ReThinking
You have more control over your emotions than you think with Lisa Feldman Barrett
Jan 16, 2024
Lisa Feldman Barrett, a distinguished psychologist and neuroscientist at Northeastern University and Harvard Medical School, challenges our understanding of emotions. She reveals that emotions can be transformed by how we think and talk about them. Listeners learn that reframing feelings—like viewing anxiety as determination—can empower emotional management. The rich vocabulary of emotions across cultures is discussed, and Barrett busts myths about emotional control, presenting techniques for mastering resilience. Her insights shed light on the amygdala’s complex role in shaping our emotional experiences.
36:26
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Quick takeaways
- Interpreting bodily sensations in different ways allows individuals to authentically experience different emotions and have greater control over their emotional responses.
- Having a more granular emotional understanding enables individuals to respond to their emotions in more precise and effective ways, leading to improved well-being and healthier coping mechanisms.
Deep dives
Emotions and their flexible interpretations
Psychologist and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett challenges the traditional assumptions about emotions by emphasizing the importance of interpreting emotions in a more flexible and nuanced way. By unpacking her personal experience before giving a TED Talk, she demonstrates how our perception of anxiety can be reframed as determination. Barrett explains that the brain is constantly making meaning out of bodily sensations, and by actively interpreting these sensations in different ways, we can authentically experience different emotions. This understanding of emotional granularity allows individuals to act differently, choose specific emotional responses, and ultimately impact their outcomes.
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