A mind-blowing take on how we feel
I recently listened to a Blinkist summary of Lisa Feldman Barrett, How Emotions Are Made and got so intrigued that I run to the nearest Bruna to get the full version the following morning. What a read! Here is a short summary:
Ever wonder why we feel the way we do?
If you think emotions are just something that happen to us—like getting angry when someone cuts us off in traffic or feeling sad after a tough day—you’re not alone. But Lisa Feldman Barrett’s book flips this idea on its head, suggesting that emotions aren’t something we just feel but something our brain actually creates. Yep, that’s right. We’re all emotional architects.
“Emotions are not universal reactions to the world, but constructions built by the brain based on what we’ve learned about the world. ”
Barrett’s big idea?
Emotions aren’t hardwired reactions to the world. They are constructed by the brain in the moment. Rather than our body sending signals that make us feel a certain way (like a racing heart making us feel fear), our brain predicts what’s going on around us, uses past experiences to make sense of it, and then creates the emotion based on that. So, instead of feeling fear because of a racing heart, your brain is actually predicting “this is a scary situation!” and labels those sensations as fear.
“Your brain is not a passive organ that reacts to the world. It’s a prediction machine that’s constantly generating possible outcomes based on the past.”
Here’s where it gets even cooler!
Emotions are more like guesses or interpretations. Our brains are constantly taking in information from our senses and bodies—how we feel physically, what’s happening around us and even our mood—and predicting what it all means. This means your emotion of "fear" could feel different depending on the context, your past experiences, and even your culture. For example, a loud noise might trigger fear in one person but curiosity in another. We all build emotions differently.
“Emotions are not reactions to the world around us; they are the mind’s best guess about what the world is, and how we should respond.”
One of Barrett’s most interesting points is that emotions are really just “concepts” we’ve learned to use. These aren’t fixed, universal things like “anger” or “joy.” Instead, emotions are more like tools that we’ve learned how to use to make sense of our world. And the brain doesn’t just passively react to what’s happening; it actively predicts what’s going to happen and updates its emotional "map" to help us make sense of it.
This idea has huge implications for how we deal with our emotions. If emotions are made by our brains, that means they’re not completely out of our control. Barrett suggests that by paying attention to how we’re feeling, we can change the way our brain interprets bodily signals, and in turn, adjust our emotional responses. It’s kind of like upgrading the software of our minds.
“Once you understand that your brain is making emotions all the time, you realise that you have the power to create your own emotional experience. ”
In short words: How Emotions Are Made gives us a whole new way of looking at our feelings. Instead of thinking of emotions as automatic reactions to the world, Barrett shows us that they’re dynamic, flexible experiences that our brains create based on our past, our bodies, and the world around us. And if we understand how emotions are made, we can learn to master them a little better, too.
Pretty empowering, right? If you’d like to discuss this further or meet up to see how I can help you in your journey to self-awareness and wellbeing click here and speak to you soon!
