How to 10x Your Emotional Intelligence - Dr Lisa Feldman Barrett

In this thought-provoking episode, Professor Lisa Feldman Barrett delves into the intricate workings of the brain, and its primary role in regulating bodily systems for overall well-being. Unravel the concept of affect, the ever-present feelings we experience, influencing our responses to life's challenges. Discover the transformative power of emotional granularity, as it enables us to discern and label emotions with precision, impacting our mental health profoundly. Gain insights into how investing in diverse experiences and learning can shape our future, "seeding" our brains for positive changes and empowering us to embrace personal responsibility. Uncover the path to enhanced resilience and a brighter life in this compelling talk.

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Dr Lisa Feldman Barrett is in the top one percent of the most cited scientists in the world for her revolutionary research in psychology and neuroscience. She is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University, and also holds appointments at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, where she is Chief Science Officer for the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior.

In addition to the books Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain and How Emotions are Made, Dr. Barrett has published over 260 peer-reviewed, scientific papers appearing in Science, Nature Neuroscience, and other top journals in psychology and cognitive neuroscience, as well as six academic volumes. She has also given a popular TED talk with over 6.5 million views.

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Interview Links:

3 Books Dr Barrett Recommends Every Therapist Should Read:

[ninjatall]

Summary for ADHD folks.

- [00:00] 🧠 Understanding Affect vs. Emotions

- The brain's primary role is to regulate the body's systems, sending and receiving signals constantly.
- Affect, often referred to as mood, is a continuous, ever-present feeling that is with us 24/7.
- Affect doesn't have one specific cause but arises from the ongoing internal bodily processes.

- [05:29] 📊 Emotional Granularity and Its Significance

- Emotional granularity refers to having a rich vocabulary and understanding of emotions.
- Having a broader emotional vocabulary allows for more precise interpretation of sense data.
- People with higher emotional granularity tend to cope better and have better mental and physical health.

- [10:07]🤔 Implications for Personal Responsibility and Free Will

- Changing one's actions and behaviors involves shaping future predictions by experiencing new things.
- We are responsible for our actions and reactions, even when victimized, as we have the power to influence our future responses.
- Personal responsibility doesn't imply culpability but rather the ability to take control of our lives and responses.

[Kormac]

Habits and feedback loops are key. Emotional habits. Her notions about the difficulty or effort is accurate. One simply has to recognize they're in the habit of being angry, sad or afraid and that those reactions inform a whole cycle in your body/mind. So make a decision to embrace peace and dislodge the habit of suffering. Then create the mechanisms for making that decision happen.

[humanyoda]

I'd recommend that you interview Dr. Bruce Ecker if you haven't yet.

[dee]

My friend Bill shared all of this and how it works with me except he kept it simpler and focused more on the solution.

[humanyoda]

I think the word "interprets" is more appropriate than "predicts".

[hyperduality]

Making predictions is a syntropic process -- teleological.
Concepts are dual to percepts -- the mind duality of Immanuel Kant.
Causes are dual to effects -- causality.
"Always two there are" -- Yoda.

[noahcytrynbaum]

So wait is emotion the side effect/how we feel of brain communicating with our body, or does the brain create feeling to match with the body's reaction?

[psyfiles]

Wow that is the best one sentence summary of this brilliant woman’s expansion of our understanding of emotions thank you!

[denissidorenko]

Video title does not correspond to what the video is actually about

[cristianosencontexto]

Great explanation, full of scientific and human wisdom

[Abc]

I don't think brain makes concepts when u r asleep, I think it makes cue--events unlimited association (which creates conciousness)

[sj_joe]

Now i have curious. If this argument is true, can you use this theory to argue how people are not culpable for committing crime?

[DAClub-ufbr]

How do you learn to identify emotions?

[zeroonetime]

Sorry, i have to correct you. Feelings are all in the G.u.T..In and Out. Light and Dark ~ 010

[igorvolkov]

6:47 Affect is a feature of consciousness. The theory of triune brain is well suited as a framework for such matters. Each tier is a regulatory loop with input and output. What is needed - to understand how they interact with each other. The key point is terminology. The present words often mix rather different functions. So far as I understand, affect is a very broad term. For initial understanding, better to avoid it at all. Emotions (output) and feelings (input) happen in different structures. The former are generated by the limbic system (mammal brain). The latter emerge in cortical areas (probably in the cingulate gyrus which is shared by the 2 and 3 tiers of triune brain indeed). That is feeling is perception of own emotion.

[hermitthefrog]

I seen to know a fair number of people whose affect doesn't closely correlate with their sensory data...

[njj]

All I hear is what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
That's fine but the world is not full of people who are psychologists and most struggle in life to except the ups and downs or even understand why they have ups and downs....
You take the time to understand yourself and what triggers you to create these emotions.
All of a sudden you find yourself alone because you are now psychoanalysing yourself and everything, every person or a future relationships etc.
Perhaps TV and the media should stop trying to put every human into a box so they behave in a controlled robot like manner.
I think we all forget we are animals and perhaps we should let nature and natural evolution evolve us.
You put an animal into a cage, trapped and it will go nuts.
I'm sorry but humans and animals are all born with some basic inherit genes.
Man made evolution is trying to make everyone conform to a world of control simply for selfish greed and financial gain.
The ones who suffer are the pawns on the chess board...
If I'm wrong why has mental health escalated off the scale?
Psychologists are very good at telling people what's wrong with them, but not so good at curing them.

Perhaps curing people would be less profitable?

[thinkIndependent]

As Audiophile Nope!!! But if Ever in England I will setup your system and prove with tracks recorded by competent Master Recording Engineer's how a Drum Kit can be played back like a projector but 100% sound

[geofflecren]

Buddhism has been saying all of this for over 2, 000 years.

[budte]

There is no such thing as emotional intelligence.