Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett: How to Understand Emotions | Huberman Lab Podcast
In this episode, my guest is Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett, Ph.D., a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University who is a world expert in the science of emotions. She explains what emotions are and how the brain represents and integrates signals from our body and the environment around us to create our unique emotional states. We discuss the relationship between emotions and language, how our specificity of language impacts our emotional processing, the role of facial expressions in emotions, and how emotions relate to sleep, movement, nutrition and the building and reinforcement of social bonds. We also discuss actionable tools for how to regulate feelings of uncertainty and tools to better understand the emotional states of others. This episode ought to be of interest to anyone curious about the neuroscience and psychology underlying emotions and for those who seek to better understand themselves and relate to others and the world in richer, more adaptive ways.
#HubermanLab #Science #Emotions
Thank you to our sponsors
AG1: drinkag1.com/huberman
Eight Sleep: eightsleep.com/huberman
Levels: levels.link/huberman
InsideTracker: insidetracker.com/huberman
Momentous: livemomentous.com/huberman
Huberman Lab Social & Website
Instagram: / hubermanlab
Threads: www.threads.net/@hubermanlab
Twitter: / hubermanlab
Facebook: / hubermanlab
TikTok: / hubermanlab
LinkedIn: / andrew-huberman
Website: hubermanlab.com
Newsletter: hubermanlab.com/neural-network
Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett
Website: lisafeldmanbarrett.com
Academic Profile: cos.northeastern.edu/people/l...
"How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain": lisafeldmanbarrett.com/books/...
"Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain": lisafeldmanbarrett.com/books/...
TED Talk: lisafeldmanbarrett.com/2018/0...
X: / lfeldmanbarrett
TikTok: / professor.lisa
LinkedIn: / lisa-feldman-barrett
Articles
Emotional Expressions Reconsidered: Challenges to Inferring Emotion From Human Facial Movements: bit.ly/46R3XNq
Books
"Not by Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution": amzn.to/3QirDEZ
"The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma": amzn.to/3rUQyVO
"An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us": bit.ly/3QhMFU9
"I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life": amzn.to/3M2CY9B
Other Resources
Dr. Karl Deisseroth: Understanding & Healing the Mind: www.hubermanlab.com/episode/k...
Counterintuitive Ideas About How the Brain Work (Lex Fridman Podcast): lexfridman.com/lisa-feldman-b...
Love, Evolution, and the Human Brain (Lex Fridman Podcast):: lexfridman.com/lisa-feldman-b...
Timestamps
00:00:00 Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett
00:03:01 Sponsors: Eight Sleep & Levels
00:05:46 Core Components of Emotions
00:10:42 Facial Movement & Interpretation, Emotion
00:19:33 Facial Expressions & Emotion, Individualization
00:31:03 Emotion Categories, Culture & Child Development
00:36:53 Sponsor: AG1
00:37:50 Legal System, ‘Universal’ Emotions & Caution
00:41:07 Language Descriptions, Differences & Emotion
00:48:18 Questions & Assumptions; Language, Emotions & Nervous System
00:53:40 Brain, Uncertainty & Categories
01:02:51 Sponsor: InsideTracker
01:03:57 Brain & Summaries; Emotions as “Multimodal Summaries”
01:14:45 Emotional Granularity, Library Analogy
01:19:40 Brain & Compression, Planning
01:29:04 Labels & Generalization
01:34:29 Movement, Sensation, Prediction & Learning
01:42:44 Feelings of Discomfort & Action
01:50:32 Tool: Feelings of Uncertainty, Emotion, “Affect”
02:01:18 Tool: Experience Dimensions & Attention; Individualization
02:08:36 Affect, Allostasis & Body Budget Analogy
02:15:41 Depression, “Emotional Flu”
02:20:20 Tool: Positively Shift Affect; Alcohol & Drugs; SSRIs
02:27:40 Relationships: Savings or Taxes, Kindness
02:36:50 Zero-Cost Support, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, KZhead Feedback, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter
Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac - www.blabacphoto.com
Disclaimer: www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer
Here are 10 key points summarizing the discussion: 1. Emotions emerge from overall brain-body states, not distinct entities. The brain makes guesses to reduce uncertainty and plan actions. 2. "Affect" refers to general feelings tied to the body budget. Managing affect through sleep, nutrition, etc. helps regulate emotions. 3. There are no universal facial expressions for specific emotions. We make inferences about others' emotions from movements in context. 4. Emotion concepts and words summarize past experiences into categories to guide future actions. 5. More nuanced emotion vocabulary allows us to construct finer-grained categories and actions. 6. Other languages often have emotion words that English lacks. Learning these expands our emotional granularity. 7. Relationships profoundly shape emotions through social synchrony and acts of kindness that provide "savings" in the body budget. 8. Toxic relationships "tax" us. Choosing partners wisely is foundational for mental health. 9. Depression is like a "bankrupt" body budget. Physical factors like sleep, nutrition, and exercise are crucial for affect. 10. Focusing attention on nuances of physical sensations, rather than emotion labels, can provide wisdom to guide different actions. --------------------------- Here are some specific actions you can take for each of the key points: 1. **Emotions emerge from overall brain-body states, not distinct entities.** To better understand your emotions, pay attention to your physical sensations, thoughts, and emotions as a whole. How are they interconnected? How do they change over time? 2. **"Affect" refers to general feelings tied to the body budget. Managing affect through sleep, nutrition, etc. helps regulate emotions.** Make sure to get enough sleep, eat a nutritious diet, and exercise regularly. These things will help to regulate your body budget and improve your overall affect. 3. **There are no universal facial expressions for specific emotions. We make inferences about others' emotions from movements in context.** When you are trying to understand someone else's emotions, pay attention to their body language and facial expressions. Consider the context of the situation as well. What is the person saying? What is happening around them? 4. **Emotion concepts and words summarize past experiences into categories to guide future actions.** Think about the different emotions you have experienced in your life. What are the common themes? How have these experiences shaped your behavior? 5. **More nuanced emotion vocabulary allows us to construct finer-grained categories and actions.** Learn new words to describe your emotions. This will help you to better understand and manage your own emotional experience. 6. **Other languages often have emotion words that English lacks. Learning these expands our emotional granularity.** If you are interested in learning a new language, pay attention to the emotion words that it has. How are they different from the emotion words in English? 7. **Relationships profoundly shape emotions through social synchrony and acts of kindness that provide "savings" in the body budget.** Spend time with people who make you feel good. Be kind to others and offer your support. Social connection is essential for emotional well-being. 8. **Toxic relationships "tax" us. Choosing partners wisely is foundational for mental health.** Avoid relationships that are draining or abusive. Choose partners who are supportive and caring. 9. **Depression is like a "bankrupt" body budget. Physical factors like sleep, nutrition, and exercise are crucial for affect.** If you are struggling with depression, make sure to get enough sleep, eat a nutritious diet, and exercise regularly. These things will help to improve your body budget and mood. 10. **Focusing attention on nuances of physical sensations, rather than emotion labels, can provide wisdom to guide different actions.** When you are feeling overwhelmed by emotions, try to focus on your physical sensations. What are you feeling in your body? What does your body need? It is important to note that these are just suggestions. The best way to improve your life is to experiment and find what works best for you. Be patient and kind to yourself along the way.
Hey, this is fantastic! Thank you for sharing your very concise notes. I often get so inspired by one of these talks and mentally try to take notes, but by a third of the way, these mental notes get fuzzy and I know I need to rewatch it a few times with pen and paper to not miss all this wisdom. I’ve listened to *so* much psych/health/science content, due to my insatiable appetite for knowledge and to gain insight into how I experience life. But this one is right at the top in terms of this stadium lighting level of illumination, truly life changing. So thank you, for saving me a lot of time and to give me a good starting point for my next listen. The ADHD’er in me also thanks you 😂
Well done! Three goes against a lot of ideas with facial expressions and I disagree that facial expressions are not "universal". The book, "Emotions Revealed, Second Edition: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life" is a very good read to understand facial expressions being tied with emotions and they are very much shared between western and non-western cultures. Sure a single facial expression can be tied to multiple emotions, but the book does a good job of pointing out very slight differences that may give a tell to one or the other.
Cheers pal
🔥 fantastic summary & love the tips. 👏
Thank you ❤
Andrew is teaching people how to be humble by example. ❤
For real... he even prefaces the video by thanking her for her rudeness to try and not get us to destroy her in the comments. Huberman emulates well a lot of the positive attributes I imagine God has
This man is a Gift to Humanity.
Both of them had such great micro social skills of validating one another, clarifying, giving agreement, asserting a disagreement super specifically, I admired that as well and felt it was a very valuable lesson within all the other lessons.
Of course he is, his dad's from Rio de la Plata and he drinks mate
Why is a woman who is assertive perceived as rude?! He is easily persuaded to back down on theories he has repeatedly stated before on his show such as “yum yuck meh”
The awkward moments, the scientist created made my brain go blank, and I learned nothing I just felt the tension. Much love and respect from Montreal , Canada 🍁🙏🏻💖🍀
This lady is excellent. SSRI's have been a lifesaver for me for over 25 years. They continue to work beautifully for me. Please be careful in your excitement to not overlook how profoundly they can continue to change lives and turn people from dead husks into vibrant living productive members of society who not only thrive externally put feel the sunshine in their hearts, souls, and minds that was desperately missing for so very , very long.
I so appreciate your humility, Dr. Huberman. We need more of that in the world.
@@inajosmood Being a smart marketer is not evidence of lack of humility. People are complex. His humility comes across in how he is open to being corrected or proven wrong, listens instead of just biding his time impatiently to talk, the sweet, non-arrogant way he interacts with people, and in how he allows his own vulnerability to show. He's a rare person, which is partly why his videos are popular. Also, as long as he doesn't make any false claims about the supplements, I don't see how he's giving them scientific credit. He doesn't claim that he ran a study on them. He may be selling ones he believes in from personal experience. Since I myself have greatly benefited from certain supplements, I'm not one to turn up my snoot at anecdotal proof.
@@melissakey2483yes. I found that he was willing to do that, whereas the guest wasn’t. She seems to believe she is the absolute authority. IMO.
So true! Huberman is a breath of fresh air! Dr. Feldman is just plain great.
Andrew regularly invites people at the forefront of their research fields on the show and Barrett is at the very forefront of this field.
I concur so much. Thank you from South Africa
I am an early intervention speech therapist. I have been endorsing that parents label/ñame emotions for their children for the very reasons that Dr. Feldman states. However, my head is now spinning with regard to the new information I am learning about whether emotional states are genetically determined, cultural influences etc. LOVE THIS TOPIC and now I have a new and long list of books to buy, highlight and make notes in, then incorporate this information into my practice and what I tell my graduate clinicians. Also: comments about the language differences is spot on. I speak Spanish and there are many words used to describe emotions that are not available in English Thank you so much!
There are some different views on whether emotions are constructed or innate, Dr Barrett had a conversation with Dr. Mark Solms about this recently (also on youtube). I hope they'll have another one and find a bit more common ground and agree on definitions, since it was a bit defensive. Seems to me that the answer is somewhere in the middle, emotions are partly innate (or environmental but so ubiquitous as to be second nature) and partly learned (or innate but so flexible that they can be applied differently depending on context, second nurture, say). How exactly individual emotions are constituted at the level of experience and per individual is hard to say, of course.
Im halfway through the episode now, but idk if the book list you just mentioned is on the second part of the episode. Ud be grateful if you could share your book list with me 😁 by the way, I'm also a Spanish speaker
Totalmente de acuerdo!
I am so glad this conversation took place, and that Andrew held the space for it to develop into what it did gracefully, (with humility). We need more people like Lisa to help us properly progress psychology/ physiological/ mental health studies/ field forward, in the right direction. Thank you, both!
So many applications!! Imagine this being utilized in schools, addiction, rehabilitation, etc.. 💥
What i like about this podcast : she has studied so much about her subject, she basically points out what's wrong with stuff we commonly know and goes a level deeper and explains it properly... ( It was harder for me personally to visualise what is stress but after she explained what cortisol is, i was able to visualise it properly)
“Part of being emotionally intelligent is knowing when not to construct an emotion!”. 💣 ❤
Amen. I used to think my emotions were me. Not separate the trouble is. I am a intrusive Empath and I feel what other people feel. So when I separated emotions from who I am. My blessing from the universe began and I experienced my life and love. That I had never had for myself before. I am 71 now everyday is a classroom but it took more pain than I could ever go through again. It ended up not being my problem but a obstacle to gain knowledge from. I am here I am important 9 am beautiful and I am alive. My energy combined with everyone alive and everything alive it's energy with no end but you who has to go. Love yourself but don't think we don't need each other because we do in order to survive don't worry about yesterday because there is a negative coming upon the earth but we can win if you encourage each other to love connect with each other
Sleep at night with the lights off. Only if you want your melatonin to be enhanced to the maximum it's connected to the pinal gland which is your magical side the fun side of imagination and remote viewing connecting to people on the other side of the world. At least my opinion the third eye
This is particularly valuable for neurodivergent people. People with ASD, like myself, often struggle with understanding the emotions of others as well as our own, which leads to issues with expression, communication, and general connection with other people. Tools like your podcast are an immense help. Thanks, professor!
But i think the idea that she's getting at is that assessing somebodys mood based off your observations is not a sufficient medium to determine somebodies actual mental state. So with that being said, I wouldn't beat yourself up about not being good at the skill of empathy, when most people are making inferences that are more than likely incorrect.
and if you let them keep the inferences then you have let the revisionists reshape your reality 😂
The healthiest battle of the egos I’ve ever seen… this is how you have a debate/discussion/conversation
The word you were referring to is “gigil” - a Filipino word. It means the overwhelming feeling that comes when you see something cute!
We don't have a word for that feeling in my language, so I'll sure be using this word a lot from now on !!
"Backpfeifengesicht" is a German word for "a face badly in need of a fist". Personal favourite is "Waldeinsamkeit" which is the "spiritual and connective solace found in being alone in the woods"
Waldeinsamkeit. thanks so much for that.... my new favourite word !
nice
Schadenfreude is another every so German one: the joy observing other's misfortune... Used a lot observing other's trips and falls, not being able to surpress laughter
Yeah! Exactly this is the word which popped up in my mind @@terraincognita3917
Thank you, before this podcast, I didn't know there was a word for this.
She's incredibly intelligent. One of my favorite episodes so far because of the quote , "Western stereotype enshrined as scientific fact". I am a non native English speaker, and a child of immigrants so listening to her talk about how other culture have words to describe emotions and how western science doesn't recognize that is just great to hear. I have so many words to describe how I'm specifically feeling that isn't in relation to the limiting words of English.
Please red the book Between us by Batja Mesquita. You will like it.
Lisa and Andrew are both extraordinary. I have always found Andrew very endearing but it has reached a whole new level watching his interaction, facial expressions, etc… in this interview🙂
This is the best episode of this podcast, showing your true curiosity and Dr. Feldman Barrett's brilliance. I will be listening multiple times.
Such a great conversation. Lisa is amazing! ❤
Lex, do you know any book (like dictionary) which is just for words of "emotions" and "mind states"? Today we learned about words like "ligat" and "gigle". Doctor says that the finer the categories, more easy for our mind to process things. Could you please recommend a book which will helps in this sense?
hi Lex!
I’ll beat you in jiu jitsu no problemmmmmm
@lexfridman Your second interview with her was so good that I watched it twice.
ES LOCO PENSAR QUE ESTE TEXTO LLEGUE A VOS Y A ANDREW, LA MAGIA DEL INGENIO HUMANO.
This episode was tremendously interesting and so helpful to me as someone who struggles with my own emotional regulation and properly identifying facial expressions in other people. It’s something with which I’ve struggled my entire life, and educational resources such as this podcast, and specifically this episode, are invaluable tools for self improvement. Thank you for providing this.
I adore you and your content, Jennifer Myers. You are doing lots of good in the world. ❤
1:33 1:34 @@senseofwonder4734
This is such a good episode. I love how Lisa said how different cultures or languages can really define an emotion well. I am half Salvadoran and half Mexican and there are words from both cultures that I can’t translate to the fullest in English. The emotion or sentiments behind those words, I find, are not in the English language. Also, I love how vulnerable Andrew was in saying he felt lonely after spending time with his sister in New York. I get that feeling after spending time with my immediate family that are from outta state. This is something I have said since I was a kid, that my home are my people it’s not a place. So when they have to go or I have to leave after a visit I experience some loneliness as they take a part of me with them. Kinda like being homesick for them. This is just my experience, but I find it hard to even explain now. Also, the sense that this time with my loved ones is fleeting gets to me too, but that is a whole different rabbit trail.
Please red the book Between us by Batja Mesquita. You will like it.
Thank you for the recommendation
The words "I love" is used so commonly in the Western world that it loses its true meaning; unlike how its used in other countries i.e. India, Asia, etc. where it's for deep relationship between humans and not something frivolous like I love pizza, I love ice cream...and no wonder divorce is so common place for a cold, shallow people.
When I was a kid I learned in school that we love people not possessions or inanimate objects. We were corrected on using the word love when it came to inanimate objects... Like is more appropriate
I´m still struggling to process all that I didn't like about this conversation. The most meaningful message form this episode is you incredible self control and character. Congrats for being able to navigate it!
Feels like she doesnt know what she talks about hahah
I hear you. I think she came off as condescending; for example, I didn't find it necessary for her to assert that his first question was ill-posed before answering it when she could've just noted the differences between the mechanisms he misidentified in her answer. There are a multitude of other ways to go about answering questions from someone who isn't a specialist in your field without being pompous-- Dr. Huberman does it all the time with humility.
She cannot pose two words together that make sense. It's behaviourism and post modernism revival at its best.
@@petarlukic6820cause she totally doesn't. I'm shocked.
@@felipeschneider1978 Why do you think that? I am not versed in all the topics they talked about but in those that I knew from other sources, her descriptions were correct from what I could tell. I didn't enjoy her communication style very much either but that is a completely different argument.
How Emotions are Made by Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett is one of my favorite books of all time. I couldn’t get enough of her insight so I also read 7 and a Half Lessons about the Brain, which was so eye opening yet so elegantly concise. I’ve never been more excited for a Huberman episode until this one! (Lex Fridman’s interview with Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett is also amazing, go check it out ☺️)
This book is now on my list.
On mine too. I literally find in esch episode something interesting for me to dig deeper! I wish I would be much younger in order to study properly neurosciences. Thank you Professor Huberman to bring us this diversity of topics and top scientists to discuss with🤗
Just as interesting as her book How Emotions are Made are the footnotes to the book!
Glad to be a fan of this podcast since the first episode.
I give you an applause for consistency
You're making the rest of us feel inadequate. 😂 Besides everyone knows daddy likes me more😂😂 JK
Me too. It is a 💎
@@BrewmasterN8 😆 that was good 🤣
Secret club!!
This is probably the most life-changing episodes for me. Just by knowing this sensory-categorization-emotion-action mechansim allows me to generate so many more options in every day life. It also provides a strong foundation for me to understand all other concepts like the growth mindset and the humam learning process. In the past few days I have been dwelling on the every day application of it and using testing them. It already has changed some basic patterns that, I, for the past 39 years of my life, believed were unchangeable. It is like microscope that helps you see the working of some already very useful tools. I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett and, of course, Dr. Andrew Huberman, for their love of science and strong compassion for people who suffer.
Great interview, tons to learn. Dr. Barrett is such a knowledgeable woman, I'm impressed with how she delivers powerful insights that, if put into practice,can change a LOT, not only individually, but in society.
I have been on a journey of self healing and this podcast has been a great influence on my emotional and physical being.
Well done to you on putting in the effort to better yourself and create a better environment for your family and those around you.
@@con22886 I didn’t expect a reply from anyone but thank you so much for this and for everyone else who liked my comment. Currently reading dopamine nation by Ana Lembke which Dr. Huberman has recommended and so it is amazing!
Same ♥️
"everything starts with a good night sleep". "Uncertainty is very costly". what a great session !
This woman is BRILLIANT!!!!! I want to take her home. Thank you for this amazing information, Dr. Huberman.✊
Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett must be protected at all costs
What was missing was the trauma that lives in the body ("issues park themselves in our tissues") and memories that can't be tapped through the intellect. But with her and Gabor Mate on a panel - that would be a fire truth bomb!
Yeah I thought of Gabor Mate, too. She seemed to have separated the body and the brain. Unless she meant the trauma is in the CNS.
Talking about Dr. Gabor Maté, has Huberman invited him to his show? It would be amazing!!
Omgoodness yes that would be AMAZING to have both of them!!!
Trauma can reside in the body, but you must be careful when applying a narrative to body sensations, it's easy to fool oneself.
@@dionysusnow if you're doing trauma-informed therapy you're not "applying a narrative" you're directly going to your body and asking it what is there. you literally can't make it up otherwise there will be dissonance.
I love Lisa's perspective on intentionally experiencing the pain of the after-effects of her back surgery. I regularly avoid taking pain killers when I have muscle main, or minor injuries. As I've gotten older and matured, I prescribed to the fact I need to listen to my body. My logic is if I'm cancelling out the pain, I can't let my body "deal" appropriately? Especially so because I'm nursing some chronic illnesses - anything that's being masked is something that isn't being noticed.
I love Dr. Feldman-Barrett’s work so much! I own and have read both her books, and listened to so many of her talks and podcasts. SO glad you got her on! People, go get her books, they are very good and will almost assuredly update your brain!
42:34 _"Maybe feeling good is in great part feeling rested and not being in physical pain." I think this extract, the way it's framed, is universal and unbelievably eye opening ; I've been asking to myself the same question for months since I've discovered the podcast. I know intuitively think that when I ''feel bad'' is really when I'm not well rest d and/or pain ; Except when I've just lived through an explosive moment - lately for exemple I nearly died in a fire, that made me ''feel bad''.
I’ve read her book ‘How Emotions Are Made’ and this podcast is making what I learned from the book even more clear and understandable. Another phenomenal episode!
The question "Is language sufficient to communicate emotion" was a really great question Andrew! It's something I've been thinking about for a while
Shocked with all she wrote in her books and her videos, I’d had to review all what I was taught at the university and questioned all the techniques I use as a psychotherapist. . I’m so grateful to her 🇯🇵
Amazing episode! I think the German word is "Backpfeifengesicht"... In Portuguese, we have the word "saudade," which refers to a loving sad feeling of emptiness and absence, missing someone, a place, or a situation we have experienced.
Sounds like “wistful”
@@littleminitinytejadaor nostalgia
❤
In the South it is “Watschengesicht”
@TheCamilaM absolutely! I was thinking about saudade all along this podcast and it's so specific to Portuguese I haven't ever found something similar in French Spanish English or Italian. It's just not nostalgia, or melancholy but it's kinda related to a missing thing, or emptiness of some sort. ..
That was absolutely amazing. I allowed myself to enjoy the whole conversation without stopping, but now I need to listen to that again at least a few more times with note-taking. It was a wealth of information. Thank you.
Started this while having dinner and ended watching the whole thing. Fascinating stuff.
My name is Astrid and I’m a podcast addict;) This is pure genius deep insight and I loved the interactions and energy between Dr Lisa and Huberman
As someone who feels they must explain their facial expressions ad nauseam, this episode was extremely helpful in understanding what others might perceive. Another wonderful episode. thnk you.
Gracias a ambos por el esfuerzo y la calidad de este valioso ejercicio intelectual. Tendrá grandes beneficios en la calidad de vida de los oyentes. Felicitaciones
Damn….this was soooo good. Love Dr. Huberman. Truly a gift of our time. Dude is humble, intelligent, and changing lives for the better. In light of all the chaos around the world, it’s nice to have an outlet where we can hear people like him interview and discuss such important topics.
For a person with no mentor to look upto, you fill in ! Thank you Dr. Huberman, forever indebted to you.
47:53 “ghee-gil” is the best feeling❣️Loved how colored and animated two highly cerebral academicians got over one ☝️ word from the Philippines 🇵🇭🫶Excellent episode 💯🙌
Not able to find a link with the definition. Can you help out? Would love to share this word, it's such a common feeling we all get
@@varunraj3078 47:25 It’s like happy aggression
“Gigil” (pronounced gee-gee-l), a Filipino word that describes “that mad urge to pinch or squeeze something or someone that is unbearably cute.” @@varunraj3078
This one is challenging me in so many ways! My first undergrad psychology course was is 1994, so I’m familiar with the facial pictures as they supposedly correlated to emotions. I work with children on a daily basis, helping them with trauma and how it impacts behavior, regulating their emotions (if that’s even the correct term anymore), social-emotional learning, etc., in conjunction with trying to teach them the basics in education (reading, writing, math, etc). So much is observation and me trying to “read” a situation or behavior so that I can assist them in regulation before they “flip their lid” (amygdala is triggered). This episode left me conflicted on what I’ve been taught and what I witness daily, in regards to emotions. It does take time being around a child before I learn their “tells”, but their facial expressions do help me to recognize when they are feeling certain emotions. Or at least check in with them about how they’re feeling. As a professor, I would assume you’ve looked out at a room of blank stares, and realized that you lost your audience and need to revisit certain concepts. Is that now faulty assumption? (As a side note, “pizza” does have two syllables but more than two phonemes).
Nah, Lisa is just too hardcore of a constructivist who seems to be lacking experience working with animals and observing their rich emotional life like many evolutionary psychologists did. She has good insights, but is pedaling this constructivist perspective too much imho. I'm actually sad her perspective seems to become dominating as it slows down scientific progress and ignores a rich body of knowledge developed by people like panksepp, izard and damasio
@@danilabezmenov3489👏👏
There’s no universal templates for emotions and facial expressions was my biggest take away. We all have a different ways of behaving when we feel an emotion, so it’s important to figure out a person’s baseline. How do they behave when not scared? Not anxious? Etc. then notice the difference when they are potentially feeling that way. I think you’re doing good analysis on those kids If there’s improvement in their symptoms keep doing what you know works
@@danilabezmenov3489 Do you really think she "ignores" their work? She discusses their work, critiques it, and does her own work too. Surely that's the very opposite of ignoring, that's engagement. She just disagrees.
This is a great discussion. I am trained clinician in psychiatry. I struggled to understand emotion and my training didn’t help clarify. This is further complicated by my culture (grew up in an East African and Islamic tradition). In my training, I was taught to think of affect as observable feelings of others and mood, on the other hand is subjective report of a person. This is easier said than done, based on years of experience. Now, from this talk I learned that affect and mood are one in the same; that emotion is highly variable and depending on culture and our own interpretation can change. Loveee this!!! Thank you!
I find this to be a treasure trove! Keep going back to it. A wealth of information. To those saying she’s tough. IDK, and I don’t mind it because they are both clearly inspired to help humanity and give effective solutions to the problems that be! She is interesting, but I find myself pulled toward her not away because of her heart’s passion for helping others. Of course, we all know that is true of the amazing Dr.H.🙌🌱❤️
Thank you, Andrew Huberman and anyone who may help this mans vision. 🎉🎉🎉 Pinnacle of humanity
Emotions are like colors. You have your basic colors then you mix them together and it makes different colors. So there are all those emotional combinations by mixing emotions together in quality but also quantity. The number of different amounts of emotions it’s almost infinite.
I read Lisa's book How Emotions Are made a few years ago! So awesome to see a podcast with her. Gave me goosebumps to hear her speak!
As a fencing coach, a parent and someone raised by an old-school German father, this conversation was immensely helpful! Thank you to both of you!!!
12:12 The facial expression of Andrew here is gold
lol the fact there's no noise makes it seems like it's a cutscene from a video game
from that moment i became protective toward Andrew..:) i think she could have phrase it differently ,and eventually she did say that a smile is one signal that can translate in the brain to a good feeling. (CAN. sure, not in any circumstance's ).
I'm just so fascinated with every single episode of this podcast 🙌 Dr. Andrew, you're doing an amazing job sharing all this georgeos information for the general public that is interested in science and in all the possible ways that one can improve their lives... Thank you so much for every single amazing guest you bring to the podcast. This episode particularly was GREAT ✨💯
I needed this episode so much. While I'm capable of displaying a wide range of facial expressions there are many times where people fail to read how I'm feeling because my outward expression doesn't match my inward feeling due ro either masking or hyper awareness. People in my experience react so much to facial expressions, word choice etc and I'm aware I often blunt my outward expressions to create less of a reaction in people around me. It has a lot to do with why socialization can often be so exhausting with people especially when I can't let my guard down and let my authentic side show freely. What she said around an hour in was extremely meaningful to me because I often experience sensations and thought patterns that tried to guide my body towards reactions that I know are in response to similar situations in the past and it's very frustrating that even when I can think rationally and tell myself everything is okay my body It's still firing warning signals that can make me extremely sensitive until my nervous system settles down.
Thank you Professor Huberman & Dr. Barrett ❤
This was very interesting the best video so far. Enjoyed finally hearing someone honest enough to call the BS what it is
Thank you! So interesting!! Sidenote: The ACE study shows clearly that the body keeps the score.
Great, she goes round and round to explain simple thing.
This is absolutely incredible. Thank you for bringing us this perspective, these lessons, this experience. I wish we were taught these things in school and much earlier in life. Its amazing to me that we just don't know how we work, and the degree to which we do isn't mainstream enough. I'm almost tempted to design something like a board game featuring the brain as a setting, the resources being perhaps nutrients, and the play pattern focused on optimizing those resources around changing conditions. I've had Dr.Felman's book on my to read list for a little while, and am now very eager to read it. Thanks for the inspiration.
Love your idea for a game - you should do it before someone else does!
Her work has been instrumental in me working through and changing my experience of "panic disorder" and even just everyday stress. Understanding that if I feel "stress" or "panic" it's because I'm creating that energy and motor plans (urges) in my body and mind about what I might do next based on what I think is happening now has allowed me to focus on changing what I'm doing and predicitng rather than what I'm feeling, which has changed everything. Thank you Dr. Feldman Barrett and Dr. Huberman for everything you do!
In my opinion the body and emotions are definitely linked. Curling over definitely is associated with depression for me, and standing with strong posture definitely does provide feelings of empowerment. I don’t think anybody said that you can change one thing and completely change all of your emotions. The idea is that there are both internal and external things that can be done to shift emotional states. Certainly it’s contextual and that’s fine, but for the purpose of shifting emotion or changing state, standing tall often WILL change your emotions.
She is very one-dimensional in her approach.
So good I have gone to pick up Dr Barrett’s books. This isn’t just an informative episode, it’s an amazing lesson.
The implications for clinical practice is mind boggling. This is changes so much around our assumptions about emotions this psychotherapy and psychopharmacology treatments. Deep dive into the material. Thank goodness these scientists can now give accessible, under stable applicable research and info to the general public. Free! Amazing time for neuroscience.
This was a very interesting and insightful video. I’m a practicing DBT/ somatic therapist and there were certain things said I don’t agree with. From a DBT lens labeling emotions as good or bad are judgements and don’t capture a persons experience. Emotions have functions to communicate to ourselves and others. They are also used as motivators. Also I agree that the way people experience emotions are not black and white. Our environment really does shape the way we move through emotions. I’m very interested in reading her books to get a better understanding of her research and approach. Thank you again for such great content.
Also a trained DBT clinician here. I feel like almost everything she said aligned perfectly. That emotions are complex, that they communicate something to us, and that they can be regulated. The last 1/4 of the podcast felt like just a deeper scientific breakdown of the “Check the facts skill,” by identifying our emotions, looking for different perspectives, then asking if that emotion is effective in getting what we want. I think she paraphrased it best by something like “arrange your butterflies accordingly.” Love it.
@@HonestTherapist I agree there was a lot I agreed with, some statements I did not. All in all it was a great video.
I am German-Hungarian bilingual. I don't know of any expression in German, however, in Hungarian there is one called "tenyérbemászó arca van", which translates into: "he/she's got a face that crawls into the palm of my hand". We use it to describe people who, in some way, look or act provoking :)
There is a word "Ohrfeigengesicht" in German, but its one of those that appear in the dictionary but no one ever uses.
Backpfeigengesicht is a word I've heard used more.
Never used that in 43 years of being native German speaker. Not super common I would say
I am a Special Education teacher and I find the science presented in these episodes invaluable for my practice as a teacher. This episode, however, just left me a bit unmoored. While I can find ways to apply the concepts Dr. Feldman Barrett was positive about, those ideas that were refuted are very hard to get around. The idea that Emotional Intelligence is not useful flies in the face of my personal "anecdata," and puts in question much of what we do to try to help children deal with their emotions. I understand that Dr. Feldman Barrett is trying to explain the science and call into question thinking and practices that are not supported by data, but she also discounts a large body of psychological practice that are used daily with a great deal of success. Maybe what is really helping kids with neurodivergence is the relationship with a positive adult, but I can't help but feel (emotion) that I'm just whistling in the dark. I'd love to hear some episodes that deal with neurodivergence as well as how EQ actually works.
Wow, this is very eye opening for me as someone with emotional dysregulation problems. All this information is really shedding a new light on what emotions really are for me. Thank you Andrew Huberman (and his team) and Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett!
The universal expression discussion hits home. I am from the Dominican Republic and came to rural Maryland and people at work kept saying that I was getting angry and that I was aggressive when I was feeling neutral and even nicer than most! I eventually realized it was how they interpreted my gestures. Back home we express everything more intensely. I started acting... using more neutral faces or slightly smiling... Started speaking in a slightly higher pitch... Boom! As I met more people, they seemed to like me and find me funny and even chill! This has significant repercussions for career outcomes - whether someone considers an Asian person not to be leadership material because they are inexpressive, or they isolate a black woman because they find her aggressive.
My mind is 💡up!! I am a premium subscriber and this has been the most intellectually satisfying episode! My mind is delightfully buzzing with curiosity for more of LFB books and her wisdom! And you both delivered the info in such a fluid synchronous manner! You guys are kindred spirits!Thank you! 🙏🏻
Same here! It was intellectually delightful to grasp each idea, thanks to their amazing ability to articulate thoughts and make understandable such abstract and complicated concepts. Thank you both!
You put this perfectly ♥️
Dr Lisa Feldman is a such an interesting researcher and convincing personality. Her description of our CNS is simply convincing and her tenderness (which first seems at odd with her rather sober description of our CNS) is even more. Thanks
There is a good overlap with Iain McGilchrist's work on Left/Right brain. Lisa's comments are spot on for the left brain's representation of the world - grasping -. I would love to see it expand to presence - right brain - and experiencing the moment ( where it might get into more spiritual/less concrete domain )
When I'm writing code, I use a wine cork to bite down on so as to change the shape of my lips into a smile. The habit instantly makes me feel happier during my coding sessions. I read it in a book some time ago. Apparently, physical changes have an impact on your mental state. It's reigned true for me, so I thought I'd share. Ok I'm going back to listening to the podcast. 😀
I have to admit that I was about to stop about 30 minutes in, but I'm so glad I kept listening. Very enlightening episode and I will probably listen to this again.
At what point does she actually give practical information? Timestamp?
@@haileynichelle8343she is disappointing to say the least
Prayer allows us to support and help each others nervous system through love care and minimal judgment. Love this podcast. Thank you Doc Huberman!
Dr Barret is a genius.
Would Love to see Dr. Feldman back for another episode. This podcast brought me so many realisations and has been by far the most helpful and actionable. Thank you for all that you do.
@hubermanlab I love your podcast and look forward to a new episode every week. Would like to suggest Caroline M. Myss as a guest. She is the author of Anatomy of Spirit. That again for your work. Truly amazing ❤️
I haven't heard a more inspiring conversation in a long long time. Thank you
Lisa Feldman barret is a luminary of our times
Everything in my work as a neuro programming specialist points to her being 100% right. The brain is absolutely a guessing machine, and you see this at work through all muscular systems/sequencing and how those sequences change post injury/post trauma/ or with enough repeated stimulus. Fascinating interview. The answer likely is the brain doesn't know what the right answer is, but the outcome is more important than perfect efficiency. This can, in my opinion, be 100% proven through how the brain deals with trauma, as well as how it deals with physical injury.
So fun watching you two hash this out! Andrew you look especially handsome when intently listening.. I love your enthusiasm for science and while you’re my personal wellbeing guru- you’re absolutely zero percent know it all. 😊Thanks for using your genuine curiosity and access to experts as a tool to help us all. Xoxo
Reading these comments overwhelming fills me with joy! It truly is being a part of a community! I’ve struggled with depression for many years, and talk therapy just didn’t cut it for me. I definitely am a, I need the ‘why’ kind of person but I never thought to incorporate that into my mental health. Thank you so much Andrew! These videos are helping me navigate my life at a time where it’s very easy to give up. The knowledge you provide makes it easier to fight another day! I will forever be grateful! ❤
I loved her book. Was the first one I felt could explain the brain to a regular person. I am a father of a 1 year old and I have found a few hints here and there about what is important to help a child’s brain to develop well. It would be great if you could do an episode on this topic.
Can I ask which of her books in particular are you referring to?
7 and 1/2 lessons about the brain
Since I discover your channel. I prefer watching this 2 hr podcast than watching a movie :) Thank you
Right on! Me too!!
This could not come at a better time, or at least when I listened to it this week. My former wife and I are grappling with our 17-year-olds education. We had him in public, then private, nothing seemed to be working. He is now homeschooled and works full time 3 days a week for a large and very successful trade company. They love him. He's getting paid, doing school (although he needs more there) and getting lessons in life. I've been grappling with alcoholism, and he has been my biggest advocate for repair. This young man is amazing, and I bought in to everything this content had to offer. Hopefully more folks who question the path, consider a new. You hiring?
Love this podcast,this has been another great guest I enjoyed the perspective and psychology of her practice.😂It is kind, understanding,practical and humanitarian for sure. Hope her theory,vision,and goals can manifest within culture beyond her industry.
Convenient timing, I have just started in depth studies of psychosomatic illnesses, so these tie perfectly together. It would be interesting to see a podcast from you featuring such things as mind-causing physical impairments.
Such a noble pursuit, and very needed! Sarno, Gabor Mate, and Vessel van der Kolk all taught me so much.
I love how she explain (in other presentations) how often police officers ACTUALLY see a gun sometimes when there isn’t one. How is that for the mind causing physical impairments?
@@BigC61503qhappens to me too, not too often, but it happens and it's creepy
Firstly, I would like to say I really enjoy listening to all of your podcasts and I am very thankful to you for sharing your knowledge Andrew. I definitely appreciate this particular podcast and the purpose of it especially if it helps us to understand and relate to “…others and the world in richer, more adaptive ways.” However, if I could share a great realization from my knowledge and experience that I think would greatly compliment the understanding of emotions and perhaps help give others a deeper understanding of our emotional states and reactivity to our outside environment. What I am talking about here is what I call the “Observer Mind.” I think of it as an evolutionary state of being that has been continually progressing within the human race. I believe there is no greater asset to human beings than gaining the ability to observe oneself. Keeping in mind, that there are varying degrees of self-observation. This Observer state gives us the capability to step outside of our programmed mind/memories in order to enable us to view our environment from a new, much higher perspective. When we gain the ability to move outside of our conditioning, we no longer see things from a subjective view but rather a higher, fresher perspective. There is no longer any ‘influence’ from the past driving our emotions and decisions in our present. When we achieve this level of awareness, we become freer from the constraints of our past wounds and/or acquired subpersonalities that no longer serve us. We become less reactive as a means of self-defense or preservation. This also enables us to look at our emotional states without denial. We then can respond more efficiently and effectively to each other and our environment. Ultimately, this leads to greater peace and harmony within ourselves and the world at large. Difficult to explain fully in the comment section. 😀
Very well said. Nailed it!
It sounds like you meditate
Yes, and that “observer” is the stillness, the center… the true self.
@@stvbrsn I also do, and I really think that specific skill you talk about is a superpower, and for some reason most people don't seem interested enough. Andrew do seems to be very interested in that approach though. To "become an observer of yourself"
@@keyboardwarrior9406 `Superpower` is a very good word to describe it. I think some people are still too much in their heads/thinking mind and too caught up in their problems to realize this gift. It certainly is not easy to rise above our programming due to the strong emotions that accompanies it. However, with enough pain, most will make this realization eventually. I am an extremely analytical thinker so if I can do it anyone can but it took a lot of trial and error and I still have work to do. I can say with full confidence and certainty that this state of being is our greatest asset as humans. :)
You know what’s crazy.. I have OCD and a lot of people with ocd tend to confuse certain emotions etc etc.. and become highly fixated on what they mean about them.. for instance myself.. I was working for fed ex at the time.. I was on a route and making a delivery to a business I’ve gone to almost every other day for about 5 months being that it was a new up and running business so deliveries were being made very often. So on this one particular day.. I had about 50 boxes to drop off and there was this guy and this lady helping me, great. As I was looking through the boxes to hand to them.. I stopped for about a second and was either change the song on my phone or either a video on my phone.. I tend to listen to a lot of podcast well working.. I was in a bit of a stressed.. but not in a bad mood.. I just hate delivering a lot of boxes especially in the summer when it’s really hot and this situation happened to be in the summer so my mood wasn’t the BEST but also was not in a bad mood either. So in the moment well on my phone another guy walks out to help up, mind you I’ve seen this guy many times and said wassup to many times no problem all good and go about my business but in almost a reflex happened so fast this rush hit me in my chest.. causing an involuntary smile to kick in.. threw me off almost instantly because I’m like wth was that? I quickly obsess over it and become fixated. I tried to put 2 and 2 together.. because I was like he did almost catch me off guard because I was on my phone and i looked up for like a split second.. I couldn’t understand what happened, because this involuntary smile felt very uncontrollable and I was just tryna figure out wtf was going on.. never had this ever happen 27 years of my life up until that one day and then it became an on going thing specifically around men but right before this happened. This NEVER happened so it’s very odd that this keeps happening to me I wonder if it’s because I response negatively to it each time and my brain just keeps sending it idk I sometimes feel very lost and confused it’s been about 11 months and happens everyday.. any help would be great . Let me not forget to mention months after this I was venting to my girlfriend and I was in tears because I told her idk what’s happening to me idk why this keeps happening it never did before and it just happens all the time and I can’t control it. Literally in tears and while I’m crying that same rush hit me and I was just like wtf.. I’m literally crying right now. As I was telling her that I’m feeling the same thing .. she literally says you’re not smiling at all though.. although it really felt like I was even if it was a bit she told me I wasn’t at all.. so it’s just very confusing on what’s going on honestly.
What a GREAT episode! It helped me to understand the WHY of emotions from a physiological standpoint. Thanks Andrew and thanks Dr. Lisa Feldman!
Thank you for the consistency and true up to date information on the neuroscience. You made working out and staying healthy so much easier and more fulfilling knowing how it all correlates with our brain. You have really changed my outlook and gave me a passion to pursue a greater understanding. Keep up the great work
She's my second favorite neuroscientist next to you! I saw her on Lex's podcast and I'm so happy she's now on yours as well. Thank you for work that you both do!
Wonderful episode. I would highlight all of it but this one really got me: "Emotions are recipes for action." "When you create an emotion you are giving meaning to those affective feelings and you have more control than you might think in how you do that. You can do it by changing the physical state that give rise to those feelings but you can also change it by learning more how to make more categories and how to make them more fluidly so that you do something different and it’s not that things will necessarily feel any more unpleasant or any less any more pleasant that the feeling becomes a source of wisdom it’s a cue to do something different." And I think the Turkish words she said is "küskünlük" ❤
I am reading "How Emotions are Made". It's an amazing book. Thank you Dr. Barret for this great book. It is changing the way I view the world (my construction of the world.)
This episode is one of the few I watched without any break in between, taking notes actually. Very fluid, and enjoyable. I enjoyed it, even I am feverish, and I have a sore throat, a mild headache, and a runny nose. Or maybe because of all the above. Love it! Thank you! ❤
As a painter, it's hard to digest the idea that our brain is not wired for interpreting emotions. I can even see how people's faces are modeled by the emotion they "practice" the most during their lives. You can see it in the shape of the facial traits. You become what you are animated by. Of course, there are moments when we can not know one's emotions by just looking at their expression, but these moments are rare. And I think it would be a pity to dismiss intuition, energy exchange, and body language, just because we don't have yet scientific proof for it. Science can't always explain intuition and other more elevated forms of human knowledge.
True!!
Don't worry. What she says it's surprisingly total gibberish. Doesn't make sense in itself.
She didn't actually say that they are not wired for it. She said it does not come from genes alone. She also said that the probability of correctly interpreting it is lower than we think but that if you expose yourself to repeated interpretations your likelyhood of guessing correctly increases. Hence the example of her husband knowing what she is feeling. As an artist you are probably more accutely aware of your surroundings, you observe patterns and because of that you notice deviations quicker. You create art through YOUR interpretation of what you see. Your interpretation may be more accurate than the average person as you have more exposure. I think it adds strength and explanation to what you experience. She even says that you cannot interpret emotions through a face alone. I am sure you, as an artist do not do that, you take in the whole scene, which may be the energy and intuition you experience.
@@felipeschneider1978What about what she said is gibberish? That's quite a claim to make about one of the most respected experts on emotional research. She's among the top 1% cited scientists in the world.
As an actor, I disagree with your interpretation somewhat - it's not that we aren't capable of making inferences about people's emotional states, it's that emotional states do not exist in biologically determined categories, and that we do not have hard wired, naturally occuring neural equipment to process them. This also aligns with my acting training - one of my best acting teachers warned us against relying on emotion to drive performance, because emotion does not reliably read on the face, body or voice. That's part of the reason Lee Strasberg style (The Method) acting training has dramatically dwindled in popularity.
i love the way dr.lisa explain everything through the neuroscientific perspective it's make my mind so clear and more understand how my body and mind are actually work. thanks to you both. love this video.
Thank you both - love this! V well-done, useful, practical. Much appreciated!
Congratulations on your interview on the today show! I have absolutely loved your podcast for the last year! I’m so glad to have found you! Thank you for the amazing work you do in the world!❤
That part about language. I am actually learning a endangered language which is my native language and your piece just gave me a boost and motivation to learn it. Thank you :)
Which language is it?
Please summarise the podcast please