Our emotions can change drastically throughout the course of a day. Specific events might cause us to feel happy or sad, worried or excited. Sometimes we might experience all of these feelings in quick succession, perhaps in just a few hours.
Emotions are primaeval and automatic reactions that motivate us to take action: if we feel fear at the sight of a spider, we will suddenly move away. If we experience delight as we encounter a gently flowing stream, we might cautiously approach. But sometimes we can find our minds in a state that is unhelpful – stressed and in need of calm, bored and seeking inspiration, or over-excited at bedtime.
Once we begin to recognise how we’re feeling at any given moment, we can take steps to change our mental state for the better.
A Theory of Emotion
Several theories exist to explain emotions, but one of the most influential was proposed by James Russell in 1980. He suggested that the majority of common emotions can be described according to two scales: how positive or negative they feel, and how much they energise us.
Russell combined these measures in two-dimensional space to create a ‘circumplex’, and plotted where different emotions could be found. The resulting picture was profound: he had created a tool to help understand where people’s current emotional state was positioned, and a road map for how to change it.
For example, if someone feels low in energy but positive, they might feel calm and content. Yet when they feel low in energy and negative, they might feel bored and unmotivated.
In some cases, there might be nothing wrong with our energy levels, but how we feel about that energy might need shifting. For example, if we could reframe stress and tenseness into excitement and enthusiasm, we may be able to harness that energy for focus and momentum.
Natural Transitions
This process is known as emotion regulation, and unfolds when we take action to control our emotions. Sometimes it can occur subconsciously and without us noticing, but most of the time we have to make an intentional effort to change how we feel: we might listen to uplifting music when we’re sad, or take a walk when we’re anxious.
Several studies have shown that natural environments can play a central role in helping people to regulate their emotions and provide the perfect settings to help us transition between ‘emotional quadrants’.
Sometimes, we might actively seek out encounters in nature that can change our mood, whether we’re happy or sad. Sometimes we might find this happening without us even realising.
For those who are strapped for time, even brief encounters with both real and digital natural environments can increase positive emotions and reduce negative feelings too. And early evidence suggests that specific features in nature, such as bird diversity and the presence of water, could be particularly good at moving our emotions to the positive side of Russell’s circumplex. Perhaps more importantly still, these positive emotions can help us to form bonds with the natural world, bringing us closer to the nature around us and in turn amplifying its benefits.
Let's Regulate
It can take a little practice to recognise how we’re feeling at any given moment - and how we might want that to change - so we’ve assembled some suggestions to get you started.
Feeling a little sluggish first thing in the morning? Help your energy gently get going with the breaking dawn of Lake Bled in Slovenia.
Anxious about the day ahead? Let your worry flow into vigour with the running waters and boisterous wrens of Radovna River.
Bored and in need of some inspiration? Find your passion and re-energise the day with the fiery tumult of one of Iceland’s most active volcanoes.
Thoughts racing through your mind and struggling to wind down before bed? Let the soothing rhythm of the Pacific Ocean help you into a state of calm.
