Rethinking Emotions

In this first episode of our new series about emotions in the 21st century, priest and writer Giles Fraser and psychotherapist Philippa Perry join Thomas Dixon for a lively conversation about the place of emotions in modern culture.

Philippa, Giles, and Thomas discuss whether people are too ready to interpret painful or difficult emotions as signs of mental illness, and whether it is always true that "Your emotions are valid". Can emotions ever be wrong?

Giles confesses to an emotional outburst in the middle of the night, and suggests we should all try to be a bit more like the Queen, while Philippa explains how important it is to be able to live with and contain our own feelings, and those of our children, without necessarily always expressing them.

We explore what Christianity and psychotherapy have to say about the idea that we are all emotionally broken or disordered in some way, and Giles and Philippa share their views about smartphones and emotions, and whether they would like to be cared for by a robot nurse, and if not why not.

Philippa Perry is a psychotherapist and artist. She is the author of The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read: (And Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did) - and the “Ask Philippa” advice column in the Observer. She says that responding to your children’s feelings appropriately is foundational to their future emotional health. @philippa_perry

Reverend Giles Fraser is the Vicar of St Anne’s in Kew, as well as being a journalist and author. His most recent book is Chosen: Lost and Found Between Christianity and Judaism, and in 2017 he made a series for Radio 4 - “This Old Heart of Mine” - about the experience of surviving a heart attack and bypass surgery. It gave him the chance to reflect on matters of the heart - physical, emotional, and spiritual. @giles_fraser

Professor Thomas Dixon is Director of the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions, the author of Weeping Britannia: Portrait of a Nation in Tears (2015), and previously presented "The Sound of Anger" podcast series. @ProfThomasDixon

"Living With Feeling" is produced by Natalie Steed for Rhubarb Rhubarb, and is supported by the Wellcome Trust.

To find out more about the work of the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions, please visit The Emotions Lab website at emotionslab.org

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