Emotional Education and health: Scientific findings and practical applications in the classroom

Question:

In the latest conferences on emotional education, health was discussed as an important element to address in our educational interventions. What essential elements would you highlight from the latest scientific research? What practical applications can we find that can serve as examples to implement or adapt in our professional work?  

Answer:

A connection has been observed between emotion and health through the physiological action of emotions. In other words, emotions are a physiological reaction of the body that has effects on health. When we experience an emotion, we may experience symptoms such as tachycardia, high blood pressure, sweating, blushing, trembling legs, or "butterflies" in the stomach, among others. This is simply a reflection of the profound physiological changes that occur in the body as a result of emotions: hormone secretions (such as adrenaline) and neurotransmitters (such as serotonin). This explains why negative, frequent, and intense emotions can have effects on health. It has been shown that negative emotions contribute to decreasing the immune system's defenses, while positive emotions increase them. This means that the more negative emotions we experience, the higher the likelihood of developing certain illnesses, whereas if we focus on positive emotions, we increase our chances of maintaining good health. Emotions have been shown to be involved in a wide range of illnesses such as cardiovascular disorders (coronary heart disease, hypertension), gastrointestinal disorders (functional dyspepsia, peptic ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, esophagitis), muscular disorders (tics, muscle tremors, contractures, lumbalgia, tension headaches, myofascial pain, bruxism), immune system disorders (cancer, the clinical progression of acquired immune deficiency syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis), etc. The book Psychopedagogy of Emotions (Ed. Síntesis) provides further data on the multiple relationships between emotion and health. This serves as another argument to emphasize the importance and necessity of emotional education, with the aim of acquiring the skills needed to better regulate emotions and build emotional well-being.