Why do different emotions have different physical effects

For example, how come you can feel sick from anxiety, but not from anger? Does the HPA axis behave differently with different emotions?

 

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I'm guessing that emotions are not only mental, but also physical in a way, giving rise to the different reactions.

 

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Different emotions cause the release of different chemicals from the brain. These chemicals react differently with the body.

 

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But what about anger and fear, they both induce fight or flight, yet have different effects, how does that work?

 

That's true, those are both part of flight or fight and adrenaline is released in both. However, although both emotions trigger the release of epinephrine and norepinephrine, fear releases more epinephrine that norepinephrine. The reverse is true for anger. So fear is mostly epinephrine release while anger is mostly a release of the latter, making the chemical reactions within the body different. In addition, prolonged feelings of anger trigger the release of testosterone which would also affect how your body feels in a way you don't experience with feelings of fear.

 

So when you're angry and you feel like there's some kind of force locked up in your body that you need to discharge and you want to hit something, which hormone causes that sensation?

 

That would be a combination of the norepinephrine and testosterone. Mostly norepinephrine. The flight or fight response is caused by norepinephrine and epinephrine. Whichever you have more of determines which you do. When you have more epinephrine (fear) your brain is releasing that because it has determined that the person or thing that is threatening you is something you can't win against and could endanger your survival. This is the flight response and you leave the situation. When you have more norepinephrine (anger), your brain is releasing that because it has determined that what is threatening you is something you can handle and beat. This is the fight response, and it causes aggression which makes you want to hit something. What you actually want to hit is the thing threatening you. However, when this is just a situation that's making you angry, it's impossible to physically hit a situation so you hit something else. When it is a person that's causing your anger, you can hit them, but most people consciously know it would be illegal and socially unacceptable to do so, so you hit something else. Sometimes, people are too angry to consciously care, and they do hit the person making them angry.

 

You know you said the brain releases epinephrine and norepinephrine? Are we talking neurotransmitters produced in the brain or the stuff released from the medulla of the adrenal glands? Or both?

How does testosterone get into it? Is that also a fight or flight hormone?

 

It's secreted by the pituitary gland.

The testosterone allows the person to have greater strength if a fight does come up. The angrier you are, the more testosterone.

 

I would call that the Boyfriend/ Husband triggering hormone....

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Mrow, which is secreted by the pituitary, the catecholamines or testosterone?

(Thanks for answering my incessant stream of questions by the way,

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)

 

Haha no problem. The norepinephrine is secreted by the pituitary. The testosterone is secreted by the adrenal glands in the case of anger.

 

O_O

I assume that would be why you often become sexually excited after an adrenaline rush?

Next time someone accuses me of being too masculine, I'm just gonna lay the blame with my adrenal glands.

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Oh, I got another question then I swear I'll shut up...

How come fear and anxiety are 2 different things? During a state of fear you still feel strong and intense, even if that is oriented towards running rather than fighting. But during lingering anxiety you often feel sick or "fluttery"....why is that?

 

Why does deep depression give you an "ache" in the chest? What about when it feels like your brain is vibrating or quivering in your head? Why do headaches move around?

 

About the headaches, I seem to remember that they can be caused by blood vessels dilating, or contracting, I cannot remember which...so if that started in one area and the veins contracted in one direction, the pain would seem to move around.

 

mrow what causes the freeze responce?
after all its not just fight or flight but rather fight, flight OR freeze. I have only experianced that parlisation once in my life when i witnessed the motercylest die in front of me and i saw the extent of his injuries. I litterly couldnt move

 

Wouldn't that be emotional shock rather than the effects of adrenaline, NE et al?

 

not acording to the psychologist at the TAC i spoke to at the time. BTW, even if it is emotional "shock" (sorry but i HATE it when people talk about shock relating to things other than the inserfeciant perfusion of cells, thats the correct use of the word but the media got a hold of it) what causes it?

it still has to have some trigger in the brain and its directly linked to the fear responce, look at animals when confrunted by a preditor. not all of them run or fight, alot of them freeze and relie on there camoflage to protect them

 

That's probably what it is then, a survival instinct. There's certain circumstances in which it would probably save you, for example if attacked by a big cat or certain snakes the safest response is to freeze, because there's a mechanism in their brain that tells them to react to motion, to attack a moving object, ie, you or other prey.