The Heart and Emotions, From 1628

Angina of Emotion

‘Every affection of the mind that is attended with either pain or pleasure, hope or fear, is the cause of an agitation whose influence extends to the heart.. A strong man who, having recieved an injury and affront from one more powerful than himself, and upon whom he could not have his revenge, was so overcome with hatred and spite and passion, which he yet communicated to no one, that at last he fell into a strange distemper, suffering from extreme oppression and pain of the heart and breast..’

Exercitatio anatomica de motu cordis et sanguinis in animalibus

W Harvey, Frankfurt-am-Main, 1628

P Taggart, H Critchley, P D Lambiase
Heart-brain interactions in cardiac arrhythmia
Heart 2011; 97:698-708


The link between heart and mind has been the subject of poetry and literature.  Now, thanks to neuroimaging and molecular cardiology, it is better understood scientifically.  

Express the emotion, out loud, in the open, appropriately, so it doesn't hurt you and those around you. Use your voice.  It is good for your heart.  

Sometimes we don't say it because we don't want to hurt others.  We can use our judgment.  If it is important, then saying it in a way that is respectful to self and others is not impolite or aggressive, it is assertive.

But what if that person is "more powerful" than oneself?  We are adults, we can use our judgment.  But this calls for developing (formal) leaders that are open to hearing questions and differences of opinion.  It also calls for the rest of us to assume (informal) leadership in certain situations.  I am reminded of an example in one of Malcolm Gladwell's books.   It was discovered that a Korean airline had a higher than usual fatal plane crash record because co-pilots declined to question or disagree with the pilot, out of a sense of tradition or respect for hierarchy, even when they knew they would die as a result.  Polite, maybe, but not safe for self and others.

Other times the risk of speaking out is more risky than not speaking out - on a physical, financial, emotional or social level.  You get to measure your risks.  You get to decide what you can live with and what you can't live with.  Just make sure you consider your heart, your rights, your thoughts, your feelings in the calculation.

No one matters more than anyone else.  So by all means consider the heart, rights, thoughts and feelings of others in the calculation as well.  I am concerned that historically oppressed peoples - women, people of color, adults abused as children - have learned to exclude themselves from this decision-making, negotiation and communication process.  At one time, it was a matter of survival.  Now it is a relic, a ghost of the past that lingers and can be vanquished.  It is safer now.  You are stronger now.  Take a small step at first with your freedom and power.  Learn to use it.  Practice.  Say it.  It matters.