The 7 Affect Streams : 3 Vagal Tone Categories

[Matt23]

This work comes from an article by Bonnitta Roy and the work of Jaak Panksepp, Diana Fosha, and Eileen Russell.  https://bonnittaroy.substack.com/p/the-affect-streams?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo4ODkwNjY3LCJwb3N0X2lkIjo0MzY1MTA5MCwiXyI6Im5oR1lHIiwiaWF0IjoxNjM5MTgzMzI2LCJleHAiOjE2MzkxODY5MjYsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0zMDI4NDciLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.pekkZv7NjWMvPh_yiw_8JoePRZpGGS4mJE8j1klz9xE

 

Jaak Panksepp identified 7 primary affect streams: LUST, PLAY, ANGER, SEEKING, FEAR, CARE, and PANIC.  

• Each affect is present from birth.

 

Affect vs. Emotion: 

• Affect:  neurochemicals, pupil dilation, breath rate, heart rate, sweating, muscle tension. 
  • EX: A dear could be experiencing the 'FEAR' affect stream, yet not feel fear the emotion since that would be counter-productive to getting out of the way of a car.  What the dear experiences is alertness and different physiological processes and state-changes.  
• Emotion: The regular feelings we all experience and associate with words like fear, guilt, joy, love, shame, etc..  usually in the frontal torso (belly, chest). 

 

Affect to Emotion

• When a baby falls down, it will experience an affect-state shift (change in heart rate, breathing, muscle tension, etc.), but it won't necessarily know what that means.  So, it will then look to a primary caregiver to see how they react and then use that to interpret how to feel about the state shift they just experienced.  If the primary caregiver responds with a more open and expanded disposition to what happened (e.g. perhaps saying "Oh, look at what happened!" with a big smile and relaxed posture, indicating it's ok) the baby will then interpret that affect with more positive associations and emotions.  The opposite is true if the primary caregiver responds with a more contracted disposition (e.g. fear, wide eyes, perhaps saying "OMG Baby! Are you ok! I need help!").   This is how certain Affects are imprinted with either more expanded or contracted emotions and associations.  

 

Groupings

• Eileen Russell saw that each affect, besides LUST, was potentially associated across vagal tone.  
• She saw CARE and PANIC affects functions for connection.
• She saw PLAY and ANGER affects relate to mastery ("Because that's how we learn).
• And she saw SEEKING and FEAR affects relating to tremulous since it's how we "tremble" with excitement on the boundary of fear and seeking.  

 

Spiritual Path Groupings

• Bonnitta further identified connections between the spiritual path and each group.
• Mastery stream = PATH
• Tremulous stream = GAOL
• Connection stream = BASIS

Awakened Modes

• Bonnitta Roy saw Eileen's research and saw how they connect also to "Awakened modes" of each group. 
• Mastery stream = Wu-Wei (or Effortless Action)
• Tremulous stream = Awe
• Connection stream = Universal Compassion

Expanded Modes

• Mastery stream = PLAY
• Tremulous stream = SEEKING
• Connection stream = Care

Contracted Modes

• Mastery stream = ANGER
• Tremulous stream = FEAR
• Connection stream = PANIC

Deeply Contracted Modes

• Mastery stream = RAGE
• Tremulous stream = DREAD
• Connection stream = GRIEF

 

 

Exercise

• For a week, see  monitor and observe yourself going through each of the affects, identifying when you are in each one.   
• Tip:  wear a wristband to remember (thanks Leo for that hack:)) 
• Tip: put on alarms throughout the day to stop, become more mindful, and observe to see which one you're probably in or most identify with.  
• Remember, it's not emotion we're going after (not those things in your belly or chest), but more physical sensations.
  • Tip:  I know it's a hard distinction to make, and is one I'm still confused about.  But, if you feel caught with emotions, try to instead focus your attention over your entire body, doing a more expanded observing of yourself rather than on specific emotions.  See what type of state your in.  Are you seeking something?  Are you desiring or in a more care-connection state?  Or are you in a playful learning, skill centered state?
• Good Luck!  And have fun

 

Also, I'd love feedback on how you found my layout and summary of the article.  Did it work for you?  Improvements?  How was the exercise?

Cheers.

Edited December 11, 2021 by Matt23