mindpotion Blog

Saturday, 24 May 2014

When Anger Just Won’t Go Away
Mood:

d'oh
Topic: Emotions

By Angela Pritchard

We all get angry. Even if we are aware of the harm it can cause, we often can’t help feeling it and in so many different ways – outbursts, irritation, frustration, forcefulness in opinions, glares, raised tones, curt responses, hurtful words, negative moods, and on and on it goes. We tend to use it because we get what we want, like the screaming child in the shopping center. But in my experience, there is a huge catch to anger in that it is ultimately a destructive influence on our lives and a big obstacle to genuine spirituality.

Destructive by design

If you notice, when angry we tend to want to stomp things, force them, push or grab them. It’s ironic that we can even break the very thing we are trying to angrily make work. In the animal kingdom its purpose is to knock out whatever gets in the way of a desired outcome, and that takes force and destruction when met with a perceived resistance. This makes anger by its very nature a force of destruction.

So imagine then the destruction it can wreak on delicate things like the complex world of human relationships, and therefore on our lives. It becomes easier to see how destructive anger is when we remember being at the receiving end of it. Who wants to be around an angry person? Who dares bring up certain subjects or talk openly when an angry response is assured? And if someone is repeatedly angry or even abusive and insulting, the natural response is to feel hurt and emotionally withdraw.

Anger pushes people away so that we can force our way through, but how often do we see the hidden cost? Doesn’t it restrict the ideas and creativity that others can bring into our lives and that could have changed its course for the better? By shutting those out, we can instead take a negative track of decisions made in anger that narrow into an ever tightening and controlled circle of our own limited way of doing things, and this inevitably leads to increasing isolation and inward emptiness as we cut ourselves off from the input not just of others, but of life and the very universe itself.

Why can’t we just stop getting angry?

So why can’t we just give anger up? Often it’s only afterwards, looking back once we have calmed down, that we see we got angry and wish we hadn’t. And yet along comes another circumstance and we get angry again; it can seem as if it will never go away.

Deeper causes

Anger itself though is just the symptom of a much deeper cause, and unless this cause is understood, anger will always return. I liken the mechanism of anger to a blocked pipe. The pipe is the track of our desires, wants, opinions, plans and ideas. Through it flows our directed energy to a certain goal, like water. The blockage can be an object, a circumstance, person, or alternative opinion, which stands in the way. As soon as the blockage appears, what was once the unnoticeable flow of our desires, becomes a terrible pressure that starts building. This pressure creates a force upon the blockage, which, when left unchecked, increases to the point at which it has the required force to break through.

When a man dwells on the objects of sense, he creates an attraction for them; attraction develops into desire, and desire breeds anger. Anger induces delusion; delusion, loss of memory; through loss of memory, reason is shattered; and loss of reason leads to destruction. But the self-controlled soul, who moves amongst sense objects, free from either attachment or repulsion, he wins eternal Peace.
~ Krishna, The Bhagavad Gita

You can actually feel this pressure inside as anger starts welling up, in response to an external resistance, in the area of the solar plexus (the center of emotion), causing increased heart beats and a shortness of breath as our body responds to the pressure it’s placed under. This pressure builds looking for a way to release – a raised voice, insults, subtle put downs, putting pressure on people, manipulative moods, creating a drama, emotional blackmail etc. – are all different ways this pressure looks for ways to break through to the point where we get our way, and feel soothed again as the pressure subsides and the flow of our desires continue on their way. Sometimes this takes just minutes with a nasty look, but other times it can last years, as hidden issues are psychologically wrestled over between people creating deep resentments and grudges making for a miserable life.

Taking the pressure off

Like a mathematical equation, the desire for reward, our opinion to be heard, to do something, achieve a certain goal or outcome, and even stop something we don’t want from happening, whatever it may be, is always followed by anger as long as obstacles appear; that’s just built into nature’s design.

Although the analogy of a pipe sounds more like physics, psychology also works upon universal principles of energy and matter. Anger is the inevitable result of following and being attached to the fulfillment of our own desires and wants. Often these wants may even be for a good cause (or at least seem like it) – yet even so, desire and its inevitable angry enforcement is always a destructive way of approaching life. We may win the argument, but the ensuing effects on our relationships and life path can be devastating.

It is hard to see the love, understanding, wisdom, learning, and opportunities we missed out on when we are totally driven toward and set upon our own wants at any one time. This is why detachment and removing desire is one of the most prevalent themes of the world’s great spiritual teachings on achieving inner peace and happiness. Even the desire for spiritual things can bring anger and frustration when these desires aren’t met.

If you try to grab hold of the world and do what you want with it, you won’t succeed. The world is a vessel for spirit, and it wasn’t made to be manipulated. Tamper with it and you’ll spoil it. Hold it, and you’ll lose it.
~ Lao-Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Taking part without taking hold

So next time anger arises, it’s a chance to look inside and see what attachment and desire is really behind it, and like this we can get to know ourselves better and what it really is that drives our actions and therefore our whole life’s path.

If we can detach from events, this could bring about a radically different approach to living. As remarked upon by sages throughout history, the great flow of life and creation is a great mystery: can we take part in it, without trying to take hold? Can we do our duty, without wishing for anything more than what is already eternally present and immaterial? When we get angry, we make the great mistake of looking outside for our fulfillment, instead of in consciousness – the source of real peace and the spiritual we each have within that is not dependent upon external events going our way.

The ego is a monkey catapulting through the jungle: Totally fascinated by the realm of the senses, it swings from one desire to the next, one conflict to the next, one self-centered idea to the next. If you threaten it, it actually fears for its life. Let this monkey go. Let the senses go. Let desires go. Let conflicts go. Let ideas go. Let the fiction of life and death go. Just remain in the center, watching. And then forget that you are there.
~ Lao-Tzu, Hua Hu Ching

Source - http://wakingtimes.com

Posted by Neil Bartlett DHyp M.A.E.P.H at 00:01 MEST

Updated: Saturday, 24 May 2014 02:06 MEST

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Monday, 28 April 2014

How emotions are expressed physically in human bodies
Mood:

chatty
Topic: Emotions

New research published in the journal Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences of The United States of America (PNAS) provides a solid basis for understanding how our bodies physically react to various emotional states. Scientists from Aalto University in Finland found that the human body lights up differently on a heat map for each type of emotion, illustrating for the first time how emotions play a definitive role in physical health.

When a person is angry, according to the study, the upper half of his or her body from the vital organs up, as well as the entire length of the arms, experiences major bodily sensations. A depressed person, on the other hand, experiences no significant bodily sensations and actually feels a decrease in sensation from the waist down and all along the arms. And a happy person, as you might imagine, generally feels warm sensations all over the body.

Part of an ongoing study looking at the connection between emotions and physical sensations, the study so far includes data on more than 700 individuals hailing mostly from Scandinavia and Taiwan. Each participant reportedly filled out a questionnaire online, which included pictures of human bodies as outlines. As the participants went through their daily lives, they were asked to highlight the sensations they felt in various emotional states by coloring in these pictures.

After gathering all the resultant data, the team from Aalto put together a diagram illustrating the changes that a person's body goes through when they are happy, sad, surprised, anxious or in love. From this, it was determined that certain bodily changes are directly associated with certain emotions, and the recognition of these bodily changes by an individual can further affect conscious emotional sensations.

"Emotions adjust not only our mental, but also our bodily states... prepar[ing] us to react swiftly to the dangers, but also to the opportunities such as pleasurable social interactions present in the environment," reads an announcement about the findings published by Aalto. "The findings have major implications for our understanding of the functions of emotions and their bodily basis."

Emotion-driven bodily sensations are deeply rooted in human biology

The findings also reveal something amazing about human nature and biology -- mainly that human beings of all descents share a common physiology when it comes to how our emotions affect our physical states. Participants from both Western Europe and East Asia experienced common physical changes that suggest an inherently biological basis for how our bodies react to emotions.

"The sensation patterns were... consistent across different West European and East Asian cultures, highlighting that emotions and their corresponding bodily sensation patterns have a biological basis," adds the announcement.

With this in mind, researchers hope to use the results to better understand mood disorders such as anxiety and depression, both of which have their own distinct physical expressions. By mapping the typical pathways through which physical sensations are brought about in conjunction with these and other similar emotions, scientists may one day be able to establish solid biomarkers with which to better identify and assess emotional disorders.

"Our data highlight that consistent patterns of bodily sensations are associated with each of the six basic emotions, and that these sensations are represented in a categorical manner in the body," reads the study discussion.

To view the full study as published in PNAS, be sure to visit:
http://www.pnas.org.

You can also view a PDF image of the different emotions and how they affect the body physically by visiting:
http://becs.aalto.fi.

Learn more: naturalnews.com

Posted by Neil Bartlett DHyp M.A.E.P.H at 00:01 MEST

Updated: Monday, 28 April 2014 01:33 MEST

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Wednesday, 23 April 2014

Mind Power ‘Re-Frame’ Events and Occurrences to Instantly Feel Better
Mood:

happy
Topic: Emotions

Optimism and positive feelings rest at the foundation of both a happy and healthy life. Avoiding unhealthy and harmful foods is extremely important for maintaining a healthy body and a healthy brain, but it is your own thoughts, perceptions and thinking processes which profoundly impact the health of your mind and body alike. Even while you’re engaging in a healthy diet and lifestyle, you may find yourself feeling sluggish and unhappy. It is at this point you need to consciously think about how you are feeling and transform your current thoughts.

Re-Frame Events and Occurrences to Instantly Feel Better

One of the first steps to becoming a professional optimist is to learn about the concept of re-framing. Negative events which occur in our everyday lives have a negative impact on most individuals, but they simply don’t have to. Any negative occurrence has the potential to be re-framed into a positive outlook — depending on how much the individual has practiced this concept. Losing a job is an event generally viewed as a negative event, but were you truly happy working this job every single day? Having a steady income itself is an important factor in happiness levels, but there are always opportunities in the future — even if they aren’t in your direct line of sight. Rather than thinking about the negative aspect, re-frame the situation and think of any way this could result in a positive outcome, because if you do then it probably will.

Re-framing applies to every single event and action that occurs, whether it be a flat tire, a mistake made in your business, or a problem with your spouse. These events are viewed as problems, but re-framing each occurrence so that they simply become challenges or opportunities completely shifts the way you feel. Humans inherently are drawn in by challenges to overcome. If the problem isn’t transformed into a challenge, then an opportunity will surely do. Using this technique is a great way to indirectly eliminate most problems from your life.

Read More - dailymail.co.uk

Posted by Neil Bartlett DHyp M.A.E.P.H at 00:01 CET

Updated: Saturday, 25 January 2014 01:08 CET

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Friday, 6 September 2013

Loneliness may cause physical illness
Mood:

bright
Topic: Emotions

Feeling lonely disrupts the immune system and may lead to many of the same health problems as chronic stress, according to a pair of studies conducted by researchers from Ohio State University and presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology in New Orleans.

"It is clear from previous research that poor-quality relationships are linked to a number of health problems, including premature mortality and all sorts of other very serious health conditions. And people who are lonely clearly feel like they are in poor-quality relationships," researcher Lisa Jaremka said.

The first study was conducted on 200 breast cancer survivors who had completed their treatment within two months and three years before the start of the study. The average participant's age was 51. All participants had their loneliness assessed by a questionnaire on perception of isolation and loneliness called the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Their blood was also tested for levels of antibodies against two separate varieties of herpes virus: cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr.

A majority of U.S. adults are infected with both herpes viruses, which have the ability to go dormant in the body and reemerge if the immune system ever becomes compromised. Therefore, levels of herpes antibodies in the blood are considered a reliable marker of immune stress.

The researchers found that participants who ranked higher on the loneliness test also had higher levels of cytomegalovirus antibodies, indicating lowered immune function. They also reported higher levels of pain, depression and fatigue.

Levels of Epstein-Barr antibodies were not affected by loneliness. The researchers speculated that no effect might have been seen because the Epstein-Barr virus tends to reactivate more later in life, and many of the participants were older in age.

The findings suggest that like stress, loneliness may also cause pressure on the immune system.

"Loneliness has been thought of in many ways as a chronic stressor," Jaremka said, "a socially painful situation that can last for quite a long time."

Loneliness boosts inflammation

The second study was conducted on 144 of the women from the first study, plus 134 additional adults, all of whom were both middle-aged and overweight, and who had no major health problems. Researchers collected blood from participants just before requiring them to perform two stressful tasks: solving a mental math problem and also giving an impromptu, five-minute speech while being videotaped in front of three panelists. The participants were then given lipopolysaccharide, a bacterial chemical, in order to stimulate an immune response. The researchers found that lonelier people had significantly higher levels of at least two separate inflammation markers.

Inflammation is a healthy part of the immune response, and therefore a sign of immune stress. Chronic inflammation is associated with a number of serious health problems, including cardiovascular disease, dementia, Type II diabetes, arthritis, and many of the symptoms of aging.

Jaremka noted that the findings highlight the importance of maintaining strong social ties.

"It's also important to remember the flip side, which is that people who feel very socially connected are experiencing more positive outcomes," she said.

Learn more: naturalnews.com

Posted by Neil Bartlett DHyp M.A.E.P.H at 00:01 MEST

Updated: Friday, 6 September 2013 01:25 MEST

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Wednesday, 21 August 2013

What To Do When You've Made Someone Angry
Mood:

happy
Topic: Emotions

by Peter Bregman

I was running late. My wife Eleanor and I had agreed to meet at the restaurant at seven o’clock and it was already half past. I had a good excuse in the form of a client meeting that ran over and I wasted no time getting to the dinner as fast as possible.

When I arrived at the restaurant, I apologized and told her I didn’t mean to be late.

She answered: “You never mean to be late.” Uh oh, she was mad.

“Sorry,” I retorted, “but it was unavoidable.” I told her about the client meeting. Not only did my explanations not soothe her, they seemed to make things worse. That started to make me angry.

That dinner didn’t turn out to be our best.

Several weeks later, when I was describing the situation to a friend of mine, Ken Hardy, a professor of family therapy, he smiled.

“You made a classic mistake,” he told me.

“Me? I made the mistake?” I was only half joking.

“Yes. And you just made it again,” he said. “You’re stuck in your perspective: You didn’t mean to be late. But that’s not the point. The point is that you were late. The point — and what’s important in your communication — is how your lateness impacted Eleanor.”

In other words, I was focused on my intention while Eleanor was focused on the consequences. We were having two different conversations. In the end, we both felt unacknowledged, misunderstood, and angry.

The more I thought about what Ken said, the more I recognized that this battle — intention vs. consequences — was the root cause of so much interpersonal discord.

As it turns out, it’s not the thought that counts or even the action that counts. That’s because the other person doesn’t experience your thought or your action. They experience the consequences of your action.

Here’s another example: You send an email to a colleague telling him you think he could have spoken up more in a meeting.

He replies to the email, “Maybe if you spoke less, I would have had an opportunity to say something!”

That obviously rankles you. Still, you send off another email trying to clarify the first email: “I didn’t mean to offend you, I was trying to help.” And then maybe you add some dismay at the aggressiveness of his response.

But that doesn’t make things better. He quotes the language of your first email back to you. “Don’t you see how it reads?” He asks. “BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!” You write back, IN CAPS.

So how do you get out of this downward spiral?

It’s stunningly simple, actually. When you’ve done something that upsets someone — no matter who’s right — always start the conversation by acknowledging how your actions impacted the other person. Save the discussion about your intentions for later. Much later. Maybe never. Because, in the end, your intentions don’t matter much.

What if you don’t think the other person is right — or justified — in feeling the way they do? It doesn’t matter. Because you’re not striving for agreement. You’re going for understanding.

What should I have said to Eleanor?

“I see you’re angry. You’ve been sitting here for 30 minutes and that’s got to be frustrating. And it’s not the first time. Also, I can see how it seems like I think being with a client gives me permission to be late. I’m sorry you had to sit here waiting for so long.”

All of that is true. Your job is to acknowledge their reality — which is critical to maintaining the relationship. As Ken described it to me: “If someone’s reality, as they see it, is negated, what motivation do they have to stay in the relationship?”

In the email back and forth I described earlier, instead of clarifying what you meant, consider writing something like: “I could see how my criticizing your performance — especially via email — feels obnoxious to you. How it sounds critical and maybe dismissive of your efforts in the meeting.”

I said this was simple but I didn’t say it was easy.

The hardest part is our emotional resistance. We’re so focused on our own challenges that it’s often hard to acknowledge the challenges of others. Especially if we are their challenge and they are ours. Especially when they lash out at us in anger. Especially when we feel misunderstood. In that moment, when we empathize with them and their criticism of our behavior, it almost feels like we’re betraying ourselves.

But we’re not. We’re just empathizing.

Here’s a trick to make it easier. While they’re getting angry at you, imagine, instead, that they’re angry at someone else. Then react as you would in that situation. Probably you’d listen and let them know you see how angry they are.

And if you never get to explain your intentions? What I have found in practice — and this surprised me — is that once I’ve expressed my understanding of the consequences, my need to justify my intentions dissipates.

That’s because the reason I’m explaining my intentions in the first place is to repair the relationship. But I’ve already accomplished that by empathizing with their experience. At that point, we’re both usually ready to move on.

And if you do still feel the need? You’ll still have the opportunity, once the other person feels seen, heard, and understood.

If we succeed in doing all this well, we’ll often find that, along with our relationships, something else gets better: our behavior.

After that last conversation with Eleanor — after really understanding the consequences of my lateness on her — somehow, someway, I’ve managed to be on time a lot more frequently.

Source - dailygood.org

Posted by Neil Bartlett DHyp M.A.E.P.H at 00:01 MEST

Updated: Wednesday, 21 August 2013 01:11 MEST

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Friday, 28 September 2012

Expressing Your Emotions Can Reduce Fear
Mood:

chatty
Topic: Emotions

Can simply describing your feelings at stressful times make you less afraid and less anxious?

A new UCLA psychology study suggests that labeling your emotions at the precise moment you are confronting what you fear can indeed have that effect.

The psychologists asked 88 people with a fear of spiders to approach a large, live tarantula in an open container outdoors. The participants were told to walk closer and closer to the spider and eventually touch it if they could.

The subjects were then divided into four groups and sat in front of another tarantula in a container in an indoor setting. In the first group, the subjects were asked to describe the emotions they were experiencing and to label their reactions to the tarantula

Full Story from sciencedaily.com

Posted by Neil Bartlett DHyp M.A.E.P.H at 01:01 MEST

Updated: Friday, 28 September 2012 02:03 MEST

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Wednesday, 29 August 2012

Managing Emotions in the Workplace
Mood:

lucky
Topic: Emotions

You know the type: coworkers who never have anything positive to say, whether at the weekly staff meeting or in the cafeteria line. They can suck the energy from a brainstorming session with a few choice comments. Their bad mood frequently puts others in one, too. Their negativity can contaminate even good news. "We engage in emotional contagion," says Sigal Barsade, a Wharton management professor who studies the influence of emotions on the workplace. "Emotions travel from person to person like a virus."

Barsade is the co-author of a new paper titled, "Why Does Affect Matter in Organizations?" ("Affect" is another word for "emotion" in organizational behavior studies.) The answer: Employees' moods, emotions, and overall dispositions have an impact on job performance, decision making, creativity, turnover, teamwork, negotiations and leadership.

"The state of the literature shows that affect matters because people are not isolated 'emotional islands.' Rather, they bring all of themselves to work, including their traits, moods and emotions, and their affective experiences and expressions influence others," according to the paper, co-authored by Donald Gibson of Fairfield University's Dolan School of Business.

An "affective revolution" has occurred over the last 30 years as academics and managers alike have come to realize that employees' emotions are integral to what happens in an organization, says Barsade, who has been doing research in the area of emotions and work dynamics for 15 years. "Everybody brings their emotions to work. You bring your brain to work. You bring your emotions to work. Feelings drive performance. They drive behavior and other feelings. Think of people as emotion conductors."

In the paper, Barsade and Gibson consider three different types of feelings:

+ Discrete, short-lived emotions, such as joy, anger, fear and disgust.

+ Moods, which are longer-lasting feelings and not necessarily tied to a particular cause. A person is in a cheerful mood, for instance, or feeling down.

+ Dispositional, or personality, traits, which define a person's overall approach to life. "She's always so cheerful," or "He's always looking at the negative."

All three types of feelings can be contagious, and emotions don't have to be grand and obvious to have an impact. Subtle displays of emotion, such as a quick frown, can have an effect as well, Barsade says. She offers this example: "Say your boss is generally in very good humor, but you see him one day at a meeting and his eyes flash at you. Even if they don't glare at you for the rest of the meeting, his eyes have enunciated some valuable information that is going to have you concerned and worried and off center for the rest of the meeting."

Barsade suggests that while some people are better than others at controlling their emotions, that doesn't mean their coworkers aren't picking up on their moods. "You may not think you are showing emotion, but there's a good chance you are in your facial expression or body language. Emotions we don't even realize we are feeling can influence our thoughts and behaviors."

The researchers' paper discusses a concept known as "emotional labor," in which employees regulate their public displays of emotion to comply with certain expectations. Part of this is "surface acting," in which, for instance, the tired and stressed airline customer service agent forces himself to smile and be friendly with angry customers who have lost their luggage. That compares to "deep acting," in which employees exhibit emotions they have worked on feeling. In that scenario, the stressed-out airline worker sympathizes with the customer and shows emotions that suggest empathy. The second approach may be healthier, Barsade says, because it causes less stress and burnout, particularly emotional exhaustion from having to regulate one's emotions and "play a role."

But is there a downside to being too authentic? If the company is losing money and experiencing the effects of downsizing, should the manager, feeling stressed and overwhelmed, convey his despair to his workers? Or should the manager try to appear cheerful and act as if nothing is wrong? Barsade says it's possible for the manager to convey emotions that are both authentic and positive, saying something like, "I know you're worried. Things aren't looking good, but you know, we have a way out of this and we can work [on it] together." The employees will appreciate the honesty and take comfort in the optimism, she says.

Emotions as Valuable Data

Emotional intelligence -- buzz words already familiar in psychology and education -- is now talked about in business circles as well, Barsade says. Business schools are teaching executives how to be emotionally intelligent, and how to manage the emotions of their employees.

"The idea behind emotional intelligence in the workplace is that it is a skill through which employees treat emotions as valuable data in navigating a situation," according to the authors. "Let's say a sales manager has come up with an amazing idea that will increase corporate revenues by up to 200%, but knows his boss tends to be irritable and short-tempered in the morning. Having emotional intelligence means that the manager will first recognize and consider this emotional fact about his boss. Despite the stunning nature of his idea -- and his own excitement -- he will regulate his own emotions, curb his enthusiasm and wait until the afternoon to approach his boss."

Barsade says research suggests that positive people tend to do better in the workplace, and it isn't just because people like them more than naysayers. "Positive people cognitively process more efficiently and more appropriately. If you're in a negative mood, a fair amount of processing is going to that mood. When you're in a positive mood, you're more open to taking in information and handling it effectively."

While you can't necessarily change your coworkers, people can take steps to avoid catching a negative mood, according to Barsade. They can tell themselves before attending a staff meeting that they are not going to be bothered by the person who shoots down everyone's ideas, or that they are not going to let that person become the focus of their attention at the meeting (reducing the possibility for contagion). Or they can change their office routine. Barsade gave the example of a manager who was dragged down at the start of every day when passing by the desk of an employee who either grunted or gave no acknowledgement. The manager took control and simply started following a different route through the office.

Barsade's research has taken her into a variety of workplaces, most recently long-term care facilities. Her research found that in facilities where the employees report having a positive workplace culture -- she calls it a "culture of love" -- the residents end up faring better than residents in facilities with a less compassionate and caring work culture. The residents reported experiencing less pain, made fewer trips to the emergency room, and were more likely to report being satisfied and in a positive mood.

Overconfidence Online

E-mail, instant messaging and video conferencing have introduced new challenges to the workplace, Barsade adds. E-mails and instant messages can be misunderstood because they are devoid of facial expressions, intonation and body language -- cues that help convey emotions. Some people, she says, work hard at making their emails neutral, with the downside of sometimes sounding curt. On the other hand, while some writers may add a smattering of exclamation points, question marks and capital letters in an attempt to convey more emotion, this can also be a dangerous route, particularly when attempting humor or sarcasm to drive home a point.

"How can emotions be best conveyed via these media?" the paper asks. "What is the effect of conveying emotionally charged messages via text, when these messages are more likely to be misconstrued? How must we re-think emotional contagion and other social processes in an organizational world in which many meetings take place online?"

The paper cites a study showing that people tend to be overconfident about their ability to convey the emotion they wish in an e-mail, particularly when they are trying to be funny or sarcastic. "Video conferencing, also increasing in its use, has more cues, but it is also not yet the same as interacting face to face, particularly in group situations. Given that these technologies continue to grow as a primary means of communication within the business world, it is crucial that we understand how the interpretation and communication of affect occurs in these contexts," the paper says.

Workplaces need to get smart about the best use of e-mail, Barsade states. Her advice is that "if something is important, and you know that the emotional context is going to be an issue, then pick up the phone; don't just rely on e-mails." And even the phone may not be good enough. "Sometimes, if it is really important, you just have to fly to where they are and meet them face-to-face to get the message across."

Article Source - dailygood.org

Posted by Neil Bartlett DHyp M.A.E.P.H at 01:01 MEST

Updated: Wednesday, 29 August 2012 02:16 MEST

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