In Common Light

Just like how our bodies crave a balance, so too do social systems. We can see that systems will begin to revolt when the balance is thrown off.   

Expressing Emotions is a Tool for Maintaining Homeostasis

In the previous post, I explain how the body craves a state of homeostasis and has tools to return to it if it becomes lost. One tool that our body has to return to a state of homeostasis after a deviation is emotions. Specifically, it is the expression of emotions that returns our body to homeostasis. 

Emotions cannot be created nor destroyed, simply expressed (or, in an unhealthy person, suppressed) (Linder, 2024). Emotions operate in a cyclical nature — triggered, felt, expressed.

Emotions are based on a stimulus and a response. Think of this as an input and output (from the last post). The stimulus is an object or event in the one’s environment that triggers an emotional state. The response is the person’s emotional expression. It is this response that creates a return to homeostasis (Damasio, 2026). 

• For example, a child gets dropped off by her mother at preschool. As she is walking into the classroom with her teacher, she sees her mother waiting by the car (the stimulus). Her emotional response is sadness and fear. She then cries in order to calm herself, and this puts her body back into a calmed state. Crying is a self – soothing behavior (Gračanin et al., 2014), showing that it is the expression of emotion that returns us to homeostasis. 

• For another example, a soccer player hears the referee blow his whistle (stimulus), signaling the end of the match. The player, knowing that his team had officially lost, kicks the ground below him in frustration. That expression of anger made him feel better. 

When our body remains in a state of imbalance for too long, it will send us messages in order to return. For example, psychological truths are stored in our body through pain. If a person faces toxic stress, this leads to chronic health conditions such a digestive issues, chronic pain, autoimmune conditions, and cardiovascular issues (Straeter, 2025).

Emotions of Many People Come Together to Form Social Justice Movements

When the emotions of many people come together to form a similar conclusion, this is when we see the body reacting in a large scale way. Everyone functions in this way. So, we can understand social justice movements as collections of many people, triggered by similar stimuli (systemic inequalities) desiring to return to homeostasis. We can view, for example, the Civil Rights Movement as an expression of emotions. It is said that one factor of the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement was the feelings of anger in the black community. 

Humans have a psychological inclination or desire for fairness: “Human beings have a substantial desire for fairness and show strong aversions to inequity (Fehr and Schmidt, 1999, as cited in Li et al., 2016, p.1). It is wired into our psychology; even babies show an expectation of fairness (Dewar, 2024). If our idea of fairness is threatened, it will cause the body to feel anger.

The felt sense of injustice reflects the society’s imbalance. And when the society is imbalanced, it will show — through civil unrest, through protests, through uncertainty and anxiety.

Social Systems Crave Balance

The anger of many people at social injustices reflects the imbalances of their society — unequal treatment, unequal opportunities and unequal outcomes. Because everyone craves balance, restoring balance benefits all in the society.

If a society is unbalanced for too long, just like the body, it will revolt and let you know.

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References 

Damasio, A. (2026, March 4). Why your biology runs on Feelings. Nautilus. https://nautil.us/why-your-biology-runs-on-feelings-236953

Dewar, G. (2024, March 25). Babies expect fairness, and prefer people who behave with fairness. PARENTING SCIENCE. https://parentingscience.com/babies-expect-fairness/

Gračanin, A., Bylsma, L. M., & Vingerhoets, A. J. J. M. (2014, May 28). Is crying a self-soothing behavior?. Frontiers in psychology. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4035568/

Li, J., Wang, W., Yu, J., & Zhu, L. (2016, August 30). Young Children’s development of Fairness Preference. Frontiers in psychology. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5004411/#B22

Linder, J. (2024, July 7). The law of conservation of emotion. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mindfulness-insights/202406/the-law-of-conservation-of-emotion

Straeter, S. V. (2025, April 4). The body keeps score: How suppressed emotions manifest as physical illness. drstephaniestraeter. https://www.drstephaniestraeter.com/single-post/the-body-keeps-score-how-suppressed-emotions-manifest-as-physical-illness