Function of Emotions

At my treatment center, we learn a lot about emotions. One of my favorite lessons was the function of emotions. My treatment center lives by the idea that every emotion holds a function, and because of that there are no good or bad emotions, just emotions. What does this mean though? It means that your sadness is showing you something, your anger means something, your contentment is telling you something. Below is a list of emotions and what function they might tell you.

• Anger
• There is an injustice.
• Something is wrong with the situation.
• Sadness
• Something is important to you.
• Keeps you focused on what is important
• Fear
• Something is wrong
• You're in danger
• Anxiety
• You need to prepare for something
• Something is not right
• Guilt
• You noticed you need to fix something
• Disgust
• You need to be protected from something

People with eating disorders often struggle with how strongly they feel their emotions, so they turn to emotionally driven behaviors or avoidance strategies. In recovery, it is important to learn how responses to emotions are driving symptom use.