Hi Katt. I absolutely agree that one event or situation can cause many emotions at the same time (like you illustrated). My view is that each human emotion exists because it helped our ancestors survive or pass on their genes in one way or another. That doesn’t mean, however, that those emotions help in every situation (I believe that sometimes they are counterproductive) and it doesn’t even imply that all emotions help on average in the world today (since the modern world is different than the world our emotions developed in, and our goals are not merely the survival of our genes).

The institutions that allow this to happen (i.e., government/corporations) cause me to feel angry – that such cruelties are allowed primarily for the sake of profit.

I am saddened that countless animals suffer daily unnecessarily while at the same time, millions of people suffer human health crises due to carcinogens and pollutants involved in the meat production/packing process and bacterias contaminate our water supply due to animal waste from intensive conditions.

And lastly, there often are feelings of depression – the sense that farming conditions will never improve – not when corporate interests are at stake. So why even try, right?

I would be curious to see your take on how these emotions also relate to anxiety, how they may benefit us, as humans, in certain situations (if at all – is there ever a situation where depression is beneficial?), and how they can relate to positive emotions as well.