Dean Burnett

'I find their illogic and foolish emotions a constant irritant.' - Mr Spock, on humans (Star Trek S3E7) Emotions. They're a pain, aren't they? If only we were all a little less emotional and a lot more rational, we wouldn't get ourselves into half the scrapes we do. But is that a fair synopsis? Are emotions really some form of cognitive appendix that we'd be better off without? Or do they serve a deeper purpose? For them to take up so much of our brain's precious resources, emotions must have evolved for a reason. What is that reason? And how do they work in the brain? Are they innate, wired in from the word go, allowing a baby to cry with distress mere seconds after exiting the womb? Or are they learned, over time and through our experiences of dealing with others? In The Emotional Brain, Dean Burnett investigates all these questions - and many more besides. Combining in-depth research with expert analysis, the end result is a fascinating and endlessly entertaining account of the science underlying our emotional lives.

Emotional Ignorance

Patrick Ludewig

The body supplies the blueprints of emotions, not the raw materials, and the brain follows the body's instructions for creating them.

Sometimes using a brain scanner to study emotions is like trying to work out which horse won a race by going to the track three hours after it's ended and studying the hoofprints by the finish line.

In this sense, the motivation-producing hypothalamus is like the engine of a car, with our emotions and cognition in the front seats, one at the steering wheel, the other holding the map, both constantly bickering about who gets to do what.

For example, one persistent finding is that positive emotions broaden our cognitive scope, while negative ones narrow it. To translate: when we're in a positive emotional state, our brains tend to take everything in, not concentrate on one particular thing. By contrast, when we're in a negative mood, we concentrate more on one specific thing at a time, pay more close attention to whatever we're dealing with. It's 'big picture versus fine details' again.

unprocessed emotional experiences can lead to mental health problems (PTSD)

To switch metaphors for a moment, think of our normal brain functions as a vital road that goes through a long tunnel. Then a tanker that's too large to fit through slams into the tunnel. high speed, causing chaos. The important road is blocked. and the tunnel could collapse. The tanker is a traumatic incident, the damaged tunnel is PTSD.

Any direct attempt to pull the tanker out (i.e. face the traumatic memories directly) could cause the whole thing to collapse (i.e. experience the emotional trauma all over again). Psychologial therapies for PTSD are like the workmen delicately reinforcing the tunnel, gradually cutting up and chipping away at the blockage: to re-open the road without further damage. There may be some unavoidable scars or long-term alterations, but normal functioning is essentially restored. 

It's not that sad music makes you sad; it's that it's safe, cost-free sadness, without the pain or loss that usually produces this emotion. The brain gets all the benefits, none of the costs.

fading affect bias is here to let positive emotions last longer

Thankfully, even if negative emotional memories are more potent, the fading affect bias means they dont last as long as positive ones. The negative emotional qualities of memories fade relatively quickly, while positive ones linger.  

This would explain why emotional contagion can lead to the famous mob mentality', where you effectively lose your self-awareness and self-control when you're part of a highly emotional group, meaning you think and act in ways you never normally would. 

The exact mechanisms and processes of this phenomenon known as deindividuation- are still the subject of much debate.

its just egoism and makes yourself feel better and is just a bland phrase. but the how do you express compassion?

Unfortunately, the emotion I responded with was anger. These messages often enraged me. And my reactions weren't pretty. Being told, I wish there was something I could do to help? Well, there isn't. We're under lockdown, and you live hundreds of miles away. This mesage exists purely to make you feel better for saying it. Screw you! ‚I’m so sorry for your loss'? Why? Are you responsible? If not, youre just wasting my time and mental energies when I have little enough to spare as it is.

Saying, ‚Historically, most scientists were men, so men must be inherently better at science than women’ is like saying, ‚Money is how we reward success, and the children of billionaires typically have the most money. Therefore, they must be smarter and harder working than everyone else, so we should all defer to them and let them run our governments.‘

Emotional Ignorance quotes

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