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Affirmation #21

Your Emotions Are Not Irrational

Your heart deserves more than dismissal

James Horton, Ph.D
The Affirmations
Published in
6 min readJun 26, 2023

Image by author, via Midjourney

There was a brief time as I came out of my depression when I didn’t realize that I had regained my capacity for normal emotion.

My emotions have always been mildly disengaged. I once cat-napped through a fire alarm. During my depression, however, the quiescence intensified; some subtle but vital channel had been blocked, and my emotions reacted more to the world inside my head than the world outside.

Medication opened the channel; shortly after starting meds I found myself getting angry. Anger is a side effect of Wellbutrin, so I didn’t think much of it until one day I detected a pattern in my new temper. It turns out that I got angry when…

…I had a good reason to be angry.

To be honest, that was really strange. I was used to having a delayed fuse; I didn’t get angry in response to provocations. The anger came later when I was ruminating. So, quite suddenly, it felt like I had developed a superpower — the ability to be mildly angry when it mattered.

In retrospect, it amazes me that I missed that, at first. That has been on my mind lately. How often have I ignored vital information about my emotions? What has it cost me?

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The Affirmations
The Affirmations

Published in The Affirmations

You matter, and you owe them nothing but what you choose to give.

James Horton, Ph.D
James Horton, Ph.D

Written by James Horton, Ph.D

Social scientist, world traveler, freelancer. Alaskan, twice. Writes about psychology, well-being, science, tech, and climate change. Ghostwriter on the side.

Responses (18)

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This is such a strong piece. I enjoyed it very much. As a fellow Wellbutrin user, I actaully know exactly what you're talking about. This perspective is so refreshing. Thank you! I'd love to subscribe to more of your writings.

10

It’s true, of course, that some of your emotions may be worth acting on, and some may be irrational

I really loved this article, it’s given me space for myself & others. I was confused at one point because you say emotions are not irrational which I believe that but then you said some emotions maybe irrational I felt it was contradictory

4

Listening to your emotions implies being a perpetual student of your own body. It also means that, while emotions should be understood, not every emotion needs to be acted on.

Emotions are like sensors, roused by varying stimuli. The thresholds at which they are triggered are different for everyone, and determined by various factors

4