'Why are Brain predictions important?'
A caregiver's telepathy and burden—putting predictions into a context. (Part 2)
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In two earlier articles, I shared Professor Barrett’s 2018 TED Talk and three short videos about how emotions are constructed.
I’m still reflecting on the implications and ramifications of her findings, such as physical movements having no intrinsic emotional meaning.
How often do we take the time to assess the broader context of a situation over leaping to what we ‘think’ we see?
When and why do we make these auto-assumptions, these predictions?
These next three videos highlight the predictive nature of our brains.
Published on YouTube by Prof. Lisa Feldman Barrett2
Your Brain is predictive, not reactive.
Your brain is doing its best to guess what will happen next.
If your brain couldn’t predict, then sports couldn’t exist.
Micro and Macro Predictions of Your Brain
In Summary
The brain's ability to predict impacts our perception and interaction with the world. For example, we see colours differently based on the time of day and anticipate movements in sports despite the visual delay.
Predictions happen at a micro level, such as guessing bodily needs or interpreting speech, and at a macro level, like predicting social interactions.
These predictions are automatic and essential for making sense of the world and our immediate context.
So…we make some predictions (micro) to avoid wasting time and energy to satisfy what our body needs physiologically and other predictions (macro) to orient ourselves in/to the world.
What happens when we must be a receiver, a radar for someone else’s needs?
A caregiver’s telepathy and burden.
When we cared for Dad in the worst days of 2019, I didn’t need to speak very much or ask Dad questions because I was completely attuned to his needs and the very familiar context of our care routine3.
I tried to anticipate his every need. Our routine offered some predictability and comfort when Dad’s symptoms were anything but. I adapted so that he didn’t need to.
We were hyper-connected. The raise of an eyebrow or direct glance within the context of our routine spoke volumes.
I was an extension of his arms, legs, hands and feet. His were atrophied and gnarled from rheumatoid arthritis. I was his spokesperson and champion when he was too tired or couldn’t find the right words.
We consciously avoided infantilising the proud, frustrated man who was trapped in the frail body of pain, who shouted in anger at not ‘being allowed’ to do things and cried later with self-recriminations.
We felt the rollercoaster of it all, absorbed it all with him, never quite knowing when we’d be in free fall.
A caregiver’s telepathy is not a superhuman skill; it’s the care and attention our brains have tuned into.
We leveraged the ability to predict based on what we had already experienced. We were primed for cues, changes in demeanour, mood, or symptoms.
When Dad used all his energy to keep going, we helped orient him in/to the world around us. We were his compass.
Telepathy and burden increase as our loved one's health becomes more unpredictable. So, we do more spherical thinking and scenario planning.
I’ve shared our ‘love bubble’, where I chose to, and could, support my parents 24/7. Together, we built a care routine. My experience is NOT the norm.
Imagine if paid caregivers often changed due to a lack of staff or routines had to shift because of an employer’s work demands. What happens when there is no financial or family support? Or imagine the emotional burden on those who are caring for someone who is demanding and unappreciative. These are just a few situations I discuss daily on carer forums.
The burden and blessing of a daily ‘telepathic’ context is under-appreciated not just for the caregiver but also regarding what this offers the person they care for.
What would you want for yourself when you become more frail or less able to make these micro or macro predictions?
The depressing reality is that, in the UK, the lack of available resources for the most vulnerable is the overriding bigger issue. So, before we can imagine how to optimise the quality of daily living for our loved ones or ourselves, we need to figure out how to support over-burdened caregivers in crisis today.
Can you offer time and a listening ear to a caregiver, family member, or someone you know? Can you offer a cup of coffee when it suits them so they can chat about whatever they wish? Resonance and support over providing any solutions.
Thankfully, instead of flinching at memories these days, I can remember moments when Dad was in a fit of giggles—you had to be there and understand the context. We had many ‘in-jokes’ that defined our absurd-acute-poignant-heartbreaking joy.
In my situation, I feel and know I received many blessings amidst the unpredictable events because my parents and I were in tune with each other's needs—not all the time, but there were enough moments of silly laughter and acute tragic joy.
The giving, feeling, and receiving within our highly emotional context, our ‘Love Bubble’, was enough to feel worth it despite the grief and unpredictable trauma of it all. It’s easier to say in hindsight and with the distance of time.
My heart aches a little, in resonance with all the caregivers feeling the burden and emotional strains right now.
Whether you are caring at a distance, juggling as part of the sandwich generation (griddled), living with your partner/family member/friend, or whatever situation you’re in helping to support someone else - YOU are amazing. Do what you can, no one is perfect. We try…… I see you.
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‘highly active’ exploring, reading, and interacting with the Carer Mentor website. The platform's wonderful website statistics show me 4 or 5 gold stars ⭐️ next to your subscription. There are lots of different ways I could interpret that, I’m choosing to perceive this to mean you find something interesting that resonates, offers empathy and inspires you in what I publish ;-) So, a special Thank You.
Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD, is among the top 0.1% most cited scientists in the world for her revolutionary research in psychology and neuroscience. She is a University Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University. She also holds appointments at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, where she is Chief Science Officer for the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior.
In addition to the books Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain and How Emotions are Made, Dr. Barrett has published over 275 peer-reviewed, scientific papers appearing in Science, Nature Neuroscience, and other top journals in psychology and cognitive neuroscience, as well as six academic volumes published by Guilford Press. She writes regularly about science in the popular press, including The New York Times, The Guardian, Scientific American (see full list).
Our care routine wasn’t static. There were constant incremental adaptations from 2015 to Dad's passing in January 2020. We had to orient ourselves to the ever-changing context.
I am caretaker for my mother with whom I have never had a good or positive relationship. But I’ve known her long enough to have an intuitive understanding of her needs sometimes. She is regressing emotionally more and more and sometimes her needs are in direct opposition to her wants. She gets angry at me and I struggle not to return the anger, not always successfully. She tries to use guilt against me (‘you don’t care’) and I struggle to maintain confidence in my intuition. This essay was helpful.
“Silly laughter and acute tragic joy,” oh boy I relate to that. Thank you.