Where do feelings come from…

As a regular listener to the podcast Hidden Brain, I found one of the episodes titled “Where Do Feelings Come From?” particularly intriguing.

For as long as I can remember, I have believed that how people treat you is beyond your control (as it is influenced by external factors), but how you choose to respond is something you have complete control over (as it is an internal choice). However, I recently discovered that there are also biological factors that can significantly affect how you react to a situation. By objectively analyzing how your body responds to a given situation, you can identify the variables that are impacting your brain's response and, consequently, how you feel.

In this episode, host Shankar Vedantam interviews psychologist and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett about how the brain collaborates with your body to interpret the variables and signals it receives, ultimately influencing not only your physical but also your psychological well-being. Barrett shares an example from her personal life where she went on a first date and mistakenly thought that she was developing feelings for her date, only to later realize that she was actually coming down with the flu. The physical signals that her body was sending for the early stages of the flu were interpreted by her brain to mean something else entirely, leading to her misinterpretation of her emotions.

Looking for something to listen to on the way into work tomorrow? Check out this episode of Hidden Brain!

Cheers!