“These waves can be the primary emotional chemistry of a person or a person can have a combination of all three.

First, there is a Tribal wave which is concerned with need and touch. This wave ratchets up until it explodes, and then resets to start the process all over again. Imagine a man with Tribal emotional Definition. Let’s say his wife is doing something that is bothering him, but he doesn’t say anything about it. It goes on for weeks. Each time she does something that bothers him, his emotional wave ratchets up. Then one day it explodes. The wife didn’t see it coming and is surprised. Once he blows off the steam of the emotions, he is back to normal, ready to begin the process all over again.

The second type of emotional wave is the Individual wave. It modulates passion and moodiness. These people move along on an even keel most of the time, with smaller, shorter, up and down spikes. Such people might seem non-emotional, but they are moody people. They might be “down” about something for a short time until they move to a new place in their wave and their mood shifts.

The third type of emotional wave is the Abstract wave. This wave, concerned with desire and feeling, moves from peaks and valleys, based on expectation, and then crashes after the expectation is not met. The trick is to enter into something just for the experience, without any expectation. For example, a woman has a few dates and falls in love. She fantasizes about how great the man is and how wonderful their future will be, only to discover he does not live up to her expectations or feel the same way about her. These crashes can be tough to handle.

The emotional wave is a chemical process only. But people try to rationalize their emotions. When we are up on our wave, we make up a reason, and when we are down, we make up another reason. We think we have to have a reason or put the blame somewhere rather than just accept the chemistry. When we feel sad, our friends want to know why, so we feel we need a reason. Making up reasons for the emotional chemistry can cause great pain. As the wave moves, you will feel differently, and you don’t need assign a reason.”- Lynda Bunnell, Living your Design Student Manual