Psychotherapy

Depending on the particular school's general emphasis either on cognitive component of emotion, physical energy discharging, or on symbolic movement and facial expression components of emotion, different schools of psychotherapy approach human emotions differently. While, for example, the school of Re-evaluation Counseling propose that distressing emotions are to be relieved by "discharging" them - hence crying, laughing, sweating, shaking, and trembling. Other more cognitively oriented schools approach them via their cognitive components, such as rational emotive behavior therapy. Yet other approach emotions via symbolic movement and facial expression components (like in contemporary gestalt therapy).

Computer science

Main article: Affective computing

In the 2000s, in research in computer science, engineering, psychology and neuroscience has been aimed at developing devices that recognize human affect display and model emotions. In computer science, affective computing is a branch of the study and development of artificial intelligence that deals with the design of systems and devices that can recognize, interpret, and process human emotions. It is an interdisciplinary field spanning computer sciences, psychology, and cognitive science. While the origins of the field may be traced as far back as to early philosophical enquiries into emotion, the more modern branch of computer science originated with Rosalind Picard's 1995 paper on affective computing. Detecting emotional information begins with passive sensors which capture data about the user's physical state or behavior without interpreting the input. The data gathered is analogous to the cues humans use to perceive emotions in others. Another area within affective computing is the design of computational devices proposed to exhibit either innate emotional capabilities or that are capable of convincingly simulating emotions. Emotional speech processing recognizes the user's emotional state by analyzing speech patterns. The detection and processing of facial expression or body gestures is achieved through detectors and sensors.

Emphasizing stress

Stress is becoming an increasing problem in society as the pace of life becomes faster and more people are suffering from financial difficulties and unemployment which are factors that can raise stress levels. Stress is our body’s natural non- specific reaction to any extra demand which is put on it by either positive or negative situations. Too much stress increases the rate of wear and tear on the body.

Stress, however, is a necessary part of life. If we fail to successfully recognize, divert or process the influences which affect us our body’s reaction goes into a phase called Fight and Flight syndrome. During this stage of stress some psychological changes take place. The heart rate rises due to the increased adrenaline production, more blood flows to larger muscles and the processes in the digestive system are inhibited. If the source of stress is not encountered, after a period of time, the individual will experience the Disease Phase. Sometimes it’s related to feelings such as inability to change an aggravating situation – frustration and with the inhibited functions of the immune and digestive system, the body comes out of balance. This is when most people say they felt rundown, depressed or caught a cold.

All these signs show that someone is going through the Disease Phase – they are not coping with their stress in the correct manner. Research was done by Hans Selye, a Montreal physician, to discover the long – term effects of stress. Dr. Selye’s research showed that when a person experiencing a prolonged period of the Disease Phase has a higher risk of entering the disease portion of the stress syndrome than a person who is taking precautions or actions to deal with stress in their lives.

Some of the adverse effects of stress can manifest themselves as ulcers, changes in blood sugar levels, blood pressure levels, hypertension and headache. If you recognize any of these symptoms you should see your psychologist who can consult you on some effective ways of dealing with high stress levels and their consequential effects.