Emotions provide useful information about ourselves and our relationship to the world surrounding us. Just like the pain sensation prevents us from placing our hand over a hot plate, emotions are signals that help us organize our lives. Emotions are there to send a message, and it’s important that we listen. All emotions, such as sadness, happiness, anger, fear, have a crucial function.

You can imagine feelings as the soul’s own thermometer – they guide us through life, letting us know when something is wrong. For instance, if you feel afraid, a natural response is to avoid what triggers that fear. Although everyone handles emotions differently, all of us may sometimes experience our emotions and thoughts as chaotic, difficult to understand, or difficult to escape.

From the leaflet Simple Advice by the Norwegian Ministry of Health.