Breathe
By Bárbara Tijerina
Emotions are necessary for survival, they prepare the organism to face the challenges to come. No one knows when they will come, but when they arise they generate a production of neurotransmitters and chemicals that make the body anticipate and be ready for whatever comes, paralyze with fear, lower the energy of sadness to assume a loss or fill you with energy to fight or flee.
An emotion is a movement of the soul or mood, something that shakes or 'moves' us. The word has been registered in Spanish since the 17th century, when it came from the French émouvoir, which denoted 'to be moved' or 'to be moved', but in reality, its use did not become generalized until the 19th century. The French verb came from the Latin emovere--formed by ex 'outward' and movere--, which meant 'to remove', 'to take out of a place', 'to withdraw', but also 'to shake', as emotion tends to do with our mood.
Emotions are like our compass, directing us towards what brings us joy and pleasure and away from what generates anguish, fear or can put us in danger. The brain is first and foremost interested in our survival.
Last Sunday, during the Morena National Council, a video was leaked where the still head of government Claudia Sheinbaum was seen very upset and irritated when she arrived at a forum and there were other groups that greeted her with expressions of enemy fire.
She cannot contain her fury as she complains to Alfonso Durazo for the shouts with which she was received. She has been in her "non-campaign" for months, surrounded by groups of supporters who cheer, applaud and run to have their picture taken with her. They have taken care of her with a machinery of image strategies, they have improved her physical appearance, her skin tone, her make-up and her smile, which has taken months to make her look natural. Videos, concerts and even tik toks where she must look agile and friendly, an "all-terrain" woman who even changes her tone of voice to be congruent with what the president has achieved, "we are the people". Many resources have been allocated to this with dubious results.
Our brain is wired to perceive when a smile is not authentic, when an emotion is not real.
Paul Ekman, one of the most important psychologists of the 20th century, established that there are 7 primary emotions that are innate and universal, that is, they are seen on the face in the same way all over the world. These emotions are: disgust, anger, joy, sadness, surprise, fear and contempt.
When the emotion appears our autonomic system activates the sympathetic system producing catecholamines which, among other things, generate tachycardia, sweating and dry mouth, this causes us to have more strength in hands and legs, our eyes sharpen and we feel a vital force that helps us to defend ourselves, that is not bad, sometimes we need that impulse to say: Enough is enough!
In the meeting between the governor of Sonora and Sheinbaum, the anger and tension in her is noticeable because she keeps her left fist closed, she leans forward imposing herself, invading his vital space, there is tension in her jaw and with her right index finger she warns Durazo that she has had enough. It's a "I've had enough" but not of fatigue, but of setting limits, it 's a way of saying, he's not going to allow one more. Verbally and non-verbally he is setting limits and threatening.
The governor of Sonora adopts a submissive posture, and tries to evade it by looking to the side and showing his palms.
Claudia manages to regulate herself, that is to say, to control herself for a few seconds because she knows that there are cameras and she makes a more feigned smile than usual for that photographer. The ABC of political communication is to show: security, seriousness and closeness, but now we also add serenity. We need leaders with emotional intelligence who can deal with whatever comes their way. Images of a candidate out of his or her mind do not help. Being intolerant and threatening can turn it around and represent a threat to a candidate's image.
*Barbara Tijerina has a degree in Administration with specialization in Emotional Intelligence in Education, Body Language and Human Behavior. She has experience in consulting and coaching in communication skills both at the executive level and for public figures in the public and private sectors. She has participated in various prominent media in Mexico such as Ferriz Live TV, Imagen Radio, El Heraldo Radio and TV and Radio Fórmula.
She has had teaching experience in private universities in Mexico and for private groups, teaching subjects on leadership, communication and body language. He has served as a speaker at various conferences and lectures and adds to his career the launch of his book in 2021 "Lenguaje Sin Palabras ̈.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of Opinion 51.
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