How to Understand Emotions | Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett

In this episode, my guest is Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett, Ph.D., a distinguished professor of psychology at Northeastern University and a world expert in the science of emotions. She explains what emotions are and how the brain represents and integrates signals from our body and the environment to create our unique emotional states. We discuss the relationship between emotions and language, how the specificity of language impacts emotional processing, the role of facial expressions in emotions and how emotions relate to sleep, movement, nutrition and the building and reinforcement of social bonds. We also share actionable tools to regulate feelings of uncertainty and to better understand the emotional states of others. This episode will interest anyone curious about the neuroscience and psychology underlying emotions and those who seek to better understand themselves and relate to others and the world in richer, more adaptive ways.

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Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett
Website: https://lisafeldmanbarrett.com
Academic Profile: https://cos.northeastern.edu/people/l...
"How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain": https://lisafeldmanbarrett.com/books/...
"Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain": https://lisafeldmanbarrett.com/books/...
TED Talk: https://lisafeldmanbarrett.com/2018/0...
X:   / lfeldmanbarrett  
TikTok:   / professor.lisa  
LinkedIn:   / lisa-feldman-barrett  

Articles
Emotional Expressions Reconsidered: Challenges to Inferring Emotion From Human Facial Movements: https://bit.ly/46R3XNq

Books
"Not by Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution": https://amzn.to/3QirDEZ
"The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma": https://amzn.to/3rUQyVO
"An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us": https://bit.ly/3QhMFU9
"I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life": https://amzn.to/3M2CY9B

Other Resources
Dr. Karl Deisseroth: Understanding & Healing the Mind: https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/k...
Counterintuitive Ideas About How the Brain Work (Lex Fridman Podcast): https://lexfridman.com/lisa-feldman-b...
Love, Evolution, and the Human Brain (Lex Fridman Podcast):: https://lexfridman.com/lisa-feldman-b...

Timestamps
00:00:00 Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett
00:03:01 Sponsors: Eight Sleep & Levels
00:05:46 Core Components of Emotions
00:10:42 Facial Movement & Interpretation, Emotion
00:19:33 Facial Expressions & Emotion, Individualization
00:31:03 Emotion Categories, Culture & Child Development
00:36:53 Sponsor: AG1
00:37:50 Legal System, ‘Universal’ Emotions & Caution
00:41:07 Language Descriptions, Differences & Emotion
00:48:18 Questions & Assumptions; Language, Emotions & Nervous System
00:53:40 Brain, Uncertainty & Categories
01:02:51 Sponsor: InsideTracker
01:03:57 Brain & Summaries; Emotions as “Multimodal Summaries”
01:14:45 Emotional Granularity, Library Analogy
01:19:40 Brain & Compression, Planning
01:29:04 Labels & Generalization
01:34:29 Movement, Sensation, Prediction & Learning
01:42:44 Feelings of Discomfort & Action
01:50:32 Tool: Feelings of Uncertainty, Emotion, “Affect”
02:01:18 Tool: Experience Dimensions & Attention; Individualization
02:08:36 Affect, Allostasis & Body Budget Analogy
02:15:41 Depression, “Emotional Flu”
02:20:20 Tool: Positively Shift Affect; Alcohol & Drugs; SSRIs
02:27:40 Relationships: Savings or Taxes, Kindness
02:36:50 Zero-Cost Support, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac - https://www.blabacphoto.com

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