ABC Listen.
Hello, my name is Nige and today I'm feeling curious.
How about you?
Happy.
Tired.
A bit nervous.
Really, really excited.
Grumpy.
That's a lot of different emotions.
You know, we've had some questions about feelings and why we feel them.
I'm Eleanor.
I'm six years old.
Hello, I'm Pierce and I am five.
And I was wondering...
Why people have emotions.
Why do we have emotions?
There was also this one from Freddie.
Hi, my name is Freddie and I'm seven years old, and I want to know do our feelings control us or do we control them?
What do you think?
If my sister's annoying me a lot, sometimes I get really mad at her.
When something doesn't go your way.
You might get really, really angry and start throwing things and stamping and running out of the room.
When we're grumpy.
Mmm, I think we need some help from Dr Pete Cavale.
He's an Associate Professor in Psychology at the University of Melbourne.
In fact, he works at the Feel Lab.
Where all the feelings come from.
All the feels get made there, like happy, sad and stuff like that.
Maybe.
Let's go find out.
Hi, Dr. Pete.
Hello.
Hi.
Hello.
What a nice surprise.
Welcome to the lab.
Where are all the feelings?
I can't see them anywhere.
The feelings?
Yeah.
This is the feel lab.
Oh, I see.
Now, feel stands for functions of emotion in everyday life.
Huh?
You learn about emotions?
Yeah.
Ah, we want to learn about them too.
We have some questions about feelings.
Go for it.
Why do we have emotions?
And do our feelings control us?
Or do we control our feelings?
Sure, I can definitely help you.
Now, we could stay here in the lab, but I reckon it'll be way more fun to use our imaginations.
Definitely.
Yeah.
Feelings and emotions can be hard to learn about because we can't see them.
We feel them.
Exactly.
And it all happens inside our bodies.
Come on.
We're always having feelings, all the time.
Some of these feelings are signals from different parts of our bodies.
Excuse me, sugar's coming through.
We're running low here.
Better tell the brain.
Temperature check.
Everything an even 37.
How are things down in the feed?
Tell the brain it's a little chilly down here.
There's lots of messages going around.
Yes, our body is constantly sending and receiving messages to let us know what's going on.
Beep.
That's a hungry message.
I should give him some food.
This is the brain.
I've received messages from the sugars.
Thanks for that.
Let's increase those tummy rumbles.
Some of these feelings are easy for us to notice.
They're a way for our body to get our attention and tell us something.
Our tummies rumble when we're hungry.
Or our eyes might feel a bit heavy when we're tired.
So, feelings are there to tell us something important.
Like feeling pain if you touch something hot.
It's your brain saying, get away!
It might burn you!
Yes.
So we get messages about these physical needs like food, sleep and safety.
But we also get messages about our emotional needs too.
Is that when someone or something makes you feel happy or sad?
Or angry?
If someone's being mean to you or hurts your feelings?
Well, emotions might feel like they come from outside of us, like someone or something is making us upset or making us happy.
But it's not that simple.
It's a brain.
It looks like a maze.
Yeah, there are so many different pathways.
Oh yes, lots of stuff going on in here.
Even when you're sleeping, your brain is hard at work.
Okay, checking sleep levels, looking good.
Stress levels, not too bad.
How are those sugars now?
Can I get an update from the pancreas?
What's it doing?
Your brain is keeping track of all the systems in your body, like how much water or sleep you've had.
But it's also keeping track of all your memories and experiences too.
From what happened a moment ago, to things that happened days, weeks, months, or even years ago.
That's too hard to remember.
I can't remember everything that's ever happened.
No, but your brain is very good at storing how you felt at different times in the past.
And that shapes how you feel right now.
What do you mean?
What's happening?
Let's take a look through the eyes and see.
I can see... A swimming pool.
There are kids in the water playing.
It looks like we're standing on a diving board.
It looks pretty high.
Hmm, that's scary.
I've jumped on a diving board.
I was excited, but also scared.
My heart was beating sort of fast.
What's that alarm?
Scared, scared, scared, scared, scared.
It's just that, alarm.
Fear can feel like it takes over your whole brain.
It really wants to get your attention.
Ooh, danger.
Threat detected.
Patching through to deep storage.
Deep storage?
Your memories.
Long-term memory here.
How can I help?
Hi.
Yes, this is very urgent.
Brain speaking here.
Can I get all past instances of falls, including pain, injury and embarrassment?
Oh, and don't forget all the times we've ever had water go up our nose.
And when it stung our eyes.
We didn't like that.
And every time we've ever cried at the pool.
Your brain quickly connects all the information it's getting from your senses.
What you see hear, smell with memories of how you felt in similar situations in the past and, in an instant, creates an emotion.
They don't want to do it.
The diving board is pretty high.
It's hard to do it.
I feel butterflies and my heart's beating really, really fast.
Don't look down.
But I don't think it's that scary, is it?
Well, your brain doesn't always think about things slowly or carefully.
See, its job is to keep you safe no matter what, so it's pretty cautious.
These can be the times when we might feel that our emotions get really big, or maybe like they're even controlling us.
Our emotions might make us want to run away and hide, cry, yell, or even throw things.
Yeah.
It's hard to stop being upset.
It's just your body's way of getting your attention to give you a message.
In this case, it might be saying I don't like this and I want to get down from this high place and feel safe again.
Look, someone's coming up to the diving board.
They look nice.
This is the brain.
Who is that?
And what do they want?
What if she pushes us?
Maybe we should push her first.
Oh, look.
She's offering her hand.
She's going to jump with them so they don't have to go alone.
Hmm.
I think it's safe.
Let's lower the heart rate.
Sometimes you might be scared the first few times you do it, but then, when you get used to it, it'll start feeling really fun.
Because if I can do it, you can definitely do it.
Come on, it will be fun.
Yeah, come on, you can do it.
Our emotions are a normal, healthy part of being human.
But by paying attention to them we can notice how we're feeling and manage those urges that might not be so helpful, like yelling or hitting or pushing, and see if we can find ways to calm down.
Or in this case, maybe to be brave and go one step out of your comfort zone.
Here they go.
They're going to jump.
Woo-hoo!
Good on you.
Three, two, one.
Everyone's clapping.
That was actually fun.
Wow.
What's that feeling?
Pride or maybe courage.
Glorious.
Like I'm saying, yay, I did it to everyone.
So our emotions help us act in the right way for each situation?
Well, yes, but there's no one right way to act.
For some people, that diving board would have been way too much.
And in that case, there's no problem climbing down and giving it a miss.
But for others it would have been a piece of cake and they wouldn't have thought twice about jumping.
Because we're all different people.
And some people are afraid of different things.
Exactly.
And that means everyone has different feelings about things, because no one has the exact same experiences as you.
You might even feel differently about the same situation at different times.
Your brain considers even the tiniest details in each situation when it creates your feelings.
So why do we have emotions at all?
Wouldn't it be good to never feel afraid or sad?
If you didn't have any emotions everyone would just feel the same.
You wouldn't have those happy moments when you get happy.
If you couldn't feel anything you couldn't even feel creative.
And it wouldn't be a very exciting world.
Yeah, imagine not feeling anything.
Yeah, it would be a little boring.
You would feel exactly the same all the time.
So nothing would be fun or sad or scary or exciting.
If you had no feelings at all, how would you know what you wanted to do?
How could you know what was fun or what was dangerous?
Actually, you probably wouldn't.
If we don't feel pain or anything like that, we might get bitten by a big angry snake.
Exactly.
Our emotions are there to help us make decisions and explore the world around us.
We learn what to avoid and what makes us feel good.
How did we end up with all these emotions?
It's impossible to do things by ourselves.
We all need help and we all need friends.
Our emotions have evolved with us to make sure we can connect with others, to feel loved and understood.
If someone was feeling sad, you could help them.
Because then they'll feel better.
And then if you have big emotions, they might help you back.
Sometimes it can be hard to put our finger on exactly what we're feeling or why we're feeling that way.
Whoa, did I do that?
I didn't touch anything, I swear.
That's not it.
Look through the eyes.
It's hard to see.
Something's making it blurry.
They're crying.
Okay, back on high alert.
This feels serious.
Our big feelings don't turn off straight away.
Sometimes they can hang around and that can feel great when we're feeling happy, but it's not so nice if we're feeling upset.
Why are they sad?
They were so brave on the diving board.
When it feels like we might be upset for no reason, it can be good to check in with our bodies and notice those messages that we were talking about earlier.
Ah, they're hungry.
Yeah, remember how I said our body has physical needs?
When those needs aren't met, they can make us feel all kinds of emotions.
If we're hungry, we can feel sad, irritable or downright hangry.
You get really angry because you're hungry.
Red alert, people.
Oh, yum.
Is that carrots and hummus?
Bus alarm.
Sorry.
As you were.
Sometimes it can feel like the end of the world, but you just need a snack.
And other times, you might really need some sleep.
Yeah I can get grumpy when I get tired.
Everyone can.
Come on, let's head back to the lab.
Wow, it feels like our emotions really do control us, because they often come along with strong urges to act in certain ways.
When you feel happy or excited.
I feel like jumping and running around.
When you feel angry.
Slam the door and stamp around a bit.
But we don't have to act on all of these urges.
We can learn to notice what's happening in our bodies in that moment and decide whether it's a helpful feeling or not.
A good place to start is saying it out loud and giving those feelings names.
Anxious, excited, nervous.
And you might want to think about what helps you feel better.
Take some deep breaths and have a lie down.
Relaxing time.
Oh, I like that one too.
It just takes practice.
Our whole lives, actually.
How do you practice?
Well, you can talk about your feelings with friends, with a parent or a trusted grown-up, or even with a professional psychologist.
Thanks, Pete.
I feel grateful.
And a little hungry.
Quick, feed him before he gets hangry.
So Eleanor and Freddie, our emotions come from messages being sent from all over the body.
Excuse me, sugar's coming through.
To the brain.
The brain takes that information and it looks at memories from the past.
How you felt yesterday.
Even last year.
And what's happening right now to create an emotion.
Excited.
Calm.
Angry.
We're always having feelings.
We feel them so much.
We just might not always notice them until they really want to get our attention.
Red alert, people!
This is our body making us aware of something that could help us or hurt us.
We have emotions because they help us to understand ourselves and who we are.
I'm brave.
I'm funny.
Cheeky.
The slightest bit bossy.
And how to understand and care for each other.
To make friends and work together.
Our feelings can be overwhelming sometimes.
When that happens, it can be helpful to talk with a parent, teacher or grown-up you trust, so they don't feel so big.
And just to be safe, have a snack, just in case it's your stomach.
