About

You take better care of yourself now. You eat with attention, move your body, make plans, set reminders, and often follow through. Your calendar is, at times, tidy. Your inbox is under control. Even your dentist appointments are booked. You invest in your growth: you sign up for courses and, when time allows, finish some books you buy. You’re planning a retreat. You try. And sometimes, you succeed. 

But still ... You snapped at Jordan on Monday, even though you’d promised yourself to stay composed. Yesterday, you walked away from Alex’s question, knowing it would only make the next conversation harder. You woke again at three in the morning, replaying how in 2018, you told Claire’s boyfriend that the job sounded “surprisingly legitimate.” You meant it as a joke. No one laughed.

What is that? It’s your emotions doing what they were shaped to do, not necessarily what you need them to do.

Emotions are biological algorithms. They automate where your attention goes, how you interpret what you see, and how you behave. They were carved by evolution to pass on genes, not to make you happy or act in line with your values. Nature doesn’t ask what matters to you. It doesn’t care about your goals, your values, or how you feel. And so your emotions don’t either—unless you intervene.

I’m here to help you understand how your emotional system works and how to patiently refine it into an instrument that supports the life you’re trying to live and the person you want to be. Hi, I’m Malka. It’s lovely to meet you.

I work with emotions for a living. I’m a certified (neuro)psychoanalyst with a PhD in evolutionary anthropology and an MSc in psychotherapy science. I study how emotional systems are built, what they’re built for, and how to work with them in the world we live in.

Through therapy and coaching, classes and salons, I offer guidance and education rooted in biology, shaped by experience, and delivered with care. I help you understand the patterns behind your emotional responses and learn how to shift them.

Emotions shape every atom of your life. They deserve your time, your attention, and your thoughtful care.

Malka Čeh, Malka Ceh

You like to read the fine print?

I appreciate that. Here’s the story behind why you might choose to work with me. My background, my training, and the experiences that have shaped my approach.

My enthrallment with emotions turned up unexpectedly while studying Slovenian language and literature. At the undergraduate finale, I entertained myself with conceptual metaphors of emotion in everyday language. I grew attached and, treading into marketing, in my postgraduate assignment, I examined how emotions influence purchasing decisions. By then, I found myself increasingly curious, drawing me to pivot into mental disciplines. I pursued a BSc and an MSc in psychotherapy science and entered psychoanalytical training. As my understanding of the biological foundations of the mental world expanded, I augmented my background with neuroanalytical training and a PhD in evolutionary anthropology, later leading to a postdoc in human ethology.

What does this mean for my work with you?

Rooted in a psychoanalytic orientation, I am trained in depth approaches that integrate unconscious processes, developmental dynamics, and relational theories. I don’t believe in shortcuts or instant solutions, and instead swear by the patient, deliberate work on changeovers. My grounding in biology reassures me that nothing organic transforms overnight; shaping new mental patterns is akin to tending a tree. It takes time, care, and patience. The insights from affective science declare that emotions are the roots of this tree, even if elusive and capricious. Trimming and shaping them requires a steady hand, devotion, and a willingness to experiment. Practicing in different therapeutic frameworks, including existential and positive psychotherapies, phenomenological inquiry, and my alma mater, psychoanalysis, favored me with a diverse set of tools for this mission. They allow me to style my approach to your uniqueness, always anchored in evidence-based practice.

Of course, theoretical knowledge alone does not cultivate skill; experience does. I honed mine through diverse adventures. My earliest go back attending to kids and teens with special needs in their language learning. Going ahead, I volunteered in youth programs, community centers, and counseling services. As a research assistant in health sector and humanities, I collaborated on national and international projects on mental health and well-being. During my psychoanalytical training and later in my private practice, I worked clinically, addressing emotional, relational, and personality challenges in adults.  In the course of all this time, I’ve had the privilege of sharing my time with a colorful spectrum of beautiful people, from high-performing professionals to individuals seeking to rebuild their lives after profound challenges.

In recent years, I’ve narrowed my work to what turned out to still matter the most to me: emotions. I'm developing a range of services for cultivating emotional health, from one-to-one meetings to group programs that foster community and ongoing learning. I enjoy creating digital products: books, classes, and workshops designed to help you navigate the emotional landscape and transform it into an orchestra that plays in harmony with the life you want to live.

My approach has grown deeply rooted in evolutionary theory and affective science. I settled in evolutionary anthropology, but draw from akin disciplines such as evolutionary psychiatry, cognitive and social neuroscience, and relational neurobiology. These perspectives complement and refine traditional mental models, providing a clearer map of the biological underpinnings of emotion, motivation, and behavior. They illuminate not only why you feel the way you do, but also how to work with those feelings to align them with your goals and aspirations.

I'd like to learn more about how I can support your emotional growth. I invite you to explore my resources, join my programs, or reach out to connect.

"You feel, therefore you are."

- Jaak Panksepp

"You feel, therefore you are." - Jaak Panksepp

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„The only queer people are those who don't love anybody.“ - Rita Mae Brown. 

🌈 Today is the last day of Pride Month. And perhaps the most important day to speak. The celebration of love, self-discovery, and truth transcends seasons and trends.

To be abnormal, Rita Mae Brown implies, is to live without love. Recognizing that love, in all its forms, is never a threat to society but a contribution to it, means being emotionally literate. 🧠🤍 Emotional intelligence is letting people become who they are, love who they love, and minding your own. It’s also the ability to discern what matters and what doesn’t, what causes harm and what doesn’t. 🌍 There are problems in this world: war, hunger, ecological collapse, the crises of inequality, displacement, eroding human rights, just to name a few. These are the issues that demand attention, not two people holding hands. Not a teenager figuring out who they are. Not the existence of love between consenting adults. 💞 Fixating on other people’s private identities and intimate lives is not moral vigilance, it’s procrastination.

As Pride Month ends, the work does not. Emotional growth is never just personal. It shapes how we treat one another, what we accept, and what we protect. 🤝 Every act of understanding, every moment you help others not to judge, not to interfere, not to diminish, strengthens the emotional maturity of the culture we live in. 🌱 Let this be part of how we grow: not only inward, but together. 🙏🏻🩷💚💙

#PrideMonth #EmotionalHealth #CAREsystem #AffectiveScience #CraftingAffect #RitaMaeBrown #EmotionalLiteracy #EvolutionOfLove #EmotionalDesign #Affectology #QueerEmotion #EmotionalWisdom #EmotionalIntelligence #SelfAwareness #MentalHealthAwareness #PersonalGrowth #TherapyTools #HealingJourney #HighFunctioningAnxiety #PsychologyFacts #WomenWhoThink #MindBodyConnection #Affectology #CraftingAffect #EmotionalLiteracy #ScienceOfEmotion #LiveWithClarity #CalmAuthority #LetPeopleLove #PrideMonth #QueerAllies #EthicalLiving #SocialMaturity #IntelligentCompassion�"Anger is just anger. It isn't good. It isn't bad. It just is. What you do with it is what matters. It's like anything else. You can use it to build or to destroy. You just have to make the choice." - Jim Butcher 

Every emotion is a biological suggestion. It appears to tell you what your DNA thinks is right and how to act accordingly. 🧬 The feeling points you toward a behavioral option. The unpleasantness is the push. The relief you might get from following its suggestion is the pull. ➡️ This is how emotional sequences are designed: they guide your actions by organizing your sensations. But you don’t have to follow every trail. You can feel an emotion fully and choose to do nothing. This is where emotional agency lives: in the pause between feeling and acting. 🧠⚖️ Anger, like all emotions, isn’t a verdict. It’s a signal. It evolved to copy your genes. Sometimes the instructions are aligned with your goals and values. In that case, use it. Sometimes they are not. In that case, sublimate, dial it down, or simply let it be. 🍃🌀

#Affectology #Affectologist #CraftingAffect #EmotionalHealth #EmotionalWisdom #EmotionalMechanisms #EmotionalIntelligence #CoreEmotions #RAGEsystem #EmotionalAgency #BehavioralMotivation #EmotionalLiteracy #EmotionalSequence #AngerIsASignal #FeelThinkAct #EmotionAsTool #JimButcherQuote #EmotionalAwareness #EmotionalRegulation #ScienceOfEmotion🌈 “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
I stand with the LGBTQ+ community. ❤️🩷🧡💛💚💙🩵💜🖤🩶🤍 Pride Month reminds us that dignity, safety, and freedom, even after decades of advocacy, are still reserved for some and denied to many. Human rights must become universal. Let’s not stop dreaming of a world where everyone is free to love and to live as they are. 🙏 

Hate evolved as a survival tool, shaped to guard territory, enforce cohesion, and punish the unknown. Your emotional system was built to favor familiarity: to trust those who look, speak, or act like kin, and to treat what falls outside that pattern with suspicion. In evolutionary terms, this strategy reduced risk to you and created harm to others. 🤕 But biology does not only fuel hate it also enables care. CARE is the emotional architecture of protection and inclusion. It reaches past the boundary of what feels familiar and builds connection. Love is the emotional intelligence to protect what feels unfamiliar. ❤️❤️
#PrideMonth #EmotionalHealth #Affectology #CraftingAffect #LGBTQAlly #CAREweb #RAGEweb #GeneCenteredPsychology #EvolutionaryCompassion #ScienceOfEmotions #BiologicalRealism #KingQuote #EmotionalWisdom☮️ "Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education, knowledge; and humane ways.”
- Tenzin Gyatso, The Dalai Lama

Rivalry, suspicion, and fight were favored by natural selection. Emotions like rage, fear, and disgust evolved to protect selfish biological interests: ensuring resources for kin survival. These emotions increased the odds that your ancestors would pass on their genes by defending possessions and access to vital assets. 🧬 These aggressive emotional programs weren't designed to be just or fair; they are biological tools, not indicators of truth. This means sanity must intervene.

🌍 Peace is not instinctive; it must be cultivated. It must be taught, practiced, and protected. It is not about the absence of antagonistic emotions, but the presence of emotional regulation. 🍃☯️

Peace is when you can feel the heat of RAGE or the tension of FEAR and still choose not to strike. 🙏 It is when you cultivate your emotional capacity to embrace differences without causing harm. 💙 You can shape your emotional landscape not to mirror what your genes code you for, but to reflect what you value.

Emotional health is not a life without conflict, but a life where conflict doesn’t collapse into cruelty. 🩶

#Affectology #EmotionalHealth #CraftingAffect #PeaceAndEmotion #EmotionAsBiology #AffectiveNeuroscience #DalaiLamaQuote #GeneCenteredPsychology #EmotionalRegulation #RAGEsystem #FEARsystem #MiddleEast #IsraelIranGaza #EmotionsInWar #EmotionalWisdom #PeaceIsAPractice #EmotionIsNotTruth🌾 “I’m a big believer in boredom. Boredom allows one to indulge in curiosity, and out of curiosity comes everything.” - Steve Jobs

Boredom is the unpleasant edge of your exploratory drive: the SEEKING emotion. That drive is life itself: the mother of exploration, learning, growing, creating. 🎨 It is the primary source of momentum that moves you through the world. SEEKING is the root emotion, the lifeblood of vitality. 🍀

Boredom feels unpleasant because it’s meant to provoke you to act. It is the craving for meaningful engagement. Guide it wisely. 🩶

#EmotionalHealth #Affectology #CraftingAffect #SteveJobsQuote #SEEKINGsystem #CoreEmotions #EmotionalMechanisms #AffectiveNeuroscience #GeneCenteredPsychology #EmotionalLiteracy #EmotionalIntelligence #CuriosityDrive #RestlessnessAsSignal #ExploratoryDrive #InnerMotivation #FeelingDriven #EmotionalWisdom #BoredomAsHunger #CuriosityIsVital #MomentumFromEmotion #LifebloodOfVitality🌱 “The little emotions are the great captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it.” — Vincent Van Gogh

It’s often the smallest of feelings that steer your course. A flicker of doubt, a whisper of hope, a quiet pang of desire. Like the wind guiding a sailboat, these subtle currents shape your days, choices, and life.

A gentle reminder: take time to listen to your own inner weather. The tiniest breeze can change your direction. 😉❤️🍃

#EmotionalHealth #Affectology #VincentVanGogh #CraftingAffect #EmotionalIntelligence #FeelingsMatter #EmotionalAwareness #EmotionalLiteracy #MindfulLiving #SelfReflection #SubtleEmotions #EmotionalGuidance #EmotionalInsight #EmotionalGrowth #ArtAndEmotions #HumanExperience #EmotionalWisdom #EmotionalLandscape #EmotionMatters #LifeAndFeelings #PsychologicalInsight #EmotionalCaptains #SilentInfluence #InvisibleForces #GeneCenteredEvolution #NeuroPsychoanalysis #EmotionsInEverydayLifeIn the unskippable group project of being human, emotional challenges lurk like mischievous gremlins, ready to trip you up. 🌪️ Naturally, I asked ChatGPT which emotional challenges humans struggle with most. Because when in doubt, ask the robot. 😏 

Take a moment to notice: which of these tends to mess with you most? And which are more like occasional speed bumps? Your answers might surprise you and reveal your next emotional growth hack. 🌱✨

🔊 Upregulated Emotional Expression: Your emotions crank the volume past effective and straight into earthquake alert levels. Like using a megaphone for an intimate conversation; leaning across the café table, voice rising with every sentence, hands flailing dramatically while your friend slowly leans back, wondering if they should pretend they don’t know you ... 🎤💥

💧 Emotional Overwhelm: Your emotions come at you like a tidal wave. 🌊 Whether it’s their intensity or your capacity to process them, you end up feeling drowned in the feels.

🔥 Emotional Suppression: You deliberately stifle your emotions; like a pressure cooker with a sealed lid. While this can build resilience and the bottling it up might work … until it doesn’t. 🚪💥

👁️‍🗨️ Limited Empathetic Perception: You find it difficult to read others' emotional states accurately. Feels like reading a book in dim light. You know there’s meaning there, but it’s all a blur. 📖💡

🔍 Impaired Emotional Recognition: Sometimes you know you’re feeling something … but what? Other times, you don’t even register there’s a feeling at all. It’s like having an inbox where the important emails show up blank ... or don’t show up at all. 🌀❓

🤐 Downregulated Emotional Expression: You lock your emotions up like a vault … but, uh, the key’s still inside. 🔒🗝️ Good luck getting in.

Now tell me: where do your emotional gremlins cause the most chaos? Drop your ranking below. 👇😏

#EmotionalHealth #EmotionalIntelligence # EmotionalLiteracy #EmotionalGremlins #EmotionalFitness #PersonalGrowth #MentalHealth #PersonalDevelopment #PeakPerformance #PerformanceHacks #AffHave you been introduced to Emotional Fitness? 🤝 Meet your greatest ally. Ever wish your emotions worked for you instead of dragging you into an existential crisis over the wrong coffee order? ☕😵‍💫 Well, emotional fitness is the underrated superpower you didn’t know you needed. 💪✨. It’s not just about feeling good (though, bonus points if you do). It’s about having emotions that actually pull their weight: aligning with your goals 🎯, matching your values 💡, and not throwing tantrums when life throws curveballs. ⚡
Think of it in two dimensions: 🌿a) Emotional well-being: aka feeling deluxe okay. ⚙️ b) Emotional functionality: the system that keeps you there. Together, they turn your emotions into high-performance tools 🛠️ instead of unpredictable gremlins. 👀 So, are you in? Double tap if you're ready to train your emotions like the badass life allies they’re meant to be. 💪🔥💚
#EmotionalFitness #UpgradeYourEmotions #EmotionalSuperpower #EmotionalHealth #PeakPerformance #BrainGains #MentalWellness #SelfDevelopment #AffectScience #AffectologyDid you think emotions were just for crying at rom-coms or yelling at slow Wi-Fi? You’d be wrong (sorry, not sorry). 😏 In recent decades, breakthroughs in affective science have revolutionized decision-making theories. 🧠📚 Research shows that emotions are the backstage managers of your life, pulling the strings behind most of your decisions. 🎭🧠

Emotions don’t just color your decisions; they practically paint the whole mural. 🎨✨ Your choices aren’t just logical chess moves; they’re emotional dance-offs. 💃🕺 Sometimes this leads to brilliance (like finally choosing the perfect shade for a logo), and sometimes … well, it’s like walking into a trap covered in glitter. 🕳️✨

Case in point: My emotions made me switch my brand’s color palette. And no regrets; it’s fabulous. 💅💚

So, what’s the last decision you made? Did it have “emotionally driven” written all over it? Or … Spill the tea. 🫖💭

#EmotionalFitness #ScienceOfEmotions #DecisionsDecisions #BrandColorsAndFeelings #MalkaCeh #Affectology #AffectiveScience #ScienceOfEmotions #EmotionalIntelligence #EmotionalLiteracy #Feelings

[1] Lerner, J., Li, Y., Valdesolo, P., & Kassam, K. (2015). Emotion and decision making. Annual Review of Psychology, 66, 799-823. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115043🌱 Spring is almost here! The season of shedding old leaves, sprouting fresh starts, and monumental transformations (or, you know, new logos, new colors, new slogans ...). (🎶 Delicate spring piano.)

Meanwhile, emotional fitness is doing the opposite: tiny shifts that actually make a difference. (☕ Sound of a very typical Tuesday afternoon.) No overnight awakenings. No "new you" nonsense. Just science-backed tweaks that get you feeling more emotionally tuned in and ready to thrive. 💪

✨ What’s your tiny shift this season? No need to announce it; just give it a subtle, knowing nod. (😏🎩) It deserves one. 😉

#AffectCrafting #EmotionalFitness #ScienceBacked #EmotionalIntelligence #Psychology #PersonalGrowth #MindsetShift #EmotionalWellbeing #OptimizeYourLife #NoFluffJustScienceDo you feel that pull to scroll, snack, or binge-watch when you plan to do work, work out, clean, or do something else productive? 😵‍💫
Here’s the truth: boredom has evolved to guide you toward growth, but in today’s world, it’s hijacked. 🎲🎰 Your brain is designed to always seek "something better". 🔎 This instinct would have helped you in the evolutionary past to find better places and ways to secure food, shelter, allies, a partner, and solve other life’s challenges. 💡 But now? Instead of growing your resources, boredom tempts you toward:
•	🍟 Junk food
•	📱 Mindless scrolling
•	📺 Binge-watching shows
•	🛒 Impulse shopping
These quick dopamine hits create spikes and crashes that deplete your dopamine reserves, leaving you restless, unmotivated, and stuck in a loop of craving. 😩 When you give in to boredom with instant gratification, you lose the opportunity to build up your dopamine capacity and fuel your long-term motivation. It also becomes a habit that weakens your resistance to distractions and the ability to focus, work deliberately, and make an effort.
Enduring boredom is a superpower in today’s world. 💪🏻💪🏻 Why Boredom Matters:
•	It allows your dopamine levels to replenish. 🌱
•	It builds the capacity to take meaningful action, especially when things feel hard.
•	It’s essential for sustainable well-being and a good life. 
The ability to endure boredom without reaching for a quick fix enables you to make real progress toward your goals.
Emotional Fitness Tip:
Next time boredom strikes, remind yourself: the urge to scroll or snack is not a need—it’s a nudge. Don’t follow it. Bear it.
💭 What’s your go-to reaction when you’re bored? Take time to reflect.
#EmotionalFitness #BoredomHack #DopamineReset #SelfMastery #Resilience #AffectiveScience #Affectology #AffectologistHow many times a day does this happen? You feel a surge of *anticipation and excitement*, only to crash into frustration or restlessness soon after. 🧠📉 This is a dopamine crash, a drop in your brain’s anticipation chemical after an intense peak from things like scrolling social media, eating junk food, or binge-watching shows. 🤑🚨 The higher the peak, the deeper the crash. And after the crash, your dopamine levels drop below baseline, leaving you stuck in regret, boredom, or apathy. 😖 In contrast, actions that require effort, like working out or doing deep work, lead to a gradual climb toward satisfaction and pride, without the dramatic crash. These effort-based rewards keep your dopamine levels balanced and sustainable. 💪🏻⚖️🥰

🔑 Emotional Fitness Tip:
To maintain healthy dopamine levels:
1️⃣ Avoid or limit extreme dopamine spikes.
2️⃣ Focus on effort-based actions like exercise or creative work.
3️⃣ Allow your dopamine system to reset with rest, boredom, or low-stimulation activities.

💭 Think about it: Which habits make you feel energized, and which ones leave you feeling drained? ☝🏻

#DopamineCrash #DopamineHealth #EmotionalHealth #EmotionalFitness #Neuroscience #SelfMastery #AffectiveScience #Affectology #Affectologist

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