Leading Cause of Death: The Demographics by age, gender, and sex in general.

Joy or happiness can motivate us to join in, take part, flourish, share, be a part of, repeat these activities.

Fear can motivate us to get away, hide, flee, run, keep ourselves or others safe. It protects us.

Sadness can motivate us to withdraw, ruminate, cry, heal, express hurt, seek comfort and bond with others.

Anger can motivate us to attack, defend or stand up for ourselves, identify boundary violation, identify there is a threat to our self or our loved ones or something we value.

Guilt can motivate us to repair what we have done and informs us that we have violated our morals or values.

Shame can motivate us to hide away, to keep things secret, to remember our fallibility and humility, to keep us “right sized”.

Disgust can motivate us to withdraw, keep a distance, get clean or clean our environment to ensure we stay healthy.

Compassion, empathy, or sympathy can motivate us to offer comfort, be with others, relate to one another and form strong bonds.

Confusion (Cognitive with physical sensations) can motivate us to get curious, learn, discover, grow.

Affection (behavioural with physical sensations) can motivate us to give love, get close to specific people who were feel safe with, and want to spend more time with.

“Laughter is anti-inflammatory”

Reasonably well supported. Research suggests laughter reduces cortisol and certain inflammatory markers. It is not a medical treatment but the physiological effect is real.

“Crying is regulating”

Well supported. Emotional tears contain stress hormones that the body is literally shedding. Most people feel a genuine physiological calm after crying — that is not imagined, it is the nervous system returning to baseline.

“Hugging is immunoprotective”

Fairly well supported. Physical touch triggers oxytocin release, which has measurable effects on stress hormones. A Carnegie Mellon study found people who received more hugs were less susceptible to illness.

“Singing is vagal toning”

Accurate and underappreciated. The vagus nerve runs through the vocal cords and throat. Singing, humming, and even gargling genuinely stimulates it, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system and promotes calm.

“Dancing is neurogenic”

Interesting claim. Neurogenesis means the creation of new neurons and it is stimulated by aerobic exercise, coordination, and rhythm. Dance combines all three, so this has a reasonable basis. Also, learning new skills, a diet rich in flavonoids, and restful sleep promote neurogenesis.

“Joy is a biological necessity”

The body does not treat joy as a luxury. Positive emotional states have measurable effects on immune function, cardiovascular health, healing rates, and longevity. Chronic joylessness is genuinely harmful physically, not just emotionally.