Contents
“Emotions influence reason much more than vice versa”
Estanislao Bachrach, doctor
Dr. Estanislao Bachrach publishes ‘En el limbo’, a book in which he explains why self-knowledge is the key to achieving everything we want
Running away from emotions is impossible. As much as we do not like them, that we think that we do not feel so much, or things do not affect us, there is nothing to do. Emotions are there and shape us as people: they make us behave the way we do, have the relationships we have and make some decisions and not others.
En ‘In limbo’ (Grijalbo), Dr. Estanislao Bachrach, specialized in molecular biology, seeks to explain how we can become masters of emotions and, rather than control them, realize what they do in us. In general, the professional comments that they have not taught us much about our emotions and, therefore, it is so difficult for us to interact with them. Making the intrinsic emotions in us allies will make us more at peace not only with how we feel, but with the decisions we make.
We spoke on ABC Bienestar with the doctor about that ‘design’ of one’s own emotions, and how through self-knowledge we can find the point where we can accept what we feel and use it to our advantage.
Do you think that we generally don’t know our own emotions?
It depends, there are people who do and people who don’t. What I have clear is that in formal education, both in Spain and in Latin America, which is what I know, not much is taught about our emotions: how we feel, why we feel that way, what we can do to feel different, or how those emotions impact our performance, behaviors or decision making. I would say that in general no, we do not know them, but there are people who have that innate talent, or who have learned to do it.
Why, if emotions are the backbone of our life and experiences, do we sometimes put them so far behind?
I think it has to do with what I was already saying: everything we do has to do with how we feel. They do not teach us to realize that, everything we feel impacts the decisions we make, including how we think and behave. Perhaps we put them aside because they can scare us, they taught us that they were wrong, because we know that they are so important or because we do not even realize that we feel them …
And, even if we are not paying attention to them, or we are actively ignoring them, do emotions affect us when we feel them?
All the time we feel, there is no such thing as not feeling something. These emotions have to do with different degrees of energy that we have in the body, and different degrees of pleasure. We go from absolute displeasure to total pleasure. All those emotions that are generated in the head and go down to the body affect how we think, because if I feel insecure or unmotivated, I will probably start thinking things like that I will not be able or I will not be useful. That dynamic between emotion and thought is there, even if we don’t pay attention to it. All the time it influences our decision making.
Can emotions teach us things about ourselves that we don’t know first?
Emotions are all the time impacting our day to day and at first, we may not be aware. That is why self-knowledge is essential. Under different circumstances and contexts, this teaches us what our thinking tendency is, how we usually behave in different situations … but getting there involves an introspective work of knowing and listening to ourselves, and seeing how we move in life. From that we can begin to change: think and feel differently.
What is the first step to take to begin to live in peace with our emotions?
Again, I think it all comes down to one word: self-knowledge. I’m not a fan of any particular discipline, but knowing yourself involves beginning to understand how we feel in different situations and ways of thinking. When we begin to understand that, and to know ourselves, we can begin to accept that this is so, or that we can change it.
Do you consider that everyone is capable of emotional self-regulation?
Yes, I think that self-regulation is exactly the same as learning to play the piano, or play tennis, or cook. There are tools, disciplines and methods that allow you to learn to regulate ourselves emotionally. I am clear that, with effort, patience and commitment, if one begins to practice these techniques, one ends up regulating only emotionally. There are people who even do it very well without realizing it.
What balance should we find between emotions and reasoning?
Because of how the brain is made up, balance is impossible because emotions have much more power, impact and influence on reason than vice versa. When one analyzes the brain, the limbic area of emotions, it runs to the side of reason with many ‘giant highways’, whereas from reason to the limbic system there is only one ‘little street’.
Chemically, emotions influence our reason much more than vice versa. We are emotional beings who have learned to think. We overvalue reason a lot, we are all the time justifying our emotions, concluding that what we decide is rationally, but it is likely that those decisions were made more by how we feel and how we want to feel than by how we think.
Emotion and reason ‘chat’ all the time: sometimes they collaborate, sometimes they compete, but emotions are always going to win unless you realize that you take those emotions on an emotional level. And that famous ‘realizing’ is the first step to knowing ourselves and emotions. ‘Realizing’ is the key and, from this, one can start working to know how to regulate oneself, make better decisions, regret less of the decisions one makes and, therefore, be happier.