The Emotional Life of Your Brain: How Its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live--and How You Can Change Them

Richard J. Davidson

March 1, 2012

The Emotional Life of Your Brain: How Its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live--and How You Can Change Them by Richard J. Davidson provides a comprehensive exploration of the complex neural pathways that are responsible for shaping our emotions and behaviors. Drawing upon evidence from neuroscience, genetics and psychology, this enlightening book challenges traditional ideas about the nature and expression of emotions. The book outlines a number of new approaches to understanding and managing emotion and provides detailed instructions on how to utilize these methods to foster resilience, peace, and well-being. The book explores a wide range of modern topics within this field, such as temperament, the impact of chronic stress and trauma, decision making, and the power of positive emotions. Davidson and his expert contributors delve into ways that we might be able to optimize our emotional architecture, thereby improving our overall life experience. The Emotional Life of Your Brain also discusses how emotions shape our relationships, health, and cognition as well as how we process information and interact with the world around us. By recognizing how the opportunity to influence our own emotional patterns can affect our entire lives, this book can prove to be a valuable resource for learning how to unlock the complexities of our own minds.