taking things too personally and have lost sight of the bigger picture. When our feelings are positive and easy, we know that we are looking at life more wisely and in the right perspective. Imagine that you are walking down the street and a passer-by bumps into you. You can respond to this minor incident in a variety of ways:
• If you take this incident as a personal insult, you will say to yourself, “Why did that guy do that? Why is everyone treating me so badly?” You will feel resentment and anger. • If you take the incident less personally without malice, you may think, “Why don’t people watch their step?” You will experience intolerance. • If you look at the incident from a more general perspective, you may find it funny. You may think about the innocent tendency of people to get under each other's feet. As you take the incident less personally, your feelings become more positive. Your emotions are the perfect indicator of how subjectively you view life. Emotions do not provide us with information about the world around us. They serve as a compass that shows the quality of our thinking and ability to intelligently assess the situation.
So, to summarize:
• Don't take negative emotions seriously. They provide information about your level of consciousness, not about the state of the world around you. • When your thinking is clogged with negative emotions, make as few decisions as possible and avoid interacting with others (as much as possible). This will prevent negative emotions from entering your life. • When your mind is preoccupied with negative emotions, calm your thinking until they pass.
Rejoice, enjoy, love!
Photo: Unsplash
