IMAGE:EMMA HEPBURN,FROM ATOOLKITFOR YOUR EMOTIONS
If we put 20 people in a room with spiders, their body and brain responses and emotional experiences would vary. Even two people who describe a similar emotion, such as feeling scared, might have very different body and brain responses. When my children see a spider and I tell them, ‘There’s nothing to be scared of’, I am factually incorrect. My brain may not be creating a body sensation that’s understood as fear, but if their brains are predicting differently, creating a body response that they understand as fear, that is entirely real and valid. So, my response is dismissive of the emotion they are experiencing. Sorry, kids!