How does your soul react to Disgust?

Disgust, the emotion, is a strong dislike to disapproval triggered by a feeling that something is toxic. 

The instinctive feeling of disgust, one of the seven core emotions, has been hard wired into your brain as an evolutionary survival mechanism. Disgust arises to warn you that something is toxic, that it should be expelled from your body or your life for survival. In prehistoric times, this would be something, like a poison that is toxic to your body. Over time, disgust has taken on a socio-moral aspect and how it is triggered depends on the belief system in your soul, that part of you that is unique, where your character, cultural experiences or religious beliefs and feelings come together. 

The instinctive emotion of disgust in your soul is activated by socio-moral cues and regulates risk through behavior. Some triggers for socio-moral disgust are universal to humankind, such as murder or rape. Others can be culturally or religiously oriented. 

Everybody feels instinctive emotions in a unique way, based on physiological make-up, character and personal experiences. Some aspects of disgust, as with all the primary emotions can be personal to you, e.g. an aversion to another person without logically being able to explain it. Tybur et al., as outlined in Wikipedia, further defined the socio moral element of this emotion: 

Moral or Socio-moral disgust ‘pertains to social transgressions’ which avoids social relationships with norm-violating individuals, such as liars, thieves, murderers and rapists, as such relationships threaten social cohesion.  

Socio-Moral disgust is multi-faceted: 

Your soul can be a filter for social moral disgust

At a social or moral level, when you feel disgust, except for universal triggers, the intensity of the feeling very much depends on what your beliefs in your soul are, whether you define your soul in religious terms or as a set of experiences that are unique to you. Universally, across cultures, certain behaviours will disgust all. Child molesters, unacceptable to any human kind, have to be protected in prison. Other social-moral disgust is more relative to culture, personal experience or religious belief, for example ways of dressing or drinking alcohol. Some may find heavy drinking and the subsequent human behaviour acceptable whereas others may be disgusted by it. You may have had an experience with a person that transgresses social-moral behaviour in the past, which affects your mental/physiological disgust reactions to another human being, though it is absolutely unrelated. The instinctive reaction is based in your soul. 

Your soul can be a risky driver of social moral disgust

Society evolves and with it belief systems on what is socially or morally acceptable. Generally, society needs structure and some moral rules (murder, child molesting, raping, pillaging) remain constant and globally universal belief systems. Yet, within our human moral belief systems, there are obviously many variations in the world. Of the over 4000 religions across the globe, each has a variation on social-moral guidelines. Rigid belief systems in the religious soul can lead to judgement of others, which can lead to actions of conflict rather than simple avoidance. Throughout history, there have been plenty of wars and loss of human life in the name of religious belief systems. Over time, the balance between prejudiced disgust and socially acceptable disgust progresses. For example society has moved from ostracizing the ‘sexually different’ as socially ‘disgusting’ or immoral to a greater social acceptance. Accepting your instinctive emotions without forcefully internalizing them whilst creating a mindful awareness is a step towards regulating your risks and subsequent behaviours.

Socio-Moral Disgust in your soul can affect your body 

Researchers have started to look at the socio-moral angle of disgust (Curtis & Biran, 2001). Generally, socio-moral disgust starts in the soul but it instigates behavioural changes in your body, either avoiding or recoiling from the object of disgust or even a feeling of being sick in your stomach. Ignoring your feeling of disgust can lead to body pain issues, yet mindful awareness can help you assess the validity of the instinctive emotional warning system of disgust. Generally, with disgust for others, people assume an avoidance strategy. Sometimes, this is impossible and your emotion gets internalized. Not being able to process your emotion can lead to stress. On a serious level, disgust can be an emotional response to abuse. As Hilary j Hendel, LCSW, writes in ‘Psychology today: “We naturally feel disgusted in response to someone who has abused us. Validating disgust can decrease anxiety and shame from trauma.”

Disgust filtered through your soul can cause  internal conflict

Generally, unless you faint at the sight of your own blood, disgust at yourself takes the form of socio-moral disgust. Given that the instinctive emotion of disgust acts as a behavioural risk avoider, disgust at yourself, regulated by the belief system in your soul can sometimes be a regulator for ‘good’. You may have a terrific hangover or be disgusted at your behavior and this can be a sign for your to change. At other times, the voice in your head, based on your moral education or personal experiences, can lead to inner conflict. For example, religious guilt when it may not necessarily fit with your social beliefs. 

Can love can overcome your soul’s disgust sensitivity?

Can love, powered by the instinct of desire ‘and oxytocin’, known as the love hormone overpower disgust? In his 2018 study, Robert Sapolsky, citing the De Dreu 2011 and 2012 studies, noted that oxytocin can enhance aggression or disgust for ‘out group’ members, as in people that are unknown. People who do not share the same ‘socio-moral’ belief systems in their soul may also be considered ‘unknown’, in which case, the ‘oxytocin’ hormone can be unhelpful. Yet, instinctive desire and subsequent love can bring two ‘unknown’ people together and could modify the belief systems in their soul. 

Sexual socio-moral disgust can affect women more than men 

Disgust has evolved as a risk regulator, a way of avoiding the wrong mating strategy such as incest or the risk of disease from external toxins, yet the emotion can have a strong socio-moral component. Generally, women have a greater propensity for disgust than men (Adam Sparks et al, 2018, Emotion). In this study, it is assumed that this sex difference is a particular feature of the mind more than the body. Historically, social and religious conditioning, and probably biological hormones has tended to steer women away from numerous sexual encounters. As a result, disgust in a sexual context, filtered through a women’s soul is probably stronger than in men. 

Disgust changes in your soul as you age 

Children are not as disgusted by certain things as adults, for example playing with dog excrement. As you age, you have more experiences, your belief systems mature and so do your instinctive socio-moral disgust triggers. What may not have bothered you when you were younger can become an entrenched bitter belief, depending on your experiences and how you process them. A more pleasant alternative, is that as you age, you become wiser, your soul and belief systems more tolerant with a lower propensity for disgust. 

Instinctive emotions are like the weather, beyond your conscious control. For a balanced life, the first step is to understand human instinctive emotions, how they work and practical steps to take in order to avoid situations that are destructive to emotional wellbeing. Not every instinctive emotion that is acted on has positive consequences. Sometimes, it may be best to take shelter from the storm. Disgust an instinctive emotion, originally evolved for physical survival. Today, socio-moral disgust, filtered through your soul is a key element of the emotion, a trigger in your body, mind and soul for action.