Emotions 101 https://goo.gl/aWdiUm Angela Su CTA Center for Organizing and Bargaining School Finance Specialist Emotions 101 Introductions Safe/brave learning space The Language of Emotions, Karla McLaren Framework Engage The Brain, Allison Posey Permission To Feel, Marc Brackett What role do emotions play in teaching & learning? Work with a partner/table to make a list of how emotion impacts teaching & learning Without emotions Can’t make simple cognitive Can’t understand social world Can’t effectively learn decisions Emotions help us attach value and meaning to data – Action-requiring neurological programs What are – Coined by Antonio Damasio and used extensively in Karla Emotions? McLaren’s work – Each emotion has a specific purpose and message – There is a way to work within each emotion, as opposed to transcending or avoiding it – Emotions come in different intensities – Emotions come in multiples – Emotions can be out of kilter – Emotions are not negative or positive (except in context) Feelings vs Emotions Emotions are Feelings are physiological the signalers of conscious what is going awareness of on in your a emotions. world. Emotional Granularity Experience the world and yourself, more precisely Allows people to be more agile in emotional regulation • Less likely to drink excessively or retaliate aggressively • Helps people live longer and healthier lives Finely tailored emotions gives the brain more tools for handling life’s challenges and often encourage a feeling of agency which leads to action EG is a skill and can be improved by learning new emotionally descriptive words and meanings Emotional Vocabulary List INTENSITIES EMOTION GROUPS – Soft (flow) – Angers – Medium (mood- – Shame/Guilt state) – Fear/Anxiety – Intense – Jealousy/Envy (extremes) – Happiness – Sadness/Grief/Depression – Depression & Suicidal Urges Expression, Repression, and… Expression – “Sharing” the Relies on the outside world to interpret our emotions emotion with the Is sometimes healthy, but can make us dependent on external forces (books, friends, outside world in the family) for relief hope it will be noticed, honored, Can be socially difficult, especially in extreme expression and transformed Relies on our interior selves to accept and “deal” with emotions Since emotions come from inside, shoving them back down without processing them creates a short circuit in the psyche Repression – stuffing emotion down into The unconscious will likely increase the intensity of the emotion and bring it up again our psyches (unresolved mood-states and emotional suffering) or give up and stuff the emotional energy deeper. The next time the instinct may manifest in an unrecognizable way, but without a loss of intensity. Often intense energy that is pushed down changes into something else like compulsion, addictions, neuroses and the like. Channeling – The middle ground is channeling – To direct or convey emotions along a chosen pathway in a conscientious manner – Accepts emotions as important and useful messengers that help us to learn and evolve – Listen to emotions, feel them consciously, name them correctly, and express them in ways that will bolster our self- image and our relationships, rather than tearing them down – Emotions contains vital skills and abilities that help us to survive and thrive Practice 1. An expressive, aggressive response that employs some boundary breaking 2. A repressive, passive response that lets me get away with murder 3. A focused channeling response that sets clear behavioral boundaries for both of us WARNING: YOU WILL BE INSULTED Have you always been such a bad teacher or are you just lazy? Goal – Flow With, Emotional skills you already have Rather Than – Emotional Skills Inventory Being Overtaken – Share with a partner: By Emotions – Which emotion do you feel confident in using effectively (flow state)? Why? – Which emotion do you feel you could improve your dexterity using? Why? Practice 1. An openly expressive envy that employs some lashing out 2. A repressive, passive envy that refuses to address the situation openly 3. An honorably channeled envy that utilizes your intuition and your boundary- setting abilities to help you understand your current connection to resources and recognition. You have a good relationship with the principal of your school, she is respected and generally treats employees fairly. On Monday she offered to send all of the staff in your grade level/subject area, except you, to a highly desirable all-day seminar (not put on by the district) on a topic that is educationally relevant and in which you are deeply passionate, in a super nice location a few weeks from now. She has not spoken to you about it and it is early on Wednesday. What do you do and say today at work? Tools To Help Regulate Your Emotions – Empathic Mindfulness Skills (McLaren) Grounding Slow breathing, meditation/ visualization (using flow state of sadness) that allows ‘let go’ Boundary An imaginary practice that creates a boundary representation around the physical body Setting (arms length sphere of safety) Burning Visualization activity that acknowledges your distress (expectations, stances, beliefs, rules, ideas, or relationships) by imagining a parchment, writing, speaking, thinking, the distress Contracts on to the page, and rolling it up tightly. Throw it out of the boundary space and burn it. Conscious Private ritual activity where you swear, whine, speak out about the frustrations, Complaining hopelessness, and stupidity of your situation. Intentional process of energy refill. Imagine a beautiful favorite place inside your Rejuvenation boundary and let your body and emotions relax within the space until you feel rejuvenated (recommend a list of personal healthy rejuvenation practices to pull from) Mood Meter - RULER (Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence) Skills that help us accurately Noticing a change in your own identify and decode what we Recognizing the occurrence of thoughts, energy, or body or someone an emotion else’s expression, body language, or and others are feeling. voice Understanding the cause of the emotion how it influences thoughts and decisions RULER Label the emotion Knowing how and when to display Expressing the emotion emotion given the setting and social context Skills that help us manage those emotions to achieve desired outcomes. Monitoring, tempering, and modifying Regulating the emotion emotional reactions in healthy ways RULER Emotion Regulation 1. Mindful breathing 2. Forward-looking strategies (avoidance) – Anticipate something will cause an unwanted emotion and steer clear of it or modify our environment 3. Attention-shifting strategies (distraction) – Temper the impact of an emotion by diverting our attention away from its source 4. Cognitive-reframing strategies (reappraisal) – Find a new way of seeing the thing that is triggering the emotion 5. Meta-moment – Pause (activate the parasympathetic nervous system) to lower our emotional temperature, see your best self, strategize and act Supporting the Emotions of Teaching Teaching is emotional work (bring that work into the open) – Emotional labor or work - look at the often unwritten emotional and empathic behaviors that are expected in the workplace. – Guides on employee productivity ignore unsupported emotion work and how it can drive behavior, undermine relationships, and lead to needless burnout. – Is your emotion work being acknowledged by anyone? Is it appreciated? Is it even mentioned? Could it become more intentional and conscious? And does it work for everyone? – Create an emotionally well-regulated and comfortable environment where emotions work. – Think UDL for the teaching environment. Wrap Up/Resources – The Language of Emotions, Karla McLaren – The Art of Empathy, Karla McLaren – Engage The Brain, Allison Posey – Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain, Antonio Damasio – Permission To Feel, Marc Brackett – http://ei.yale.edu/ruler/ Mood Meter App – The Body Keeps Score, Bessel Van Der Kolk – Are You in Despair? That’s Good, Lisa Feldman Barrett – https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/05/opinion/sunday/a re-you-in-despair-thats-good.html?_r=0 1 Your Emotional Vocabulary List ~~~~~ANGER, APATHY, and HATRED~~~~~ Soft Anger and Apathy Annoyed ~ Apathetic ~ Bored ~ Certain ~ Cold ~ Crabby ~ Cranky ~ Critical ~ Cross ~ Detached ~ Displeased ~ Frustrated ~ Impatient ~ Indifferent ~ Irritated ~ Peeved ~ Rankled Medium (or Mood-State) Anger Affronted ~ Aggravated ~ Angry ~ Antagonized ~ Arrogant ~ Bristling ~ Exasperated ~ Incensed ~ Indignant ~ Inflamed ~ Mad ~ Offended ~ Resentful ~ Riled up ~ Sarcastic Intense Anger and Hatred Aggressive ~ Appalled ~ Belligerent ~ Bitter ~ Contemptuous ~ Disgusted ~ Furious ~ Hateful Hostile ~ Irate ~ Livid ~ Menacing ~ Outraged ~ Ranting ~ Raving ~ Seething ~ Spiteful ~ Vengeful ~ Vicious ~ Vindictive ~ Violent ~~~~~~~~~SHAME and GUILT~~~~~~~~~~ Soft Shame and Guilt Abashed ~ Awkward ~ Discomfited ~ Flushed ~ Flustered ~ Hesitant ~ Humble ~ Reticent ~ Self-conscious ~ Speechless ~ Withdrawn Medium (or Mood-State) Shame and Guilt Ashamed ~ Chagrined ~ Contrite ~ Culpable ~ Embarrassed ~ Guilty ~ Humbled ~ Intimidated Penitent ~ Regretful ~ Remorseful ~ Reproachful ~ Rueful ~ Sheepish Intense Shame and Guilt Belittled ~ Degraded ~ Demeaned ~ Disgraced ~ Guilt-ridden ~ Guilt-stricken ~ Humiliated ~ Mortified ~ Ostracized ~ Self-condemning ~ Self-flagellating ~ Shamefaced ~ Stigmatized ~~~~~~~FEAR, ANXIETY and PANIC~~~~~~~ Soft Fear and Anxiety Alert ~ Apprehensive ~ Cautious ~ Concerned