How Emotions Are Made
by Lisa Feldman Barrett

This has been an incredibly rich source and I could list this book as one of my all-time favorites. It offers a complex journey starting with the existing “classical views” on the way people have thought about emotions in the past and the ways they got to their conclusions. Then she goes on and introduces a different way of thinking about what happens in our brains as we experience emotions that she has found more compelling than the previously existing ones. She builds a strong case that we are constructing our emotions and the reality and that they are unique experiences based on our individual background, culture and other circumstances rather than universally pre-programmed set of experiences similar to all humans.

I will start with what I learned about the prediction and sensory input. Prediction essentially is the construction process of our reality – our concepts, which is later held in check by the sensory input. It is informed by our previous experience and other circumstances, therefore, the more experienced or skillful we are at something, the more potentially precise our predictions will be. As the brain predicts the experience, it sends signals to prepare the body for what is expected, which might involve movement and sensations. If the prediction is correct, it becomes our experience, but if the prediction does not match the sensory input, the brain needs to fix the error. There are uncountable predictions launched every second. If there is an error, the brain can respond in two ways – launching different predictions that will be more of a match to the sensory input or stay stubborn and stick with the original concept while filtering out the sensory input. I have spent 15 years playing basketball and something that happens quite often in practices when many people are using many basketballs simultaneously is you get hit by flying balls. During the years I have had multiple concussions caused by the phenomenon. What I have noticed is that when I am walking down the street and a bird flies over my head right in between me and the sun and for a split second casts a shadow on me – my brain predicts that I will get hit by a ball. It sends signals to my body and I move in a way of protecting my head or evading, or catching the potential ball. Afterwards only to discover that I have been fooled as there are no balls surrounding me on the street. In that example I have rooted my experience predominantly in my head rather than the outside world. Therefore, often what we experience is what we believe based on our past experience, unless corrected by the sensory input. And this I have found to be a great thing to remember when working with clients. It is a distinction which one can become sensitive to and be curious weather what was experienced was actually backed up by the sensory input.

The next major take – away was the concept of body – budget. The “financial department” of our brain that deals with the energy turnover – it makes prediction to manage the spending and replenishment of the recourses based on the past experience to keep the body alive and flourishing. The parts of brains that are associated with the body budgeting are also associated with predicting emotions. Every movement requires energy and we spend it to run our internal organs, metabolize, maintain our immune system and of course every time we move our body or predict potential stress. We replenish the body budget by food, water, sleep, nurturing relationships and I would imagine nature as well (even though the book did not mention it). Keeping our body – budget in balance is essential for our well-being, health and smooth operation of our bodily processes. Therefore, I feel like taking care of our body – budget is like a prerequisite for any meaningful developmental work to be possible. During the pandemic it might be extra important to be mindful about this as a strong immune system and resilience in the face of disease is directly correlated with one’s practice of body-budgeting. Our society currently is functioning in a way that is not very supportive of maintaining a balanced body-budget. The working hours often require people to sleep less, the food is often filled with refined sugars and bad fats. Advertisement uses social rejection as a way of an incentive for you to buy the latest products. Employers can expect you to stay by your phone 24/7, which in turn affects your sleep and imposes chronic alertness and lack of relaxation. During the time of lockdown, I have noticed the importance of creating a structure for living that would replace the way we lead our lives previously and that is supportive of your body budget and the direction you have chosen to pursue. I am pleased to say that the structure I have come up with seems to be working much better for me than the pre – lockdown one. This is a topic that I feel quite passionate about and would like to incorporate in the coaching offerings.