Factory Settings - E9. Regret

Factory Settings is a podcast exploring politics, culture, relationships, mental health, addiction, and media, through the lens of how our built-in biases affect the way we consume information and form opinions.

Bridget Phetasy and her co-host/husband Jeren Montgomery, an associate marriage & family therapist discuss regret in their latest episode. They talk about the idea of living a life with no regrets, the role regret plays in society, the 4 different types of regret, and which emotions regret is linked most closely to for them both. They also share their biggest regrets in life, letting regret drive the decisions you make, the link between maturity and regret, how if someone has no regrets that can often be the sign of a serious psychological disorder, and being proactive and taking action to pre-emptively avoid regret.

Question of the week:

What function does regret serve in your life? And what emotion is it linked to?

Read Bridget’s article: I Regret Being A Slut

Or watch her read it herself and discuss the response it received: One Of My Biggest Regrets

Articles referenced by Jeren:

The 4 Major Kinds of Regret

Stanford Neuroscientist: How to Train Your Self-Control So You Don't Mess Up Your Life

The Psychology of Regret

Subscribe to Beyond Parody with Bridget Phetasy to submit questions, suggest topics and access all Factory Settings Bonus Episodes.