Holistic Health: Tracing Emotions Back to Universal Needs

Human beings are complex. We are living organisms with physical bodies capable of maintaining all the automatic functions required to keep us alive like breathing, digestion, and temperature regulation. We have minds that can understand complex mathematic equations, follow multi-step directions, or wonder about the most efficient way to drive home from work. We are social beings that depend on each other for survival and connection and are capable of picking up on a range of social cues and communication patterns like spoken language, vocal tone, and body language. We are also spiritual beings who on top of all these amazing abilities make meaning, weave stories, and exercise our creativity. All of these facets of being human are distinct but interrelated. They work together to help us not only survive but thrive. Having a more holistic understanding of ourselves in this way can help us make sure to address all aspects of our health: physical, mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual.

In a previous post, we learned about the language of emotions. Our brains trigger emotional responses that communicate specific messages related to our situation or environment. We talked generally about 6 common emotions and the themes that they communicate. Anger signals danger and a need to protect or fight back. Sadness signals loss or hurt. Joy signals contentment or satisfaction. Today we are going to build on that foundational knowledge to understand another layer of complexity behind those emotional signals. Let’s weave in that holistic understanding of our health that we talked about earlier. As humans, we have a variety of needs that are basic to our survival. The most obvious needs are physical; we need shelter, food, water, clothing, and warmth to make it from day to day. Less immediate or perhaps less obvious are the relational, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs that are equally important for our health. This is where becoming more aware of our emotions comes into play. Emotions don’t just signal to us the type of experience we are having, but they also signal about our basic human needs. Emotions can tell us that we are getting a need met, that a need is being threatened, or that our need-o-meter is running dangerously low.

Universal Human Needs

Multi-faceted beings have multi-faceted needs. Here are the basic categories of universal human needs: physical sustenance, security, freedom, connection, and meaning. Each of those categories contains a variety of more specific needs that you can see here. But for now, let’s take a look at how those basic needs relate to our emotions. Imagine it’s the weekend. It’s the first weekend all month where you have no plans. No commitments or responsibilities. Just time to sleep in, do some gardening, and maybe even read that book you’ve been meaning to start. Just the thought of this wide-open weekend brings you a feeling of relief (in the joy category of emotion). As we learned in our last post, the relief is signaling that an open weekend is something you enjoy and that you want to experience more. And you are also feeling relief because an open weekend is meeting your need for relaxation and rest. The relief is telling you that the busy month you’ve had was too much, and you couldn’t keep that pace for much longer. You need the time to rest and recharge.

Here’s another example: The company you work for hasn’t been doing well the last couple of years and they are downsizing. You hear that they will be cutting some positions, but you won’t know until next month whether yours will be affected. This news triggers anxiety and fear about whether you will lose your job. The anxiety and fear signal that you need to be on the alert in case you lose your income. It might prompt you to start job searching and updating your resume. The fear is also signaling that your need for security and sustenance is being threatened. The fear is reminding you that you won’t be able to survive for very long without the money to pay your bills and buy groceries and so it prepares you to be ready for action should you lose your job.

Practice on Your Own

The two examples above are simple to help you get started in being able to trace your emotions back to the underlying need. In both of those cases the connection between the emotion and the need might feel fairly obvious. But many times, the emotion we feel is more subtle, easier to ignore or to not even register. That’s why it’s important to practice identifying those connections. Then you can pick up on even the most subtle signals about your needs. Here’s how you can get started:

1. Start by perusing through this list. Get familiar with the different categories. It may surprise you that some of these words are listed at the same level as food and shelter. Remember, we are multi-faceted beings and we have a variety of needs that are all important to our well-being. Choose one need from the list to practice with.

2. Think of a time in your life when that need was being met and name the emotion(s) you felt. What happened? Who was there? What were you thinking? How did it make you feel? Where did you feel that emotion in your body? Here is an emotion wheel if you’re feeling stuck.

3. Now think of a time when that need was threatened or went unmet and name the emotion(s) you felt. What was happening? Who was there? What were you thinking? How did it feel?

4. Go about your week and notice when that need comes up for you. You can set a reminder on your phone or put a sticky note by the bathroom mirror. Have some visual reminder to think about that need and reflect on whether it came up during the day. When you notice it, try to identify what you’re feeling and what that emotion is telling you about your need.