Desire: The Eighth Basic Emotion

Do you know anyone struggling with their weight right now?

Here's something that might help them understand what's really going on. Back in the 1970s, psychologist Paul Ekman identified seven basic emotions through his research on facial expressions: anger, contempt, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise. 

These emotions are considered "basic" because they're universal, you can recognise them on anyone's face anywhere in the world, and they're hard-wired into us for survival. But here's the thing, I think we need an eighth emotion on that list: desire.

Why? Because right now, over 2 billion people are overweight, and only 7% of Americans are metabolically healthy according to research. That's not a willpower problem, that's a biological problem.

As you read this digest, hormones in your body are driving desires to eat sugary, calorie-dense foods. This isn't about weakness, it's about biochemistry. Think about it. When you feel anger, you recognise it. When you feel fear, you know it. But when desire hits, especially food desire driven by insulin and ghrelin, most people think it's just them being greedy or lacking discipline.

They don't recognise it as a basic emotion being hijacked by the modern food environment. If desire was officially recognised as a basic emotion, we could study it properly. We could understand how ultra-processed foods manipulate this emotion.

We could help people recognise when their desire for food is hormone-driven rather than genuine hunger. We could stop blaming people and start fixing the real problem.

Your action today: Next time you feel a strong food craving, pause and recognise it as desire, a basic emotion being triggered. You're not weak, you're human.

What do you think? Should desire be the eighth basic emotion? Let me know your views in the chat room.