Self-regulation requires special features of the brain that make us truly human: controlled, intentional and socially harmonious.  We are born to develop these skills - but we need to learn how to do this.

Humans have a remarkable capacity to deliberately control their internal state.  It's not a skill that any other species has - and one that most of us don't really know how to do, but it can be developed.  How? By getting to know the autonomic nervous system, the vagus nerve and something called 'interoception': all three of which will make you better at noticing what our body and senses are constantly telling us.  Doing this helps us use more of the human features of the brain to keep us calm and in control.  In this episode, we'll move our focus away from the 'mental' and psychology-based idea of emotions, and move back into our body and senses to find out how we can have more control over our behaviors.