Input from the outside world enters into our bodies via our sense organs. The input goes straight to the sensory thalamus in our brains, where all the receptors meet in order to superficially organize the input, and from there it splits.

The "wires" that run the input to the amygdala (where our emotions are activated) are shorter and faster than the wires that run the input to the hippocamus and cerebral cortex (the source of "higher-order" thinking).

What this means is that whenever we encounter any situation, we respond to it emotionally before we are aware of what is actually going on. So we will always become angry before we know what it is we are angry about.

This is one of many reasons why it is important to be mindful of what is going on around us. Nobody is suggesting here to stifle or suppress our emotions, but to pause a moment (or two — or ten) before acting on them. In some cases, this arrangement feeds addiction. The person experiencing the emotion grabs a palliative before the higher-order thinking kicks in to place the emotion in perspective.

Hypnosis can help with this. Through hypnosis, we can give ourselves a little breathing room. Tell ourselves to put the emotion in a safe place, until we have all the information we need to process the input/situation in healthy way.