Emotional Needs

From The SpiritWiki

Emotional needs include our needs for love, belonging/inclusion, and expression and a powerful need for Attachment.

List of Essential Needs Categories

Seven Essential Needs > Cognitive Needs, Emotional Needs, Environmental Needs

Notes

Emotional needs are important, evolutionarily speaking, since humans have always needed to be in groups to survive and thrive.

They are also important, spiritually speaking, because they drive the organism towards an aligned state which supports subsequent connection.

Sufficient satisfaction of emotional needs leads to, among other things,

  1. Physiological Outcomes: Satisfying emotional needs has been linked to better physiological health. Individuals who feel loved and supported have been found to have lower blood pressure, healthier heart rates, and stronger immune systems.[1][2]
  2. Egoic Outcomes:
  3. Emotional Outcomes: Fulfilling emotional needs contributes to emotional stability and satisfaction. Feelings of acceptance, love, and inclusion are associated with lower levels of stress,[3] anxiety and depression[4] as well as better emotional regulation and overall better resilience,[5][6] notably in adolescents.[7]Satisfaction of emotional needs also leads to increased life satisfaction and overall happiness.[8]
  4. Egoic Outcomes: Enhanced Self-Esteem and Confidence: Emotional support and acceptance can reinforce an individual's self-worth, thus promoting higher self-esteem and confidence.[9]
  5. Cognitive Outcomes: Emotional well-being, fostered by satisfying emotional needs, has been linked to improved cognitive function. Positive emotional states can enhance memory, attention. Feeling emotionally secure can enable better focus on cognitive tasks[10]and problem-solving skills.[11]
  6. Social Outcomes:
  7. Spiritual Outcomes: When emotional needs are met, individuals may experience enhanced spiritual well-being. This includes a greater sense of purpose, connection to others and the universe, and inner peace.[12] More specifically, satisfaction of emotional needs leads to stronger affective response and control

Failing to meet emotional needs can have a range of negative impacts across physiological, emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and social dimensions.

  1. Physiological Impairments: Chronic emotional distress, caused by unmet emotional needs, can lead to various physiological consequences. Studies have linked emotional stress to health issues such as cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal problems, and weakened immune response.[13] Constant feelings of loneliness and isolation can trigger the body's stress response, leading to elevated levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. Over time, this can lead to physiological issues such as insomnia, digestive problems, heart disease, and a weakened immune system. Research suggests that social isolation and loneliness may even alter genetic expression, leading to increased inflammation and decreased immunity.[14]
  2. Emotional Impairments: Unmet emotional needs often lead to feelings of loneliness, anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression. The absence of emotional support can also increase the risk of mental health disorders.[15]Chronic unmet emotional needs often manifest as feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Individuals may experience low self-esteem and increased vulnerability to mood disorders. They are also more likely to engage in self-destructive behaviors as a means of coping with their emotional pain.[16]
  3. Cognitive Impairments: Research shows that emotional well-being is closely linked to cognitive function. Chronic emotional stress can impair cognitive processes such as attention, memory, and decision-making. Long-term emotional neglect can also lead to cognitive decline in later life.[17][18]
  4. Social Impairments: From a social perspective, unmet emotional needs can lead to difficulties in forming and maintaining healthy relationships. This can result in social withdrawal, lack of empathy, and difficulty in communicating feelings effectively.[19]
  5. Spiritual Impairments: Unmet emotional needs can impact a person's sense of purpose and connectedness, vital elements of spiritual well-being. Feelings of loneliness and isolation may contribute to a sense of existential emptiness and a lack of meaning in life,[20] leaving one without a clear purpose or direction.[21]

From the Literature

"My friends, how desperately do we need to be loved and to love. When Christ said that man does not live by bread alone, he spoke of a hunger. This hunger was not the hunger of the body. It was not the hunger for bread. He spoke of a hunger that begins deep down in the very depths of our being. He spoke of a need as vital as breath. He spoke of our hunger for love.

Love is something you and I must have. We must have it because our spirit feeds upon it. We must have it because without it we become weak and faint. Without love our self-esteem weakens. Without it our courage fails. Without love we can no longer look out confidently at the world. We turn inward and begin to feed upon our own personalities, and little by little we destroy ourselves.

With it we are creative. With it we march tirelessly. With it, and with it alone, we are able to sacrifice for others. Chief Dan George."[22]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Timothy B. Smith, Mark Baker, Tyler Harris, David Stephenson, "Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality: A Meta-Analytic Review," Perspectives on Psychological Science 10, no. 2 (2015): 227-237. 10.1177/1745691614568352
  2. ↑ Sarah Stewart-Brown, "Emotional wellbeing and its relation to health: Physical disease may well result from emotional distress," BMJ 317, no. 7173 (1998): 1608-1609.10.1136/bmj.317.7173.1608
  3. ↑ heldon Cohen and Thomas A. Wills, "Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis," Psychological Bulletin 98, no. 2 (1985): 310-357. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310
  4. ↑ Sarah Stewart-Brown, "Emotional wellbeing and its relation to health: Physical disease may well result from emotional distress," BMJ 317, no. 7173 (1998): 1608-1609. 10.1136/bmj.317.7173.1608
  5. ↑ Loukas, A., & Robinson, S. (2004). "Examining the Moderating Role of Perceived School Climate in Early Adolescent Adjustment." Journal of Research on Adolescence, 14(2), 209-233. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2004.01402004.x
  6. ↑ Repetti, R. L., Taylor, S. E., & Seeman, T. E. (2002). "Risky Families: Family Social Environments and the Mental and Physical Health of Offspring." Psychological Bulletin, 128(2), 330. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.128.2.330
  7. ↑ Qualter, P., Brown, S. L., Munn, P., & Rotenberg, K. J. (2010). "Childhood Loneliness as a Predictor of Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: an 8-Year Longitudinal Study." European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 19(6), 493-501. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-009-0059-y
  8. ↑ Sonja Lyubomirsky, Laura King, and Ed Diener, "The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success?" Psychological Bulletin 131, no. 6 (2005): 803-855. 10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803
  9. ↑ Roy F. Baumeister, Jennifer D. Campbell, Joachim I. Krueger, and Kathleen D. Vohs, "Does High Self-Esteem Cause Better Performance, Interpersonal Success, Happiness, or Healthier Lifestyles?" Psychological Science in the Public Interest 4, no. 1 (2003): 1-44. 10.1111/1529-1006.01431
  10. ↑ Stacey Wood, Eryn Brown, "Insightful problem solving and emotion: A selective review," The Journal of Creative Behavior 45, no. 3 (2011): 204-220.
  11. ↑ Michael A. Yassa, and Maria A. Stark, "Pattern separation in the hippocampus," Trends in Neurosciences 34, no. 10 (2011): 515-525. 10.1016/j.tins.2011.06.006
  12. ↑ Lisa Miller, Brien Kelley, Seungmin Jahng, Roberta Payne, "Spirituality and Health: The Role of Religion," Spirituality in Clinical Practice 1, no. 1 (2014): 42-50. 10.1037/scp0000006
  13. ↑ Salleh, Mohd. Razali, "Life Event, Stress and Illness," The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences 15, no. 4 (2008): 9–18.
  14. ↑ Cole, Steve W., "Social Regulation of Human Gene Expression: Mechanisms and Implications for Public Health," American Journal of Public Health 103, no. S1 (2013): S84–S92.
  15. ↑ Taylor, Shelley E., et al., "Social Support, Stress and the Aging Brain," Social Neuroscience 10, no. 5 (2015): 378-391.
  16. ↑ Hawkley, Louise C., and John T. Cacioppo, "Loneliness Matters: A Theoretical and Empirical Review of Consequences and Mechanisms," Annals of Behavioral Medicine 40, no. 2 (2010): 218–227
  17. ↑ Sapolsky, Robert M., "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers," Times Books, 2004
  18. ↑ Cacioppo, John T., and Stephanie Cacioppo, "Social Relationships and Health: The Toxic Effects of Perceived Social Isolation," Social and Personality Psychology Compass 8, no. 2 (2014): 58–72
  19. ↑ Cacioppo, John T., and Louise C. Hawkley, "Perceived Social Isolation and Cognition," Trends in Cognitive Sciences 13, no. 10 (2009): 447–454.
  20. ↑ Park, Crystal L., "Religion and Meaning," Handbook of the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 2013, pp. 357–378
  21. ↑ Yalom, Irvin D., "Existential Psychotherapy," Basic Books, 1980.
  22. ↑ Nerburn, Kent, ed. The Wisdom of the Native Americans. Novato, California: New World Library, 1999
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