EMOTIONS
Emotion is any strong feeling about somebody or something. Everybody feels an emotion. The enigmatic nature of emotion may be one reason science has long neglected it. But there are other reasons as well. The way we normally know emotions is through feelings, which are elusive, capricious, and probably changed by the very act of observing them. Above all, they are observable only in the mind’s eye of the emoter. Feelings, therefore, elude science, which aspires for an objective database in which observers can agree on raw data accessible to many observers. Accordingly, some have argued that the subjective nature of feelings excludes them from the realm of science.
As a social worker, a great deal can be learned about mental capacities and emotional state simply by interacting with an individual. A social worker can ask questions throughout an encounter with an individual or a client to gather data about the person and observe the appropriateness of emotions and ideas. Emotions evolved because they serve useful purposes. Sometimes an individual might be served by extreme manifestations of emotion, such as severe depression or chronic anger.
A person’s degree of stress, depression, or fear, for example, can influence health beliefs and practices. The manner in which a person handles stress throughout each phase of life will influence the way the person reacts to illness. A person who is generally very calm may have little emotional response during illness, whereas an individual unable to cope emotionally with the threat of illness may either overreact to illness and assume it is life threatening or deny the presence of symptoms and not take any therapeutic action.
As an example, there are some people who display anger that is not in proportion to its stimulus. A woman may have her ordinary vase broken by someone else, normally the reaction would be dismay and anger. But if the woman would exhibit a rage and perhaps do something outrageous to hurt the person who broke the vase, then that wouldn’t be a normal reaction. The woman would need to undergo some form of counseling to express her anger. She should not vent it out on the person.
Another example would be individuals who are experiencing sorrow, grief, and depressions because of the death of a loved one. Although these emotions are healthy expressions, they should not be allowed to continue for years. If these emotions persist, then perhaps it is time for the individual to see a counselor or a social worker.
As a social worker, there are several ways to improve a situation wherein a client or individual is showing extreme manifestations of emotion, such as severe depression or chronic anger. A social worker can use therapeutic communication techniques towards the person experiencing the emotion. These are specific responses that encourage the expression of feelings and ideas and also convey the social worker’s acceptance and respect.
First way is to share empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and accept another person’s reality, to accurately perceive feelings, and to communicate this understanding to the other. When an individual is experiencing hurt, confusion, depression, anger, anxiety, uncertainty, or terror, then an understanding is called for.
To express empathy, the social worker reflects understanding of the importance of what has been communicated by the individual on a feeling level. Such empathic understanding would require the social worker to be both sensitive and imaginative, especially if the social worker has not experienced similar situations as that of the client or the individual having problems.
Statements reflecting empathy are highly effective because they tell the person that the social worker heard the feeling content, as well as factual content, of the communication. Empathy statements are neutral and nonjudgmental. They can be used to establish trust in very difficult situations such as when the individual is very angry or very depressed.
Another way is sharing of hope. Everyone knows that hope is essential for healing and learn to communicate a sense of possibility with others. Appropriate encouragement and positive feedback are important in fostering hope and self confidence and for helping people achieve their potential and reach their goals. Sharing a vision of the future and reminding others of their resources and strengths can also strengthen hope.
Sharing feelings is also another way. Emotions are subjective feelings that result from ones thought and perceptions. It might be that a person displays anger but deep inside it is not only anger that the person feels. Therefore it is needed that the individual has to vocalize out what he or she really feels. Feelings are not right, wrong, good, or bad, although they may be pleasant or unpleasant. If feelings are not expressed, stress and illness may worsen, which would also worsen how a person would react to his or her environment.
Social workers can help their clients and other individuals express emotions by making observations, acknowledging feelings, encouraging communication, giving permission to express negative feelings, and modeling healthy emotional self-expression. At times, the individual may direct anger or frustration prompted by a situation toward the social worker who is counseling, but the social worker should not take such expressions personally. The social worker must think that taking out anger or frustration is healthy and it just so happens that at that time the individual decides to vent out the anger to the social worker.
When social workers deal with their clients they must be aware of their own emotions, because feelings are difficult to hide. Sharing emotion makes the social worker more human and may even be viewed by the client as a friend and can bring them both closer.
Indeed, emotions are observable by an outsider, but only if we reject the notion of feelings as the raw data of emotion. The uniquely human ability of language provides a means for people to make their feelings known to the outside world, even though putting words to emotional experience poses challenges for the verbal community.
All the ways to improve a situation wherein a client or individual is showing extreme manifestations of emotion mentioned involve verbal communication between the social worker and the individual affected. However, one other way is to use silence, as opposed to verbally communicating. It takes time and experience to become comfortable with silence. Most people have a natural tendency to fill empty spaces with words, but sometimes what those spaces really need is time for the social worker and the client to observe one another, sort out feelings, think how to say things, and consider what has been communicated. Silence can prompt people to talk. Silence allows the individual to think and gain insight.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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