The various thoughts and emotions of the manas are manifested through the six consciousnesses.

Nowadays many people in society suffer from a depressed mental state; even middle school students have developed depression. Most of this problem belongs to karmic issues, while a small portion belongs to personal causes and conditions. The main symptom of depression is an inwardly closed-off mind—no communication with others, poor at expressing one's inner thoughts, a gloomy and uncheerful mood. With such a mental state, the mind consciousness is often bewildered, not knowing why one feels so gloomy; this is caused by the manas's mental state being obstructed and not flowing smoothly.

Because the manas has thoughts and emotions that cannot be vented, no one understands its ideas and views, and it may not even know how to find someone to confide in or ask for help, no one can offer guidance. At the same time, it cannot communicate with its own mind consciousness; since the mind consciousness does not understand, the problem cannot be resolved, and only then does the manas develop depression. For many people, the root cause is a karmic issue—the events the manas experienced in past lives and the karmic actions it created, whose retributions are now due.

As for personal causes and conditions: when the wishes in one's heart cannot be realized, one becomes depressed; when the environment cannot satisfy one's psychological needs, one becomes depressed. People with depression share a common characteristic: they think much but do little, so their ideas cannot be realized and their minds cannot be satisfied. Too many ideas pile up and become a burden, and depression appears. Depression is also called "frustrated in one's ambitions"—having all kinds of desires yet being unable to fulfill them, resulting in low spirits and a gloomy, oppressed mood.

Some people inwardly develop a sense of being at a complete loss, even thoughts of not wanting to live. This too is brought about by the emotions of the manas; what the mind consciousness manifests is precisely the mental activity of the manas. Being at a loss means the six consciousnesses do not know what to do or how to act, because the manas cannot make up its mind, hesitates, and refuses to make a decision and issue a command, so the six consciousnesses become panicked. When the six consciousnesses express and reflect the manas's thoughts and emotions, it is the six consciousnesses' panic—lacking a backbone, lacking a sense of belonging—so one feels bored and no longer wants to live.

When emotions are agitated, the heartbeat quickens; this likewise results from the manas's emotions. For example, "anger rises from the heart, and malice grows by the gallbladder"—this is the manifestation of the manas becoming angry and giving rise to malice. The heart, the gallbladder, and all the five viscera and six bowels are mobilized by the manas through the brain's nervous system; the material body as a whole is mobilized by the manas through the brain's nervous system. The manas can control the entire body and direct its activities. When the mind consciousness is angry but the manas is not, it is feigned anger: no matter how angry, there is no response in the heart and no response in behavior, or if there is behavior, it is merely pretending and putting on an act. When there is real anger and real rage, there will be behavioral activity and changes in body and mind—that is the emotion of the manas.