Difficult conversations: construct your emotions

In and earlier post, I had recommended "How Emotions Are Made" by Lisa Feldman Barrett.  She describes the Theory of Constructed Emotion, in which our brains predict what we need to do based on information they receive, models they have made and our past experience.

This seems counter intuitive.  How can our emotions be constructed by us? when we feel as if we are reacting to what is happening around us? How can we be responsible for the distress and pain when the other person's behaviour has caused it?

These ideas can be challenging to accept. One way to think about it is considering how we feel based on the same stimulus.  For example, imagine you are driving along a quiet road when out of nowhere a sports car swerves in front of you and disappears into the distance.  How do you feel? Now imagine that instead of a sports car that was an ambulance? same stimulus but different emotional reaction. We are not passive receptors of emotion, we actively construct how we feel.

If you are heading into a difficult conversation, then you can help yourself by constructing more helpful emotions.  For example, rather than feeling the tightness in your stomach and deciding that you are anxious and worried, tell yourself that you are excited. If you are excited the chances are that you will perform better than if you are anxious.

---