James Allison
Emotion Predictor
Everything you feel you predict. It’s not trauma, it’s prediction.
Emotion Predictor
It all makes sense. Your past does not define you. Your brain does.
Making sense of nonsense
We don’t have intuition or intentions, we predict. Focus does not equal feelings.
Prediction: your brain's real job.
Emotions are NOT reactions. They are predictions.
Memory: recalling, not reliving.
Memory is not some random file in a drawer. It is a recall of used signals.
Meaning: language shapes emotion
Emotions are built through the words you have learned to describe experiences.
Metabolism: the energy link.
Emotional regulation is metabolic. Everything is metabolic.
What is prediction regulation?
Your brain creates predictions about your emotions and when those predictions are rooted in past adversity, it can lead to unnecessary uncertainty, arousal, and fatigue.
Prediction regulation means helping your brain stop reacting to life based on past stress or bad memories.
Instead, it learns to notice what’s really happening in your body right now, and make new, more regulated choices. This makes your emotions easier to understand and saves your energy.
Who is prediction regulation for?
As high-performing professionals, we know the value of predicting outcomes. But what happens when those predictions are based on past emotional experiences?
Prediction regulation is for professionals who feel stuck, fatigued, and emotionally drained—even when nothing obvious is wrong. It’s for those who’ve grown up with stress, adversity as uncertainty.
Now they want to stop over stimulation, avoid repeating old emotional signals, feel more in control of their regulation and energy in daily life.
What is the process like?
The process is simple but powerful. You learn how to notice what your body is telling you, understand what your brain is predicting based on past experience, and update those predictions by giving your brain new information. Start regulating in a way that protects your energy and gives new meaning to your emotions—step by step.
1. Your brain does not 'think' or act.
It is continually predicting what your body needs, based on past experiences before they happen.
But if those past experiences were stressful or overwhelming, the brain can misread your body’s signals — and that’s when things get stuck or feel ‘off’.
2. Your brain avoids what feels too much.
If something once felt overwhelming, your brain remembers, and tries to steer your body away from it: It is making its prediction based on what happened.
Avoiding these feelings can throw your whole system out of balance.
To move forward, you need to update the old story by having new, safe experiences that teach your body it’s OK now.
3. Emotions aren’t fixed — they’re built.
Your brain doesn’t just feel emotions — it builds them using past experiences.
When you start to see things differently, and bring in new experiences, your brain begins to update what certain feelings mean.
This is how you create new possibilities — by changing what your brain predicts next time.
4. Cortisol overload confuses the system.
Cortisol is your body’s main energy hormone — it helps you respond to threats by shifting energy fast.
But when cortisol stays high for too long, your brain struggles to make accurate predictions.
That drains your energy, disrupts metabolism, and makes it harder to meet your emotional and physical needs.
5. Your five pillars reset the whole system.
Your brain is always scanning your body — like a built-in tracker — to keep everything in balance. This process is called allostasis.
By supporting five key areas — sleep, nutrition, hydration, movement, and attention — you help your body feel regulated and more stable.
And when your body feels regulated, your brain can stop overreacting and start predicting more accurately.
Prediction Regulation
12 Month Roadmap
The 12-month pathway focuses on foundational skills: understanding prediction, sensory attention, emotional meaning updates and improve energy regulation. The goal is to achieve consistent regulation through improved interoception and body tracking.
More Details
Key Concepts:
The brain is a prediction machine, constantly generating expectations based on past experiences.
Sensory data is shaped by interoception (internal body signals) and exteroception (external senses like sight, sound, etc.).
Affect (core feelings of pleasant/unpleasant, arousal/calm) is the foundation of emotional experiences.
Your perceptions and emotions are constructed, not hardwired.
Months 1-3: Foundations of Sensory Data and Prediction
Learn the basics of interoception and start tracking bodily signals like heartbeat, breathing, and muscle tension.
Understand why and how the brain predicts and constructs emotions.
Daily use of mood grid templates provided. Begin daily sensory attention and emotional tracking journey.
Use guided meditation and breathing practices to increase body attention.
Months 4-6: Building Language Meaning and Emotional Attention
Identify outdated emotional predictions and begin regulating them. Recognise that emotions are predictions, not reactions.
Use the mood grid to replace vague emotions with precise, actionable language.
Learn to recognise fatigue, arousal, and energy signals as prediction error cues. Start noticing what bodily sensations predict specific emotional responses.
Practice short body scans and simple grounding techniques to stay present.
Introduce weekly body tracker planners to observe energy levels and prediction.
Months 7-9: Body Energy Tracking and Regulation
Implement weekly body tracker planners to assess energy use.
Explore the 5 metabolic pillars (hydration, sleep, nutrition, movement, attention).
Integrate breathing and micro-regulation practices to correct prediction errors. Learn to update emotional meaning through reappraisal: What is my brain predicting right now?
Begin filling in your personal mood mapping sheet for naming your emotional states.
Months 10-12: Real-Time Regulation & Future Prediction
Build foundational skills to understand emotional predictions, track interoception, and identify the link between bodily sensations and emotions. Interrupt outdated emotional predictions and update them with present-moment new experiences.
Track patterns of energy and emotional shifts.
Complete a metabolic audit and prepare for advanced regulation strategies.
18 Month Roadmap – Intermediate Progression
The 18-month pathway builds on the foundation and integrates intermediate tools to refine interoceptive attention, enhance prediction accuracy, and improve allostasis energy regulation. You learn how to anticipate and adjust your energy.
More Details
Everything in 12 months plus the following:
Months 13-15: Expanding Sensory Attention
Apply tools such as mood grid to review emotional responses.
Develop consistent routines to manage prediction errors and track emotional energy.
Reflect on progress using the 5 Metabolic Pillar Audit Worksheet. Strengthen interoceptive accuracy, deepen emotional vocabulary, and develop real-time regulation strategies. Refine detection of subtle internal signals and early signs of dysregulation.
Months 16-18: Emotional Reappraisal & Prediction Updates
Apply reappraisal techniques for high arousal past experiences.
Focus on updating emotional meaning by introducing reinstatement techniques.
Integrate advanced body tracking and reflection practices to deepen attention.
Expand your emotional vocabulary and refine meaning through the mood map.
Practice real-time reframing of emotions during high-arousal moments.
Continue integrating the metabolic pillars into daily life with a focus on sustainability.
24-Month Roadmap – Advanced Integration
The 24-month pathway delivers advanced progression: integrating sensory data, real-time prediction adjustment, and emotional regulation into everyday decisions and relationships. You will live your life with freedom and autonomy.
More Details
Months 19-21: Mastering Real-Time Predictions
Expand vocabulary to differentiate emotional meaning (e.g., frustration vs. depletion).
Begin recalculating energy output through better metabolic tracking. Apply learned real-time prediction interruption techniques.
Strengthen decision-making by checking metabolic energy before action. Learn to recognise and adjust predictions in real time.
Experiment with sensory inputs (music, movement, environment) to shift emotional states.
Strengthen the ability to stay regulated under uncertainty.
Months 22-24: Full Emotional Integration & Leadership
Learn how to model and share sensory insights with others.
Apply prediction and regulation skills to personal and professional relationships.
Use advanced reappraisal and interoceptive practices for long-term emotional agility. Integrate energy and attention management as tools for better decisions.
Teach or model predictive regulation techniques to others as part of your long-term regulation.
Outcome of the Roadmap
Clear understanding of how sensory data constructs emotional experience.
Ability to update emotional meaning and break free from past predictions.
Improved regulation of body energy and attention across daily life.
Emotional agility and regulation for real-world challenges.
About Me
Hi, my name is James Allison. Outwith a successful 30 year business career, I have for the past 9 years, created a system for supporting the process of how we ‘rewire’ predicting adversity as emotional meaning and regualtion.
We do this using updated memory, new language, and real-life energy tracking.
I have helped thousands of individuals replace avoidance with emotional agency, rebuild
Testimonials
“I used to wake up exhausted no matter how much I rested. Now I understand it wasn’t stress — it was energy drained by old emotional habits. Learning to track my body and update those predictions changed how I work, rest, and connect with people.”
Karen, 32 Pensions
“I always avoided conflict because I thought it would just spiral. At that time, I did not realise my brain was predicting the same outcome from years ago. Once I learned to see that, the conversations became easier, especially the tougher ones. I am not scared of being heard and understood anymore.”
Simon, 38 CEO Founder IT
” I used to lose focus halfway through the day and thought it was burnout. It turned out to be my brain predicting fatigue because I never ever felt prepared. After I learned this, and started updating those small daily predictions, that completely changed how I manage my energy and performance.”
Anne, 27 Banking Retail Manager