227: Where emotions come from (and why it matters) Part 2

Understanding Emotions: Insights from Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett

In our last conversation with Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett [Where emotions come from (and why it matters) Part 1] a couple of weeks ago we looked at her theory of where emotions originate. This has important implications for things like:

• How our 'body budgets' affect our feelings
• How we make meaning from our feelings so our internal experience makes sense
• That we don't always understand other people's feelings very well!

 

The introduction to the theory plus the conversation plus the take-home messages would have made for an unwieldy episode, so I split it in half.   Today we conclude the conversation with Dr. Barrett and I also offer some thoughts about things I think are really important from across the two episodes, including:

• What we can do with the information our feelings give us
• How long we should support children in feeling their feelings (given that they don't always mean what we think they mean!) and when we should help them move on
• Some tools we can use to re-regulate in difficult moments with our kids

 

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Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett's Books (Affiliate Links)

• How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain
• Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain

Other episodes mentioned

• 129: The physical reasons you yell at your kids

 

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