Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson

By Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Forrest Hanson

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Category: Mental Health

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Subscribers: 564
Reviews: 1
Episodes: 319


 Jan 17, 2023

Description

Forrest Hanson is joined by his father, clinical psychologist Dr. Rick Hanson, and a world-class group of experts to explore the practical science of lasting well-being. Conversations focus on the key insights from psychology, science, and contemplative practice that you need to build reliable inner strengths, overcome your challenges, and get the most out of life. New episodes every Monday.

Episode Date
How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome: Self-Doubt, Confidence, and Authenticity
00:56:30

Forrest and Dr. Rick explore how to overcome imposter syndrome, the common psychological experience of self-doubt and feeling like a fraud. You'll learn why even very accomplished, capable people experience imposter syndrome, strategies to break free from the cycle of self-doubt, and how to move away from comparison, embrace authenticity, and believe in yourself. Topics include how to build self-confidence, reframe negative self-perceptions, and find support from mentors and allies.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:15: Defining imposter syndrome, and watching out for “construct creep”

9:25: Where the notion of imposter syndrome originates

11:30: Stages of development, trust, shame, and belonging

13:50: Myths around accomplishment, and when we’re actually good enough

16:30: The typical cycle of imposter syndrome

20:00: Why people get trapped in this cycle

25:00: Moving away from comparison

28:10: Shame about shame, and sharing authentically with others

32:15: What helps us face our fears

36:35: Acknowledging what you are not

40:15: Your locus of control, and how you interpret your experience

49:25: Mentors, role models, and allies

51:50: Recap

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Get 15% off OneSkin with the code BEINGWELL at https://www.oneskin.co/  

Go to BrioAirPurifier.com and use code BEINGWELL to save $100 on a Brio Air Purifier.

Finally get that project off the ground with Squarespace! Head to squarespace.com/beingwell for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch use coupon code BEINGWELL to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

May 29, 2023
Self-Help Fads and Finding What Really Works with mindbodygreen CEO Jason Wachob
01:01:08

There’s an enormous amount of advice out there in the self-help world…and much of it isn’t very good. Jason Wachob, the Founder and Co-CEO of mindbodygreen, joins Forrest and Dr. Rick to separate fact from fiction and clarify what really matters. They explore the importance of finding joy in the well-being journey, simple practices that have stood the test of time, and how we can pursue goals in healthy ways. Specific topics include the importance of high-quality sleep, breathing better, sifting through diet and exercise fads, developing a pursuit mindset, hormetic stress, and finding the things that work for you.

About our Guest: Jason Wachob is the Founder and Co-CEO of mindbodygreen, one of the largest, most influential media brands in the wellness space. He’s also the host of the mindbodygreen podcast, and the co-author of The Joy of Well-Being: A practical guide to a happy, healthy, and long life.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics: 

0:00: Introduction

1:15: Distinguishing well-being from wellness

3:50: Healthy change is joyful change

7:50: Having a pursuit mindset

11:30: Addressing the main objection to well-being

14:45: Present moment awareness

16:55: Box breathing and sleep

22:10: Jason’s background, and how identity dictates our behavior

32:20: Honoring your inner knowing

37:50: Finding your ‘why’

42:45: Good stress, and finding what works for you

46:40: Vulnerability with others

48:55: Feeling connected to the world

50:50: Recap

 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

NEW Offering from Rick! Join Rick and 5 world-renowned teachers – including Dr. Gabor Mate, Tara Brach, and Thupten Jinpa – for The Heart of Compassion, a 5-week online program that will teach you how to access, grow, and apply compassion. Head to rickhanson.net/hoc to learn more, and use code BEINGWELL10 for 10% off. 

Sponsors:

Zocdoc helps you find expert doctors and medical professionals that specialize in the care you need, and deliver the type of experience you want. Head to zocdoc.com/being and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. Then find and book a top-rated doctor today.

Finally get that project off the ground with Squarespace! Head to squarespace.com/beingwell for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch use coupon code BEINGWELL to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

May 22, 2023
Attachment Theory and Emotionally Focused Therapy with Dr. Sue Johnson
01:04:56

Dr. Sue Johnson, the founder of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), joins Dr. Rick and Forrest to explore how insights from attachment theory can transform our relationships. They discuss how attachment theory provides a map for understanding relationships, the challenges of making skills learned in therapy stick, and the role of vulnerability in creating authentic and fulfilling relationships. In this episode you'll learn how to use insights from attachment theory and EFT to create secure and emotionally healthy relationships. 

About our Guest: Dr. Sue Johnson is a clinical psychologist, researcher, professor, and the founder of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), a widely used and respected approach to couples therapy. She is considered one of the foremost experts in the field of attachment, and hKey Topics:

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:00: Why Sue created Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)

8:55: Relationships as bonds, not bargains

12:20: Attachment theory as a “map,” and getting skills to stick

16:50: What it feels like to be in a bonding conversation

26:15: Validating vulnerabilities and “finding the raw spot”

31:35: Changing the way you relate to yourself

36:20: EFT vs. Internal Family Systems

38:40: “The Amygdala Whisperer,” and creating a new experience 

40:35: Inherent goodness, and naming helplessness

45:40: Communicating how much you value others

51:50: Individualism, and getting comfortable with vulnerability

59:05: Recap

 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

NEW Offering from Rick! Join Rick and 5 world-renowned teachers – including Dr. Gabor Mate, Tara Brach, and Thupten Jinpa – for The Heart of Compassion, a 5-week online program that will teach you how to access, grow, and apply compassion. Head to rickhanson.net/hoc to learn more, and use code BEINGWELL10 for 10% off. 

Sponsors:

Zocdoc helps you find expert doctors and medical professionals that specialize in the care you need, and deliver the type of experience you want. Head to zocdoc.com/being and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. Then find and book a top-rated doctor today.

Finally get that project off the ground with Squarespace! Head to squarespace.com/beingwell for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch use coupon code BEINGWELL to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

May 15, 2023
Mailbag: Power in Relationships, Self-Worth, Motivation, and Personal Responsibility
01:13:49

Forrest and Dr. Rick dive into the mailbag to answer questions from listeners. They explore age gaps in relationships, relating to people as ongoing processes, and avoiding having your personal growth practice turn you into a doormat. You’ll learn how to develop authentic self-worth, how to allow both “positive” and “negative” motivations to pull you in a good direction, and how to balance determinism with personal responsibility. The episode closes with a question about supporting people trapped in dysfunctional family systems. 

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:15: Question 1: I feel like my personal growth practice is causing others to take advantage of me. What can I do? 

8:55: Question 2: Do age gaps in relationships matter?

19:55: Relating to others as ongoing processes 

22:40: Question 3: Given all the things we don’t control, how responsible is anyone for their behavior?

28:30: Thinking in terms of plausible ranges of outcomes

33:20: Question 4: How can I learn to accept myself and improve my self-worth?

41:50: Question 5: I can’t tell if I’m motivated by “good” desires…or just my fear of never measuring up.

49:00: What comes along with challenging experiences

54:15: Question 6: How can an older sibling help a younger sibling in a dysfunctional family system?

1:04:50: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

NEW Offering from Rick! Join Rick and 5 world-renowned teachers – including Dr. Gabor Mate, Tara Brach, and Thupten Jinpa – for The Heart of Compassion, a 5-week online program that will teach you how to access, grow, and apply compassion. Head to rickhanson.net/hoc to learn more, and use code BEINGWELL10 for 10% off. 

Sponsors:

Finally get that project off the ground with Squarespace! Head to squarespace.com/beingwell for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch use coupon code BEINGWELL to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

May 08, 2023
How to Create Massive Change with Dr. Benjamin Hardy
01:01:20

Forrest Hanson welcomes Dr. Benjamin Hardy to explore how we can create massive change by applying "10x thinking.” This mindset involves embracing a radically different version of ourselves and our lives, and they share how we can apply it to our daily lives, learn to act from our future selves, and move past defensiveness and fear. You’ll learn how our past and future selves are with us in the present, how fixating on authenticity can hinder our growth, and how to break free from old patterns and create a more fulfilling life.

About our Guest: Dr. Benjamin Hardy is an organizational psychologist and author of 8 books, including Personality Isn’t Permanent, Willpower Doesn’t Work, and his newest book 10x is Easier Than 2x: How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:20: Linear vs. 10x thinking and the 80/20 principle

4:30: Having an honesty filter, and making transformational change

6:15: Using the 80/20 principle to act in alignment with your future self

10:45: Agency as the belief in possibility

14:30: The inherent discomfort of orienting to a positive future

17:55: Psychological sunk costs

19:40: How believing in a “core self” holds us back

24:50: What helps us break through defensiveness and fear of failure

29:10: The present shapes the meaning of the past, and why that’s useful

35:10: Developing a coherent narrative and creating space to transform

37:45: Recognizing the cost of not changing, and future awareness creating fulfilment

43:55: The present as simply the present

46:50: “After the Ecstasy, The Laundry”, and 10x thinking being counterintuitive

48:55: Practical steps to engage in a 10x process of thinking

55:50: Recap

NEW Offering from Rick! Join Rick and 5 world-renowned teachers – including Dr. Gabor Mate, Tara Brach, and Thupten Jinpa – for The Heart of Compassion, a 5-week online program that will teach you how to access, grow, and apply compassion. Head to rickhanson.net/hoc to learn more, and use code BEINGWELL10 for 10% off. 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Zocdoc helps you find expert doctors and medical professionals that specialize in the care you need, and deliver the type of experience you want. Head to zocdoc.com/being and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. Then find and book a top-rated doctor today.

Finally get that project off the ground with Squarespace! Head to squarespace.com/beingwell for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch use coupon code BEINGWELL to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better?

 Try the Calm app!

 Visit

 calm.com/beingwell

 for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

May 01, 2023
Learning from Nature with Mark Coleman
00:55:14

Buddhist teacher Mark Coleman joins Forrest and Dr. Rick to share how we can learn from nature and incorporate it into our practice. Mark shares his insights and experiences from years of leading wilderness retreats, and explains how reconnecting with the natural world can deepen mindfulness and enhance our well-being. You’ll learn specific meditative practices, how to bring the outside inside, the power of our “wild” aspects, and how we can move from being in nature to simply being nature.

About our Guest: Mark Coleman is a senior meditation teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in northern California, and the founder of Awake in the Wild, an organization that runs programs focused on immersing people in the natural world. He’s also the author of four books, including From Suffering to Peace: The True Promise of Mindfulness and his newest book A Field Guide to Nature Meditation: 52 Mindfulness Practices for Joy, Wisdom and Wonder.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:40: What drew Mark to practice in nature

5:15: Being drawn outward by meditation

9:20: Access to nature, and “bougie-fication”

15:15: Novelty, acclimation, and quieting the “self”

20:25: The brutal side of nature, and uncertainty

25:05: Reciprocity and relationship

28:05: From appreciating nature to being nature

30:15: Searching for a place vs. searching for a feeling

35:50: What meditating in nature looks like in practice

41:40: Bringing the benefits of practice to the mundane

45:05: “A bunch of tame monkeys”

49:15: Recap

NEW Offering from Rick! Join Rick and 5 world-renowned teachers – including Dr. Gabor Mate, Tara Brach, and Thupten Jinpa – for The Heart of Compassion, a 5-week online program that will teach you how to access, grow, and apply compassion. Head to rickhanson.net/hoc to learn more, and use code BEINGWELL10 for 10% off. 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Zocdoc helps you find expert doctors and medical professionals that specialize in the care you need, and deliver the type of experience you want. Head to zocdoc.com/being and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. Then find and book a top-rated doctor today.

Finally get that project off the ground with Squarespace! Head to squarespace.com/beingwell for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch use coupon code BEINGWELL to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Apr 24, 2023
Releasing Obsessive Thoughts: Rumination, OCD, and Dealing with Fear
01:06:42

Forrest and Dr. Rick delve into a frequently requested topic: how we can let go of obsessive and intrusive thoughts. They explore why we get trapped in certain thoughts, the negative effects of rumination, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). They also discuss facing our fears, which allows us to get close enough to a problem that we can do something about it…without getting so close that we become overwhelmed by it.  

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:20: What is rumination?

5:00: Why we get stuck in certain thoughts

8:10: Two kinds of obsessive thoughts

11:00: The brains attempt to problem solve

13:40: Assessing a hypothetical client

20:15: We all have weird thoughts

22:35: Reality testing, naming thoughts and not feeding them

25:20: "Completing the gestalt"

31:40: Rick completing a gestalt on psychedelics

33:45: Balancing closeness and distance

39:45: Exaggerating the obsession vs. thought suppression

42:35: Widening your view and surrendering to the worst

44:50: The intrinsic emptiness of a ruminative thought

48:10: Another hypothetical case study

56:10: Doing good in the world as an antidote

59:30: Recap

NEW Offering from Rick! Join Rick and 5 world-renowned teachers – including Dr. Gabor Mate, Tara Brach, and Thupten Jinpa – for The Heart of Compassion, a 5-week online program that will teach you how to access, grow, and apply compassion. Head to rickhanson.net/hoc to learn more, and use code BEINGWELL10 for 10% off. 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Zocdoc helps you find expert doctors and medical professionals that specialize in the care you need, and deliver the type of experience you want. Head to zocdoc.com/being and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. Then find and book a top-rated doctor today.

Finally get that project off the ground with Squarespace! Head to squarespace.com/beingwell for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch use coupon code BEINGWELL to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Apr 17, 2023
Cognitive Bypassing: How to Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life
01:04:22

Cognitive bypassing occurs when we overthink to avoid feeling uncomfortable emotions like sadness, fear, or anger. In this episode, Forrest and Dr. Rick share their personal experiences with cognitive bypassing, and explore how we can step out of our heads, get in touch with our emotions, and live a more fulfilling life. You'll learn why people can't just "feel their feelings," the function of cognitive bypassing,  how we can use cognition to create space for our emotions, and practical tools for connecting with the non-cognitive aspects of our experience.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:00: What is cognitive bypassing?

3:05: How cognitive bypassing comes up in therapy

6:10: The function of cognitive bypassing

11:10: Does insight lead to action?

18:45: “Feel your feelings” vs. self-actualizing

24:50: Leveraging your cognition to create space from your feelings

30:00: Body sensations and self-compassion

33:15: Relating to others

38:55: Practical steps to being in touch with yourself

42:20: Intensity, valence, and opening to empathy

45:15: Rigidity and resistance

50:00: The range of possibilities within your constraints

56:35: Recap

NEW Offering from Rick! Join Rick and 5 world-renowned teachers – including Dr. Gabor Mate, Tara Brach, and Thupten Jinpa – for The Heart of Compassion, a 5-week online program that will teach you how to access, grow, and apply compassion. Head to rickhanson.net/hoc to learn more, and use code BEINGWELL10 for 10% off. 

Sponsors:

Finally get that project off the ground with Squarespace! Head to squarespace.com/beingwell for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch use coupon code BEINGWELL to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, and you can join over a million people using the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Apr 10, 2023
ADHD 2.0: Debunking Misconceptions, Revealing Hidden Strengths, and Effective Treatments w/ Dr. John Ratey
00:58:36

ADHD is often misunderstood as a simple "lack of attention." But in this episode of Being Well, Forrest and Dr. Rick are joined by ADHD pioneer Dr. John Ratey to explore the true nature of this complex condition. They debunk common misconceptions, explore how ADHD works in the brain, and discuss its surprising strengths and vulnerabilities. You’ll learn how to thrive with ADHD by applying effective interventions, including social connection, mindfulness practice, medication, and exercise.

About our Guest: Dr. John Ratey is associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the author of eleven books including Spark and the Driven to Distraction series with Dr. Ned Hallowell. Their newest book in the series is the fantastic ADHD 2.0

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:00: Some of the biggest misconceptions about ADHD

3:35: The advantages of having ADHD

5:55: De-pathologizing, skillful means, and the problem of “fit”

9:25: The variety of presentations

12:10: A trait, not a disorder

13:55: The task-positive network, and the default mode network

18:20: Three ways to turn off the default mode network

22:20: The importance of social connection

25:35: Feeling like an outsider, and being punished for having ADHD

28:45: Deliberate internalization of beneficial experiences

31:40: Why exercise and movement is particularly useful for ADHD

34:45: Dance as an ideal form of exercise

39:50: Jump rope, and right amount of exercise

41:15: Nature and the afflictions of civilization

44:25: Medication

51:15: Recap

Rumination Workshop from Rick! Join Rick on April 22nd for a 1-day, live online workshop where you'll learn how to identify rumination when it comes up and get out of negative cycles in your head compassionately and effectively. Use coupon code BeingWell20 for 20% off!

Sponsors:

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, and you can join over a million people using the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Apr 03, 2023
How to Become Psychologically Flexible (from two formerly rigid people)
00:51:07

Join Forrest and Dr. Rick, two “reformed rigid people,” as they explore how to become more psychologically flexible. Just as physical flexibility is the amount of stretch in our muscles, the ability they have to bend without breaking, psychological flexibility is the same quality in our minds. It enables us to approach situations from new perspectives, be open to our emotions, let go of old versions of ourselves, and step into new ways of being.

In this episode, they discuss the concept of rigidity as a form of psychological defense and explore the motivations behind it. They also delve into the trap of assumptions and limiting beliefs, the importance of releasing attachments, and the benefits of embracing new ways of thinking.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:35: Choice, and the tradeoff between flexibility and speed

2:55: Rigidity, agency, and flexibility in relationship

7:50: Behavioral vs. psychological choices

10:30: The dock and the river, and self-protection

15:40: Inflexibility as a means to an end

17:30 Tools to inquire into your rigidities

20:50: When others’ behavior isn’t about you

23:20: Assumptions and limiting beliefs

27:35: Willingness to change, and comfort in feeling change

34:10: Releasing attachment to your ‘place’

39:50: Understanding the function of your rigidity

41:35: Over-identification with goals and accomplishments

44:40: Stepping into the river

45:20: Recap

Rumination Workshop from Rick! Join Rick on April 22nd for a 1-day, live online workshop where you'll learn how to identify rumination when it comes up and get out of negative cycles in your head compassionately and effectively. Use coupon code BeingWell20 for 20% off!

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors: 

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, and you can join over a million people using the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Mar 27, 2023
Complex PTSD and Learning to Live With the Past with Stephanie Foo
01:04:45

Author Stephanie Foo joins Forrest to share her journey with Complex PTSD. They talk about what it was like to receive a diagnosis, the various techniques and modalities she used (and what really helped), the importance of social support, self-acceptance and self-compassion, difficulties with access and cultural competence in the mental healthcare system, intergenerational trauma, and motherhood. 

About Our Guest: Stephanie is a writer and radio producer whose work has been featured on This American Life, 99% Invisible, and Radiolab among other shows, and she’s the author of the truly wonderful book What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing From Complex Trauma.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

 

Key Topics: 

0:00: Introduction and disclaimer

2:10: Stephanie’s experience in sharing her story

6:00: Features of CPTSD

7:50: What led Stephanie to seek help, and work as a coping mechanism

10:15: “The Dread” and healing through relationship

17:40: The effects of receiving diagnosis, and aspects of CPTSD that are helpful

25:45: Practices that helped Stephanie and incorporating them practically

33:45: Balancing showing up for other people and receiving care

35:15: Self-love, gratitude, psychedelics, and relationships

38:20: Two way repair and comfort receiving feedback

42:55: The need for reform to our mental healthcare system and who it serves

49:55: Societal trauma among first generation immigrants

53:30: More natural and communal frameworks for healing

54:30: Parenthood

57:00: Resources available on Stephanie’s website

58:15: Recap

 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, and you can join over a million people using the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Mar 20, 2023
The Unconscious Mind: How to Access, Understand, and Use It
01:05:54

Most of what's occurring in the mind lies outside our awareness. In this episode, Forrest and Dr. Rick Hanson explore the unconscious mind and the material we might find there. They talk about what the unconscious mind is, the purpose of the unconscious, repression, bias, and what we can do to access, use, and release that unconscious material. 

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:25: What is the unconscious mind?

5:35: Why material gets moved to our unconscious mind

8:45: Freud, Jung, and repression

14:25: Looking at repression through a developmental model

18:55: Bias, relational ‘scripts’, and what we can do about unconscious patterns

21:45: Interpreting dreams, and the limits of science

27:55: Examples of repressed material and how to uncover it

30:05: Rick’s first love story

34:20: Emotional release work you can do without a therapist

38:00: Distress tolerance

42:10: The body-based, non-cognitive nature of unconscious material

44:10: Sentence completions, automatic writing, and sand trays

47:00: Building self-worth, and creating a safe container

54:50: Teaching what you need to learn, and the importance of support

57:30: Including what’s left out

1:00:00: Recap

 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

New Program From Rick! If you want to break old patterns and step out of the familiar scripts that hold you back, Rick's Change Your Mind online course is for you. It's a 6-week program starting March 18 designed to help you step out of old assumptions and attitudes and into new, helpful thoughts about yourself and others. Visit RickHanson.net/ChangeYourMind to learn more and get 20% with coupon code BeingWell20.

Sponsors:

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, and you can join over a million people using the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Mar 13, 2023
What We've Learned From 100 Experts
00:57:01

On the (roughly) 300th episode of Being Well, Forrest and Dr. Rick share what they’ve learned from the many experts in psychology, personal growth, and mental health they’ve talked to on the show. They explore the importance of individual context, the gap between insight and action, self-honesty and acceptance as the catalyst for change, incremental change vs. sudden breakthroughs, and the role of distress tolerance.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction and two big themes

2:25: Applying generalized information to your individual context

7:50: The importance of insight and where it falls short

9:20: White light moments and the importance of action

13:25: Wants and needs

25:40: Slow and steady effort

29:35: Going to zero and the scaffolding that leads to sustained change

36:15: Distress tolerance, valuing acceptance, and what you know to be true

41:25: The three mechanisms of change

44:25: Reducing inner friction through mental training, and cultivating trust

47:50: How do you want to use your time?

49:10: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

New Program From Rick! If you want to break old patterns and step out of the familiar scripts that hold you back, Rick's Change Your Mind online course is for you. It's a 6-week program starting March 18 designed to help you step out of old assumptions and attitudes and into new, helpful thoughts about yourself and others. Visit RickHanson.net/ChangeYourMind to learn more and get 20% with coupon code BeingWell20.

Sponsors: 

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, and you can join over a million people using the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Mar 06, 2023
Somatic Psychology: Using the Body to Heal the Mind with Elizabeth Ferreira
00:49:46

Somatic therapist Elizabeth Ferreira returns to the podcast and joins Forrest for a deep dive into somatic psychology. They explore what a somatic therapy session looks like in practice, how it differs from traditional talk therapy, the connection between the body and the mind, and why people with complex trauma are sometimes better served by body-based approaches. Elizabeth then talks about how somatic therapy has supported her own journey with CPTSD and PMDD, and shares some of the practices that have helped her clients.

About our Guest: Elizabeth Ferreira is an associate therapist working in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her practice is open, and if you’d like to reach out to Elizabeth you can do so through Instagram. Elizabeth also has her own podcast, My Therapist's a Witch.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:45: What happens in a somatic therapy session?

5:00: Attunement and a quick demonstration

9:55: Moving slowly and navigating dissociative patterns

12:45: Cognitive bypassing and catharsis in letting go

15:40: Trauma and integrating alienated parts of ourselves

21:15: Elizabeth’s experience feeling anger

25:30: When the thing that brings you into therapy isn’t the root of your problem

29:00: Safety allowing comfort with feeling difficult feelings

31:40: Interoception, physical embodiment, and more on attunement

35:50: Clean and dirty pain, different parts, and appreciation

40:25: Resistance, joining with the defense, and compassion

44:50: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

New Program From Rick! If you want to break old patterns and step out of the familiar scripts that hold you back, Rick's Change Your Mind online course is for you. It's a 6-week program starting March 18 designed to help you step out of old assumptions and attitudes and into new, helpful thoughts about yourself and others. Visit RickHanson.net/ChangeYourMind to learn more and get 20% with coupon code BeingWell20.

Sponsors: This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, and you can join over a million people using the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Feb 27, 2023
Daddy Issues: Attachment Wounding, Dealing with Common Symptoms, and Becoming More Securely Attached
01:23:19

If you listen to a podcast like ours, you’re probably familiar with the phrase “daddy issues.” A more accurate way to understand daddy issues is as a form of attachment wounding, which describes situations where our adult relationships are affected by complicated, difficult, or traumatic experiences we had as a child. 

In this episode, Forrest and Dr. Rick explore what daddy issues are, how they relate to attachment theory, sexism and the broader social and historical context, different forms of attachment wounding, and a simple way to understand your attachment style. They then walk through four common sets of symptoms and challenges related to attachment wounding, and what a person can do to move toward secure attachment.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:50: What are daddy issues?

6:35: Parental roles and symptoms of attachment wounding 

13:35: How attachment patterns are created

19:35: Yearning for narcissistic supplies

22:10: Gendered dynamics, and the pejorative use of the phrase “daddy issues”

28:20: Claiming your power

31:15: Forming a coherent narrative, and looking for what was missing

34:50: A simple method for assessing your attachment style

41:50: Social support

44:10: Who you are to others, and meeting person to person

50:55: Situation #1: How to deal with fears of abandonment and being alone

55:00: Situation #2: “I need a lot of reassurance and external validation.”

58:10: Situation #3: Fears related to emotional vulnerability

1:05:15: Situation #4: “I keep dating the same (problematic) kind of person.”

1:10:30: Making deliberate effort

1:14:50: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

New Program From Rick! If you want to break old patterns and step out of the familiar scripts that hold you back, Rick's Change Your Mind online course is for you. It's a 6-week program starting March 18 designed to help you step out of old assumptions and attitudes and into new, helpful thoughts about yourself and others. Visit RickHanson.net/ChangeYourMind to learn more and get 20% with coupon code BeingWell20.

Sponsors: This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, and you can join over a million people using the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Feb 20, 2023
What Addiction (and Recovery) Can Teach Us About Change with Eric Zimmer
01:10:12

Eric Zimmer, a behavior coach and the host of The One You Feed podcast, joins Forrest and Rick to explore what really supports us in changing our ingrained patterns of behavior through the lens of Eric’s journey with addiction and recovery. They share the key lessons from speaking with hundreds of experts, the role of insight, why some people go from insight to action and others don’t, acceptance, shame, and responsibility, and the balance between determinism and agency.

About our Guest: Eric is a behavior coach, interfaith spiritual director, and host of The One You Feed, which has over 500 episodes and 25 million downloads. At 24, Eric was homeless and addicted to heroin. In the years since he’s been in recovery, built a meaningful and fulfilling life for himself, and has used the lessons from his own life to help others do the same.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

New Online Course From Dr. Rick: Learn the tools you need to build strong, healthy, fulfilling relationships of all kinds in Rick's new Strong Heart Relationship Series. The program begins on February 18th, and all the teaching is recorded so you can watch on your own schedule. Visit RickHanson.net/strongheart to learn more and get 20% with coupon code BeingWell20.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:25: The parable of the two wolves

7:45: Applying our values to our own mental processes

13:00: Change as a three part process: insight, acceptance, and action

14:50: Why some people have an easier time changing than others

19:30: Continuous feedback, quick iterations, and where you rest your mind

23:00: Do we all have the same level of choice?

26:40: Shame, and differing interventions for differing levels of agency

32:40: Feeding the good wolf

40:35: How to want what’s good for us

47:10: Acceptance, responsibility, and beginner’s mind

50:10: What’s missing from the abstinence model?

52:20: Innate goodness, bumping into enlightenment, and self-compassion

1:01:50: “Devote yourself to what remains”

1:03:55: Recap

 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors: This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, and you can join over a million people using the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Feb 13, 2023
Repairing with Family, Dealing with Difficult People, and Recognizing Power: Mailbag
01:03:08

Dr. Rick and Forrest open up the mailbag and answer questions from listeners related to how we can build better relationships (particularly with our families) and deal with difficult people. They explore the common traits of happy families, how to deal with people who weaponize psychological jargon, navigating different perceptions of “what happened,” and repairing a damaged relationship with a child. Forrest ends the conversation by talking about the importance of “going to zero” after a breach of trust.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

New Online Course From Dr. Rick: Learn the tools you need to build strong, healthy, fulfilling relationships of all kinds in Rick's new Strong Heart Relationship Series. The program begins on February 18th, and all the teaching is recorded so you can watch on your own schedule. Visit RickHanson.net/strongheart to learn more and get 20% with coupon code BeingWell20.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:00: Question 1: Common characteristics of happy families

8:25: Differentiation and integration

10:55: Symptoms of a less healthy family system

12:15: The role of love 

19:55: Question 2: What to do when people use psychological jargon during a conflict

26:00: Defending yourself effectively, and staying on topic

30:50: Question 3: Navigating different perceptions of a difficult event

35:45: Question 4: Healing a strained relationship with a child (or parent)

39:45: Functional repair before emotional vulnerability

46:45: “Going to zero” with behavior when repair is needed

56:10: Recap

 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

 

Sponsors:

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, and you can join over a million people using the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.


Connect with the show:

Subscribe on iTunes

Follow Forrest on YouTube

Follow us on Instagram

Follow Forrest on Instagram

Follow Rick on Facebook

Follow Forrest on Facebook

Visit Forrest's website

Feb 06, 2023
How to Navigate Common Arguments
00:59:48

All of our relationships include some conflict, the big question is how skillfully we handle that conflict when it appears. Dr. Rick Hanson joins Forrest to walk us through some effective ways to deal with common forms of interpersonal conflict. They explore the four common disagreements, the subtle ways power shows up in our relationships, separating content from process, and how to stand your ground.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

New Online Course From Dr. Rick: Learn the tools you need to build strong, healthy, fulfilling relationships of all kinds in Rick's new Strong Heart Relationship Series. The program begins on February 18th, and all the teaching is recorded so you can watch on your own schedule. Visit RickHanson.net/strongheart to learn more and get 20% with coupon code BeingWell20.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction and Rick’s new book

1:25: Common conflicts Rick has seen in couples counseling

3:40: The importance of the way something is said

8:10: Disentangling tone from content

9:45: Distinguishing intent from impact

12:10: The unconscious functions of conflict

17:50: Navigating differences in temperament, and cultivating enthusiasm

25:05: Power tripping, control, and misinterpretation

29:50: Primate politics, escalation, and identifying what’s really happening

35:45: Trust

39:15: How much are we willing to tolerate?

41:10: Dealing with entitlement, and when to push back

43:40: Peoples’ capacity to change, balancing harmony and truth

46:10: Focus on communicating for yourself

49:05: Recap

 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, and you can join over a million people using the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Subscribe on iTunes

Follow Forrest on YouTube

Follow us on Instagram

Follow Forrest on Instagram

Follow Rick on Facebook

Follow Forrest on Facebook

Visit Forrest's website

Jan 30, 2023
Letting Go of Our Conditioning with Caverly Morgan
00:55:55

The main topic we explore on the podcast, in many different ways, is change. How can we come to understand ourselves better, let go of who we were, and become who we wish to be? In this episode Dr. Rick and Forrest are joined by meditation teacher and former Zen monastic Caverly Morgan. They discuss how we can release our conditioning, identify the inner voice that leads to change, and get to the heart of who we are.

About Our Guest: Caverly is a meditation teacher, author, and the founder of Peace in Schools - a nonprofit which created the nation's first for-credit mindfulness class in public high schools. Her practice began in 1995, and has included eight years of training in a silent Zen monastery. She’s also the author of the wonderful new book The Heart of Who We Are: Realizing Freedom Together.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:55: Caverly’s path to Zen

3:30: Truth and freedom

7:20: Chop wood, carry water

8:30: Why it’s okay to have a “conventional” path to enlightenment

9:35: The voice that says “is this all there is?”

12:25: Distinguishing our conditioning from what we really want

15:40: What supports us in exercising our will

21:20: Resistance, preference, and willingness

23:25: Responding to “should”

29:10: Our will and our ego

35:30: Making room for our own nurturing voice

37:35: Practical ways to listen to the heart

40:40: Awakening together

47:20: Coming home to our own being at the simplest level

50:30: Recap

New Online Course From Dr. Rick: Learn the tools you need to build strong, healthy, fulfilling relationships of all kinds in Rick's new Strong Heart Relationship Series. The program begins on February 18th, and all the teaching is recorded so you can watch on your own schedule. Visit RickHanson.net/strongheart to learn more and get 20% with coupon code BeingWell20.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, and you can join over a million people using the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.


Connect with the show:

Subscribe on iTunes

Follow Forrest on YouTube

Follow us on Instagram

Follow Forrest on Instagram

Follow Rick on Facebook

Follow Forrest on Facebook

Visit Forrest's website

Jan 23, 2023
The Keys to a Great Relationship
00:47:45

Before becoming the “Buddhist brain guy” Dr. Rick spent over 30 years working in private practice as a couples counselor and family therapist. Today we’re leaning on that experience, and learning what we can do to build healthier, happier, and more fulfilling relationships.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

New Online Course From Dr. Rick: Learn the tools you need to build strong, healthy, fulfilling relationships of all kinds in Rick's new Strong Heart Relationship Series. The program begins on February 18th, and all the teaching is recorded so you can watch on your own schedule. Visit RickHanson.net/strongheart to learn more and get 20% with coupon code BeingWell20.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction and Rick’s upcoming book

3:20: The importance of deliberate action in making a relationship 

5:50: 6 practical steps from Rick’s new book

10:05: The relationship we have with ourselves

13:10: When others don’t want the same thing

18:50: Rick’s recurring observations in relationship counseling

25:00: Balancing intimacy and autonomy, and asserting what you want

30:50: Staying on topic and establishing thorough agreements

36:25: Sticking to our needs without alienating others

37:45: Tolerating discomfort

40:20: Getting to truth with others

41:40: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors: This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, and you can join over a million people using the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.


Connect with the show:

Subscribe on iTunes

Follow Forrest on YouTube

Follow us on Instagram

Follow Forrest on Instagram

Follow Rick on Facebook

Follow Forrest on Facebook

Visit Forrest's website

Jan 16, 2023
Becoming Our Best Selves with Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman and Dr. Jordyn Feingold
00:55:16

We often know what we “should” do, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to do it. Today Dr. Rick and Forrest are joined by Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman and Dr. Jordyn Feingold to explore how we can learn to consistently choose our best selves, overcome barriers to growth, and fully actualize ourselves.

About our Guests: Scott is a cognitive scientist, humanistic psychologist, professor at Columbia University, host of the popular Psychology Podcast, and the author of 10 books, including Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization. Jordyn is a resident physician in psychiatry, a well-being researcher, and a positive psychology practitioner. Together, they’re the authors of the recently released Choose Growth: A Workbook for Transcending Trauma, Fear, and Self-Doubt.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:40: Why the title Choose Growth?

3:50: Balancing growth and discomfort

7:20: The value of social support

12:00: Growth from positive experiences

14:15: Mindset

15:40: 8 ways to choose growth

16:35: Building self-esteem and distinguishing it from narcissism

24:55: Becoming a transcender

29:25: Transcending dichotomies

34:15: Practicing self-compassion 

36:50: The underlying ground

41:30: Creativity and healing

46:00: Daily positive medicine for collective growth

50:15: Recap

 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Being Well is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Jan 09, 2023
Why Don't We Get Better?
00:54:49

This is the podcast’s five-year anniversary, and over that time I’ve submerged myself in psychology, self-help, and personal growth content - and as a result I’ve changed in many important ways. At the same time, some things have been very hard to change. It's surprising how even after learning so much I still often  feel like I’m pushing the same old rocks up the same old hills. 

On today’s episode I’m joined by Dr. Rick Hanson to explore why we struggle to get better, how much change is realistically possible, what makes real change hard, the hidden barriers to lasting change, and what we can do to overcome them.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

3:55: Why do you want to change?

4:50: Four fundamental strategies

7:00: Three common issues

9:20: Effort, skillfulness, and luck

12:40: People’s autonomy about whether they want to change or not

13:50: “Tailwinds” to help yourself

17:30: Secondary gains, avoiding change, and naming payoffs and costs

24:15: Levity and affection for yourself

27:15: Starting by owning that we choose our behavior

30:10: Resistance and the parts of us that don’t want to change

34:00: Framing, starting with benefits, and absolving shame

39:35: Tactics vs. Strategies

42:30: Celebrating small change, aiming for big healing

46:40: Recap

New Online Course From Dr. Rick: Learn the tools you need to build strong, healthy, fulfilling relationships of all kinds in Rick's new Strong Heart Relationship Series. The program begins on February 18th, and all the teaching is recorded so you can watch on your own schedule. Visit RickHanson.net/strongheart to learn more and get 20% with coupon code BeingWell20.

Sponsors:

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp, and you can join over a million people using the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Jan 02, 2023
How to Reinvent Yourself (in 2023)
00:53:36

We’ve come to the end of another year, and it’s a good time to take stock and consider how we’d like to grow and change during our next trip around the sun. In this episode, Forrest and Dr. Rick focus on what supports us and what holds us back from reinventing ourselves and becoming all we wish to be. They talk about how they’d like to change over the next year, different approaches to new year’s resolutions, do a little digging around in Forrest’s psyche, and highlight a few practical things we can do to support our growth. 

New Course From Rick! Learn the lessons of a lifetime in the new and improved Foundations of Wellbeing 2.0 program. This yearlong, online program teaches you how to grow the 12 key inner strengths that lead to lasting wellbeing during difficult times. Our New Year’s sale is going on now, and you can use the code BeingWell25 to get an additional 25% off the purchase price.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:55: Different frameworks around goals and intentions

6:15: Forrest’s goal: more freedom, less constraint

8:50: Integrating the mundane and the profound

11:35: What supports us in changing? What constrains us?

13:35: Mentors, and other sources of encouragement

22:00: Reverting to old patterns when returning to old environments

28:00: Self-acceptance makes change possible

29:45: “Trim tabs” and other forms of psychological leverage

35:30: Diligence, effort, and consistency

37:50: Addressing deficits and reassuring yourself

40:30: Relaxing around inevitability

41:40: Embracing the joy of possibility and change

46:35: Recap

Sponsors:

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Dec 26, 2022
The Science of Stress with Dr. Elissa Epel
00:52:02

We think of stress as “bad” for you, but what if some forms of stress could actually help us grow and change for the better? On today’s episode Forrest and Dr. Rick are joined by Dr. Elissa Epel, a psychologist and leading stress researcher, to explore the science behind the stress response. They talk about the different forms of stress, what separates “good” stress from “bad” stress, how we can take advantage of good stress, and dealing with existential forms of stress like the climate crisis. 

About our Guest: Elissa Epel is a psychologist, bestselling author, and a Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. Her research focuses on stress, well-being, and optimal aging. She’s also the best-selling co-author of The Telomere Effect, and her newest book is The Stress Prescription: Seven Days to More Joy and Ease.

New Course From Rick! Learn the lessons of a lifetime in the new and improved Foundations of Wellbeing 2.0 program. This yearlong, online program teaches you how to grow the 12 key inner strengths that lead to lasting wellbeing during difficult times. It’s currently 40% off, and you can use the code BeingWell25 to get an additional 25% off the purchase price.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:10: Toxic stress vs. hormetic stress

6:30: Challenge orientation vs. threat response

11:35: Simple anchoring practices and their effects

17:00: Autophagy

19:00: Practical consequences of different forms of stress

25:25: Distinguishing physiological from psychological stress

31:00: Comfort with uncertainty and shared existential concerns

40:20: The future of the planet and its inequities

42:40: Recap

Sponsors:

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Dec 19, 2022
Responding to Criticism, and Accepting The Way Things Are
00:51:59

Criticism is an unavoidable part of life. But even though we’re all going to be criticized from time to time, many of us spend much of our lives living in fear of criticism. Then, on the flip side, we’re all critics ourselves. We’ve all been in situations that aren’t quite what we want them to be – so we need to either do something to change them or accept them as they are. 

On this episode Dr. Rick and Forrest focus on how we can get better at receiving and giving criticism, learn to accept what lies outside of our control, and avoid the “mood of complaint.”

New Course From Rick! Learn the lessons of a lifetime in the new and improved Foundations of Wellbeing 2.0 program. This yearlong, online program teaches you how to grow the 12 key inner strengths that lead to lasting wellbeing during difficult times. It’s currently 50% off, and you can use the code BeingWell25 to get an additional 25% off the purchase price.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction and critiques of the podcast

4:45: Where we place our attention

8:00: Two kinds of complaint

8:55: Self-righteousness and identifying with our complaints

11:25: What do we hope to accomplish by complaining?

13:15: Sharing experience vs. asserting information

18:35: Developing relationships where your vulnerability is welcome

24:45: Projecting your unclear desires on other people

28:10: How to respond to negative feedback and manage your reactions

32:00: Releasing attachment to changing others and responding to trolls

39:00: Complaints come from emotional dissatisfaction

43:45: Recap

 

Sponsors:

Sponsors:

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

 

Connect with the show:

Dec 12, 2022
Untangling Ourselves with Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison
00:57:25

“All the time I work with dying people, and only a few of them know they are dying.” 

On this episode of Being Well, Soto Zen teacher Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison joins Forrest and Rick to explore living, dying, and personal practice in the midst of our beautiful, challenging, messy lives.   

About our Guest: Sensei Koshin is an author, Zen teacher, Jungian psychotherapist, and co-founder of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. He began his formal Zen training in 1987 and completed six years of training at the Jungian Psychoanalytic Association. His most recent book is Untangled: Walking the Eightfold Path to Clarity, Courage, and Compassion.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:40: Koshin’s got game

3:20: The privilege of witnessing the dying process

11:25: Difficult emotions that come up when considering death 

16:00: Entanglement vs. spaciousness

28:30: Windows of acceptance, and the things we don’t want to accept

33:15: Compassionate presence

37:55: How Jungian training has influenced Koshin’s contemplative practice

42:35: What Koshin is still untangling, and the ground of being

48:30: Appreciating being alive

51:45: Recap

New Course From Rick! Learn the lessons of a lifetime in the new and improved Foundations of Wellbeing 2.0 program. This yearlong, online program teaches you how to grow the 12 key inner strengths that lead to lasting wellbeing during difficult times. It’s currently 50% off, and you can use the code BeingWell25 to get an additional 25% off the purchase price.

Sponsors:

Being Well is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Dec 05, 2022
How to Understand Anxiety and See Threats Clearly
00:42:04

We’re living in an anxious time, and part of the reason we’re anxious is because there are very real challenges we face both individually and collectively. But we’re also affected by the natural tendencies of the brain, which is easily influenced by fear and threat. On this episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson focus on how we can see threats clearly and be the “right amount” of concerned. 

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:20: Why is it hard for us to see threats without excessive worry?

3:35: Transcending evolutionary influences toward fear

6:30: The last time Rick took LSD

10:45: Discerning what’s valuable in our anxieties, and leaving the rest

15:45: Forrest’s apartment fire story

17:35: Disagreements in evaluating a threat between people

21:55: Probability of risk

25:00: Practical techniques to assess threats with more clarity

29:30: Existential acceptance

33:30: Help for anxiety about anxiety

37:15: Recap

New Course From Rick! Learn the lessons of a lifetime in the new and improved Foundations of Wellbeing 2.0 program. This yearlong, online program teaches you how to grow the 12 key inner strengths that lead to lasting wellbeing during difficult times. Our New Year's sale is running now, and you can use the code BeingWell25 to get an additional 25% off the purchase price.

Sponsors:

Wondrium helps you learn anything! Right now, Wondrium is offering our listeners 50% OFF their first three months. Sign up today at wondrium.com/beingwell.

Being Well is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

 

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Nov 28, 2022
Moving Beyond “Fair” to Build a Great Relationship with Nate and Kaley Klemp
01:03:51

These days couples often shoot for 50/50 in their relationships: an even split of responsibilities in the home or at work. But 50/50 often leads to fights over fairness, and this fixation on fairness can be the death of many relationships.

On this episode of Being Well, Forrest and Dr. Rick are joined by Nate and Kaley Klemp to explore how we can build fun, fulfilling, and truly equitable relationships. Topics include Nate and Kaley’s early relationship struggles, different models of relationship, breaking out of old patterns, and how we can manage situations where one partner really is contributing significantly more than the other.

About our Guests: Kaley Klemp is an executive coach and expert on small-group dynamics, and Nate Klemp is a bestselling author and founding partner at Mindful, one of the world's largest mindfulness media and training companies. Together, they’re the co-authors of The 80/80 Marriage: A New Model for a Happier, Stronger Relationship

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:45: Nate and Kaley’s personal relationship as a basis for their work

5:30: Three different models of relationship

9:30: Two pillars to 80/80 - mindset and structure

12:20: How a 50/50 dynamic caused problems for Nate and Kaley 

19:20: The conscious or unconscious division of roles

21:30: Gratitude and generosity

25:40: Parenting, shared success, and being on a team

32:15: Getting your partner’s buy-in, reveal and request

39:50: Underlying beliefs and power imbalances

44:20: Creating structure (and data) to have difficult conversations

49:30: Distinguishing a reluctant partner from an unwilling partner

52:05: Key skills that distinguish successful couples

56:10: Recap

New Course From Rick! Learn the lessons of a lifetime in the new and improved Foundations of Wellbeing 2.0 program. This yearlong, online program teaches you how to grow the 12 key inner strengths that lead to lasting wellbeing during difficult times. Our New Year's sale is running now, and you can use the code BeingWell25 to get an additional 25% off the purchase price.

Sponsors:

Wondrium helps you learn anything! Right now, Wondrium is offering our listeners 50% OFF their first three months. Sign up today at wondrium.com/beingwell.

Being Well is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

 

Connect with the show:

Nov 21, 2022
Choosing the Roles We Play in Life
01:07:47

If you’re the kind of person who listens to mental health podcasts, you’re more likely than average to get pulled into an impromptu “helping role” with your family and friends. Sometimes we seek out these roles, but they can also be uncomfortable or one-sided. And sometimes we get stuck playing a role for someone else that we never wanted in the first place.

On this episode of Being Well, Forrest and Dr. Rick use this situation as a way in to exploring the various roles we play in life, and the profound impact those often unconscious roles have on us. They talk about relationship models, how we select our roles, how familiar roles can keep us trapped in old patterns, enactments and triangulation, and how we can exit unhealthy systems.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:50: The hazards of accidentally becoming a friend’s therapist

6:45: Objectivity, professionalism, and not needing to be liked

11:00: The roles we take on and how they shape us

16:45: Why we choose certain roles, and being crippled by our strengths

21:00: Enactments

25:15: Splitting

30:10: When someone else pushes you into a role

35:10: Triangulation

48:10: Deep listening and a lesson from Carl Rogers

51:10: Practical tips for drawing boundaries in your roles with others

59:40: Recap

New Course From Rick! Learn the lessons of a lifetime in the new and improved Foundations of Wellbeing 2.0 program. This yearlong, online program teaches you how to grow the 12 key inner strengths that lead to lasting wellbeing during difficult times. Our New Year's sale is running now, and you can use the code BeingWell25 to get an additional 25% off the purchase price.

Sponsors:

Wondrium helps you learn anything! Right now, Wondrium is offering our listeners 50% OFF their first three months. Sign up today at wondrium.com/beingwell.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

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Nov 14, 2022
Authentically Developing Self-Worth
00:51:28

It’s one thing to feel good about what we do, and another to feel truly worthy from the inside out. When we increase our self-worth it allows us to take our needs more seriously, get on our own side, and change our lives for the better. 

On this episode of Being Well, Rick and Forrest explore how we can develop a more durable sense of self-worth. They talk about self-worth vs. self-esteem, what causes people to lack self-worth, Rick’s personal story of developing a true sense of worthiness, and why more self-worth probably won’t turn you into a narcissistic a**hole.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:00: The value of self-worth

2:50: Will improving my self-worth turn me into a narcissist?

5:45: What makes people more likely to struggle with self-worth?

6:50: Distinguishing self-worth from self-esteem

9:30: Rick’s own journey to a better sense of self-worth

14:55: Inner attacker, inner nurturer, and the beleaguered self.

19:15: The process of building up your nurturing parts

27:20: Investigating negative stories we tell ourselves

30:55: Mutual rapport and being loving

33:40: Social aspects of developing self worth, and why therapy works

36:50: Non-social aspects

38:20: Relating to yourself from a less ego-oriented perspective

44:40: Vulnerability and tenderness in our interactions with others

46:05: Recap

New Course From Rick! Learn the lessons of a lifetime in the new and improved Foundations of Wellbeing 2.0 program. This yearlong, online program teaches you how to grow the 12 key inner strengths that lead to lasting wellbeing during difficult times. Our New Year's sale is running now, and you can use the code BeingWell25 to get an additional 25% off the purchase price.

Sponsors:

Wondrium helps you learn anything! Right now, Wondrium is offering our listeners 50% OFF their first three months. Sign up today at wondrium.com/beingwell.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

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Nov 07, 2022
Saying No to Your Past, Embracing Growth, and Becoming Lighter with Yung Pueblo
00:54:26

Diego Perez, widely known by his pen name Yung Pueblo, joins Forrest to explore how we can deepen our personal practice, refine the mind, break old patterns, relax the self, and feel lighter than we were before.

This was one of my absolute favorite conversations I’ve had on the podcast, and being with Diego was a real pleasure. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

About our Guest: Diego Perez is a poet, meditator, and New York Times bestselling author widely known through his pen name Yung Pueblo. His writing focuses on how we can grow and change for the better, create healthy relationships, and come to truly know ourselves. His newest book is Lighter: Let Go of the Past, Connect with the Present, and Expand the Future.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

0:55: Why the name Yung Pueblo?

2:35: What holds most people back from growth

4:35: Habits Diego struggled with and the logical basis of coping mechanisms

9:15: Moments of insight in learning Vipassana Meditation

11:40: Finding stability in the gradual separation from the ‘self’

20:30: Stories others have told us about ourselves

26:50: What has helped Diego find a flexible sense of identity?

28:55: Relationships as a process not a person

31:20: Diego’s personal meditation and creative practice

34:15: The benefits of a pen name and healthy detachment from your work

40:00: Benefits and pitfalls of social media

42:50: Forrest’s meditation practice, and the positive aspects of difficult emotions

48:25: What Diego would tell his younger self.

50:30: Recap

New Course From Rick! Learn the lessons of a lifetime in the new and improved Foundations of Wellbeing 2.0 program. This yearlong, online program teaches you how to grow the 12 key inner strengths that lead to lasting wellbeing during difficult times. Our New Year's sale is running now, and you can use the code BeingWell25 to get an additional 25% off the purchase price.

Sponsors:

Wondrium helps you learn anything! Right now, Wondrium is offering our listeners 50% OFF their first three months. Sign up today at wondrium.com/beingwell.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Oct 31, 2022
How to Forgive Yourself
00:59:44

We all make mistakes in life. When we do it's important to take appropriate responsibility, feel the "wince," and make amends as we can. But after we've done that...then what? Many people find it easier to forgive others than they do to truly forgive themselves, and it's not uncommon to be burdened by excessive shame and guilt that has outlived its expiration date.

On this episode Dr. Rick and Forrest explore forgiveness, including how we can forgive ourselves. This includes common myths and misunderstandings about forgiveness, the difference between healthy and unhealthy forms of shame and remorse, coming to terms with what we've done, and a roadmap to achieving (self-)forgiveness. 

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:05: Assumptions, approval, and what forgiveness is and is not

7:45: What does healthy remorse look like?

10:00: Forrest exploring a dream about appropriate remorse

13:00: Our internalized justice system

17:00: More on dreams and internal parts

24:25: Aspects of unhealthy remorse

27:30: How to move through a recurring cycle of shame and unhealthy remorse

32:30: Proportionality, defensiveness, intention, and owning your mistakes

41:00: Clean pain and dirty pain

46:55: Some concrete practices

51:40: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! For just the cost of a cup of coffee a month you can support the show, and receive a variety of bonuses in return.

Sponsors:

Listen to Season 2 of Turning Points from Boston Globe Media wherever you get your podcasts!

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Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

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Oct 24, 2022
Evolving Our Approach to Treating Trauma with Dr. Bessel van der Kolk
01:01:08

On today’s episode of Being Well, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, the author of The Body Keeps the Score, joins Rick and Forrest to explore how trauma keeps us stuck, and how we can use imagination, self-expression, and creativity to break away from those old patterns. Along the way they talk about using somatic and non-cognitive interventions, internalized abuse, the value of a developmental perspective, using psychedelics for complex trauma, some of the problems with modern psychiatry, and how we can cultivate an equitable, flexible, and compassionate approach to treatment.

About Our Guest: Bessel van der Kolk is a professor of Psychiatry at the Boston University School of Medicine and president of the Trauma Research Foundation in Brookline, Massachusetts. He’s also the bestselling author of The Body Keeps the Score, which is one of the most influential modern books in the field. 

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:15: Imagination and aspirational thinking in healing trauma

4:55: Creativity and cultural context

6:10: Where a sense of agency begins

8:40: Why people internalize abuse

16:30: The many practices for redefining past traumas  

22:10: The state of psychedelic research and the importance of patient care

29:15: The need for new approaches to diagnosis and treatment

34:00: Issues with the DSM-5 and the need to integrate interpersonal processes

38:50: What counts as trauma? Collective trauma?

42:25: The need for cooperative strategies confronting trauma in pro-social movements

45:15: What helps people resource themselves to create change?

51:45: Recap

New Course From Rick! Learn the lessons of a lifetime in the new and improved Foundations of Wellbeing 2.0 program. This yearlong, online program teaches you how to grow the 12 key inner strengths that lead to lasting wellbeing during difficult times. Our New Year's sale is running now, and you can use the code BeingWell25 to get an additional 25% off the purchase price.

Sponsors:

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

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Oct 17, 2022
Changing Old Patterns, Using Psychedelics Thoughtfully, and Exploring Human Nature: October Mailbag
00:59:50

On this episode of Being Well, Rick and Forrest answer questions from listeners. They explore what they’re still working on in their relationship, how we can disengage from obsessive thoughts and old patterns, Rick’s thoughts on psychedelics and how they can be used with discernment, their views on whether human nature is innately cooperative or competitive, and much more.

If you’d like to ask a question to be answered on the show, send us an email at contact@beingwellpodcast.com or support us on Patreon.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:10: What do Rick and Forrest still find challenging in their relationship?

8:40: What to do with obsessive thoughts

17:00: What to do when old patterns creep up

26:35: Rick’s thoughts on taking psychedelics with intention outside of therapy

35:05: Respect for indigenous tradition around psychedelic plant use

37:00: Interpretation, discernment, and drugs as telescopes

42:45: Compassionate justice vs. holding and controlling

47:50: How do we get the ideas we have about the world?

53:25: Recap

Sponsors:

Green Chef makes eating well easy with plans to fit every lifestyle. Order organic, environmentally conscious meal kits at GreenChef.com/beingwell135 and use code beingwell135 to get $135 off across five boxes - and your first box ships free!

Access over 30 at-home lab tests from Everlywell, and head to everlywell.com/beingwell for twenty percent off your next test.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

MDbio is a plant-based medicine company with natural products that address sleep, anxiety, pain, and immunity. Get your FREE 10-count sample pack by going to mdbiowellness.com and entering the promo code BEINGWELL at checkout!

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Oct 10, 2022
PTSD, Post-Traumatic Growth, and Prioritizing Mental Health with Jason Kander
00:57:23

In 2016 Jason Kander was a rising star in the Democratic Party. After narrowly losing the race to become one of Missouri’s Senators, he began laying the groundwork for a Presidential run. Jason unexpectedly pivoted to declaring his candidacy for the 2019 Kansas City mayoral election, and quickly became the clear favorite. Three months into that campaign he ended his candidacy and stepped back from public life after revealing that he had suffered from PTSD and depression after serving as an intelligence officer in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007

On today’s episode of Being Well, Jason joins Forrest to talk about his personal journey recovering from PTSD, the impact of his time serving in Afghanistan, imposter syndrome and shame, having a mental health challenge in public, and what we can do to better support veterans. 

About our Guest: Jason is a former Missouri Secretary of State and member of the Missouri state legislature. He’s current the President of National Expansion at Veterans Community Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting veteran suicide and homelessness. He’s also the host of Majority 54, a popular political podcast, and the author of Invisible Storm: A Soldier’s Memoir of Politics and PTSD

If you're in crisis, are thinking about suicide, or are concerned about a loved one, please call 1-800-273-8255. The Lifeline network is available 24/7 across the United States.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:45: Jason’s experience coming to accept having PTSD

3:45: Symptoms

5:50: How the military (mostly doesn't) address PTSD

8:00: Chronic stress, public perception, feelings of failure, and uncertainty of recovery

13:40: Jason’s Veterans Affairs (VA) experience

15:40: Veteran's Community Project and other resources for veterans

20:00: Therapeutic practices Jason did

27:50: Physical sensations associated with PTSD

31:40: Imposter syndrome related to being a combat veteran

33:05: Working through shame and comparison

36:15: How Jason’s view of therapy progressed through the process

42:30: What Jason would do differently for his mental health if he ran for office again

47:05: More on Veterans Community Project and their tiny house program

51:50: Recap

 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Access over 30 at-home lab tests from Everlywell, and head to everlywell.com/beingwell for twenty percent off your next test.

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Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

MDbio is a plant-based medicine company with natural products that address sleep, anxiety, pain, and immunity. Get your FREE 10-count sample pack by going to mdbiowellness.com and entering the promo code BEINGWELL at checkout!

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Oct 03, 2022
How to Effectively Communicate What You Want
01:01:14

On the previous episode of Being Well, we talked about how to identify our wants and needs...but identifying our needs is just the first step. After that comes the tricky business of coming to terms with those needs, and communicating them effectively to other people.

In this episode, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explore best practices for claiming and expressing our needs. This includes how to navigate shame and inhibition, make effective agreements, be considerate of the person on the receiving end of our wants, and become more skillful at negotiation and repair. 

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:05: Getting real about meeting our needs.

7:10: Suppressing needs due to self-worth challenges

8:35: Patience, making your offering, and tipping points

11:45: Inhibition, and negotiating our needs with other people

15:50: Non-Violent Communication and “Wise Speech” models

26:30: The need for multiple cycles of communication

28:20: Expecting defeat, and two big moments of pain

32:10: Keeping agreements

37:45: Confidence in the ability to repair

39:35: Considering the person on the receiving end of your communication

43:00: Generosity

45:15: Questions to ask when feeling uncertain about how to express a need

49:30: Death by a thousand cuts, and facing discomfort

52:10: Asking others, “What else do you want from me?”

54:30: Recap

 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Listen to Season 2 of Turning Points from Boston Globe Media wherever you get your podcasts!

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

MDbio is a plant-based medicine company with natural products that address sleep, anxiety, pain, and immunity. Get your FREE 10-count sample pack by going to mdbiowellness.com and entering the promo code BEINGWELL at checkout!

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Sep 26, 2022
Discovering Your Wants and Needs
01:03:33

Everyone has needs, but many people find it difficult to identify what authentically matters to them. Even when we can identify them, shame or fear often stops us from expressing those needs to others or taking the practical steps that would help us achieve them.

Meeting our needs is a major source of well-being, and people who can identify their needs are more likely to get them met. On today’s episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson focus on how to look inside, and figure out what you really need. They discuss different frameworks for categorizing our needs, what to do when we are confused by our desires, and how to get in touch with what you really want.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:05: Common features among people who struggle to name their desires

7:05: Three basic steps to relate to wants and needs

8:00: Different frameworks for categorizing wants and needs

21:00: What helped Rick get in touch with his own wants and needs?

28:00: An experiential exercise

35:10: Why addressing your needs and wants is not just naval gazing

38:40: Forrest’s suggestions based on his own experience

45:25: What to do when what we want is probably not best for us

51:40: Creating a personal manifesto

54:30: Recap

New Course From Rick! Learn the lessons of a lifetime in the new and improved Foundations of Wellbeing 2.0 program. This yearlong, online program teaches you how to grow the 12 key inner strengths that lead to lasting wellbeing during difficult times. Our New Year's sale is running now, and you can use the code BeingWell25 to get an additional 25% off the purchase price.

Sponsors:

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

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Sep 19, 2022
Healing Trauma in a Toxic Culture with Dr. Gabor Maté
01:03:48

Renowned physician Dr. Gabor Maté joins Rick and Forrest to explore the many problems for our bodies and minds that arise out of our modern culture, and what we can do to meet our needs, heal ourselves, and become more whole. They discuss our increasing separation from one another, issues with aspects of the medical model, the true nature of addiction, the developmental needs of children, the myth of “normal,” and recovering from traumatic experiences.

About Our Guest: Dr. Gabor Maté is one of the world’s leading experts on trauma, addiction, and childhood development. His work has had an enormous impact on how we understand the interactions between our internal world and the world around us, and he is the bestselling author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, Scattered Minds, and his newest book The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:55: What Gabor means by a toxic culture

4:25: Interpersonal biology - our physiology is modulated by our relationships

7:10: What components are needed for a healthy culture?

11:55: Examples of toxic culture’s impact on people’s behavior

15:20: Addiction

21:00: How and when to distinguish degrees of trauma

27:05: Where and when to express healthy anger

33:10: How turning against the self manifests as illness 

36:45: What supports people in returning to their authentic nature?

40:00: Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, and creating a sacred context

41:45: Grief, integration, and letting go

44:55: Gabor’s relationship with his children

48:25: Five kinds of compassion, disillusionment, and truth

51:20: Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary?

53:25: Recap

New Online Course From Dr. Rick: Learn the tools you need to build strong, healthy, fulfilling relationships of all kinds in Rick's new Strong Heart Relationship Series. The program begins on February 18th, and all the teaching is recorded so you can watch on your own schedule. Visit RickHanson.net/strongheart to learn more and get 20% with coupon code BeingWell20.

Sponsors:

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

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Sep 12, 2022
Understanding, Recognizing, and Dealing with Narcissists with Dr. Craig Malkin
01:07:08

We all have narcissistic traits. Having some sense of our own specialness isn’t just normal, it’s actually psychologically healthy. The problems start when people go beyond normal levels, and become addicted to feeling special. On this episode, Forrest is joined by Dr. Craig Malkin to explore narcissism and narcissistic traits. They talk about the different forms narcissism takes, the difference between narcissistic traits and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), red flags, dealing with narcissists, treatment options, and finding the “right amount” of feeling special.

About our Guest: Dr. Malkin is a Lecturer in Psychology for Harvard Medical School, a licensed psychologist with several decades of clinical experience, and the author of Rethinking Narcissism: The Secret to Recognizing and Coping with Narcissists. He also has a great YouTube channel

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:35: Narcissism as a pervasive universal trait

4:10: What differentiates healthy narcissism vs. disordered narcissism?

5:45: “Triple E” - exploitation, entitlement, empathy impairments

6:45: Incapable of empathy, or unmotivated?

9:10: What distinguishes having narcissistic traits from having NPD?

13:05: Extraverted, covert, and communal narcissism

23:10: Healthy and unhealthy narcissistic traits often go together

25:20: Insecure attachment

28:30: Emotional hot potato

32:10: Social and cultural power dynamics 

36:25: What does healing narcissism look like?

42:55: What modalities do you use in therapy?

45:20: Difficult relationships, communal activation, empathy prompts

50:35: Extinction bursts and using anxiety responses in therapy

53:25: How do you repair with your partner? 

57:05: Recap

Grief and Loss Workshop: We all face losses in life, from separation and disappointment to shocking, even traumatic events. Join me August 13 and 14 for 7 hours of LIVE, online teaching focused on learning simple, powerful practices that help us come to terms with loss, heal, and find happiness again. Use coupon code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off the registration price.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Bombas designed their socks, shirts, and underwear to be the clothes you can’t wait to put on every day. Visit bombas.com/beingwell and use code beingwell for 20% off. 

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Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

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Sep 05, 2022
Dealing with Difficult Emotions with Mollie West Duffy
01:10:10

We all experience big, difficult feelings, from common emotions like uncertainty, anger, despair, and regret, to difficult experiences like the pains of comparison, burnout, and perfectionism. On today’s episode of Being Well Podcast, Forrest is joined by the wonderful author, coach, and content creator Mollie West Duffy to explore how we can accept those big feelings, learn to live alongside them, and develop tools that help us deal with them more effectively.

About Our Guest: Mollie is an expert in organizational design, development, and leadership who has helped advise and coach executives and founders at companies including Google, Casper, and LinkedIn. She’s the co-author of the bestselling book No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotions at Work, and the recently released Big Feelings: How To Be Okay When Things Are Not Okay, and is also one half of the Instagram account, @lizandmollie. 

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:30: Why is Mollie’s new book called Big Feelings?

5:10: The useful flip side

6:45: How Mollie’s relationship to anger changed during the creation of this book

9:20: Difficult emotions as a resource and source of regulation

11:30: Unhelpful myths in how to deal with difficult emotions

16:45: Healthy responses to those myths

21:10: Vulnerability

25:50: Emotional granularity

27:05: Lengthening the time between trigger and response

30:05: Processing anxiety

35:25: How to relax the desire for control

41:45: Medication

44:10: Anxiety doesn’t accurately reflect risk

46:40: Burnout - even around things you enjoy

55:25: Comparing our suffering with others

57:05: Comparing our accomplishments with others

1:01:35: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

MDbio is a plant-based medicine company with natural products that address sleep, anxiety, pain, and immunity. Get your FREE 10-count sample pack by going to mdbiowellness.com and entering the promo code BEINGWELL at checkout!

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Ready to shake up your protein Ritual? Being Well listeners get 10% off during your first 3 months at ritual.com/WELL.

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Aug 29, 2022
How to Use Your Diagnosis (Without It Using You)
01:06:01

Receiving a diagnosis can be emotionally challenging, and leave a person with a lot of understandable questions: What does this mean? What do I do now? How do I relate to this?

On this episode Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explore what a diagnosis is, how the diagnostic process works, the limitations of diagnosing someone, dealing with the emotions that come up, and how we can better think about and relate to receiving a diagnosis. Throughout the conversation they focus on how we can come to understand ourselves better, and be liberated by that understanding rather than burdened by it.

ADHD is used a number of times during this conversation as an example, so if you have an ADHD diagnosis this episode could be particularly interesting.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:55: What is a diagnosis, and what is the process used to give a diagnosis?

6:50: What is the purpose of diagnosing someone?

8:50: Situating what defines pathology within our evolutionary and cultural context

11:40: Origins of mental health conditions, social environment, and privilege

14:40: How diagnosis done, and differentiating between different diagnoses

25:05: More discussion on environmental and cultural effects

31:10: Three subtypes of ADHD

33:00: The emotional complexity of receiving a diagnosis

42:30: What helps people in working through the emotions that come up?

46:35: Paying attention to your emotional experience as much as solving your problem.

49:35: Mental health awareness, resources, and support from others

51:00: Rick’s response when someone is given a diagnosis

58:50: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

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Aug 22, 2022
Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy with Dr. Albert Garcia Romeu
01:07:28

There’s been an explosion of interest in psychedelics over the last 10 years, and phrases like “psychedelic-assisted therapy” have gone from the relative fringes of the mental health conversation to bursting into the mainstream. Alongside a great deal of hype is a growing body of research revealing the potential of substances like psilocybin and MDMA as novel treatments for depression, addiction, and PTSD. 

On today’s episode of Being Well, Forrest is joined by Dr. Albert Garcia-Romeu from the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research. They explore the history and current state of psychedelic research, their subjective effects, the necessity of the “trip,” how psychedelics work in the brain, why researchers are so interested in these substances, and what a psychedelic-assisted therapy session looks like.

About Our Guest: Dr. Garcia-Romeu is a member of the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences faculty at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His research examines the effects of psychedelics in humans, with a focus on psilocybin as an aid in the treatment of addiction.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:55: Dr. Garcia-Romeu’s background

3:00: What substances have been the focus of research?

8:10: The history of psychedelics

11:15: Usefulness and subjective effects of classical psychedelics (LSD/Psilocybin)

17:35: Ego loss or “ego-death” and the role of spirituality in mental health

21:40: What is happening neurologically with Psilocybin? 

27:55: Psychedelics may be the best current treatment option for some conditions

35:05: How close is the research to proving efficacy?

38:05: The relative safety of psychedelics

41:00: What does a psychedelic-assisted therapy session look like?

47:00: Self-guidance in a session

49:50: Duration of treatment, financial and legal access

54:00: Using psychedelics for personal growth, spiritual practice, and even recreation

58:00: Where is the field going?

59:25: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

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Aug 15, 2022
Relating to Death, and Living a Better Life
00:59:21

The median life expectancy for a man living in the United States is roughly 80 years. That works out to 960 months, 4,160 weeks, or about 29,000 days. Rick is sneaking up on 70 years old, which means, on average, he's got about 10 years – or 520 weeks – left. 

Putting the time we have left into simple numbers can be both a bit daunting and remarkably clarifying. When you're in the middle of them, the days can blur together. But the truth is that our time’s limited, and how we use it is up to us. On today’s episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson talk about what's helped them come to terms with mortality, the reality of our limited time, and how we can use that knowledge to refine our focus and live a more fulfilling life.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

4:00: How Rick’s relationship with death has changed over time

11:05: Appreciating life as a comfort in accepting death

14:00: Dukkah, Tanha, and contentment

16:30: Distinguishing the ocean (reality) from the wave (ego)

21:20: Acceptance, contraction, and expansion

25:35: Finite experiences, and undelivered communications

31:30: “Life is for the living”

33:10: Giving, contribution, contentment, and fulfillment

40:05: What to do about regret?

47:40: Serenity in old age

49:00: Practical ways to hold awareness of death

55:05: Recap

 

Grief and Loss Workshop: We all face losses in life, from separation and disappointment to shocking, even traumatic events. Join me August 13 and 14 for 7 hours of LIVE, online teaching focused on learning simple, powerful practices that help us come to terms with loss, heal, and find happiness again. Use coupon code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off the registration price.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

 

Sponsors:

Bombas designed their socks, shirts, and underwear to be the clothes you can’t wait to put on every day. Visit bombas.com/beingwell and use code beingwell for 20% off. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Ready to shake up your protein Ritual? Being Well listeners get 10% off during your first 3 months at ritual.com/WELL.

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Aug 08, 2022
Changing Your Relationship to Shame
00:59:14

Shame is one of the most complex and difficult emotions we experience on a regular basis, and one that can have seriously negative impacts on our sense of self-worth and ability to experience healthy connection with others.

On this episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson take a deep dive into what shame is, how it develops, and what distinguishes it from guilt and other related emotions. They then focus on questioning our assumptions about shame, which can help us identify where it comes from. 

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:40: The biological roots of shame

4:00: Shame's ties to our assumptions about the world 

7:00: Impropriety, and shame as a psychological stage of development

9:55: Distinguishing shame from guilt

14:00: Unnecessary shame, healthy remorse, and your own integrity system

21:55: Who decides what being good looks like?

25:40: Morality in the service of power

32:20: What helps us work with experiences of shame

38:25: Isolation and the value of sharing with others in some way

43:50: Working with your shame story

49:00: Shame, group belonging, and personal change

51:25: Recap

 

Rick's Grief and Loss Workshop: We all face losses in life, from separation and disappointment to shocking, even traumatic events. Join Rick August 13 and 14 for 7 hours of LIVE, online teaching focused on learning simple, powerful practices that help us come to terms with them, heal, and find happiness again. Use coupon code BeingWell50 at checkout for an additional $50 off the registration price.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Bombas designed their socks, shirts, and underwear to be the clothes you can’t wait to put on every day. Visit bombas.com/beingwell and use code beingwell for 20% off. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Ready to shake up your protein Ritual? Being Well listeners get 10% off during your first 3 months at ritual.com/WELL.

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Aug 01, 2022
The Grieving Brain with Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor
01:10:02

There’s a lot of loss in the world these days, both in our individual lives and in our broader communities, and with those losses comes grief. Grief is one of the most challenging emotions to be with, and it can be difficult to offer generalized advice because everyone's experience of grief is profoundly unique. 

On today’s episode of Being Well, Forrest is joined by one of the world’s leading researchers on grief, Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor, to help us better understand grief and grieving. They explore why grief is such a unique and intense emotion, how grief works in the brain, the problems with generalized models like the “five stages of grief,” and how we can learn to live with loss.

About Our Guest: Mary-Frances is a neuroscientist, clinical psychologist, and associate professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, where she directs the Grief, Loss and Social Stress Lab, which investigates the effects of grief on the brain and the body. She’s also the author of the wonderful book The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction and disclaimer

3:35: Mary-Frances’ personal background

6:55: Distinguishing grief from grieving

9:20: Self-criticism, and the over-focus on recovery

11:20: Grief isn't "something to get over"

13:00: Attachment, and our neurological map

16:00: Prediction error

19:30: Complicated grief

25:00: Spiritual practice, or having a worldview that incorporates death

28:05: Is there a ‘normal’ grieving process?

35:25: Pathology, and normal human experiences

46:00: Neurological overview of grief in the brain

50:40: The Dual Process Model of Grief

54:10: Sometimes distraction is okay

56:15: Therapeutic practices and learning from grief

1:01:00: Grief and its relationship to love

1:03:40: Recap

New Course From Rick! Learn the lessons of a lifetime in the new and improved Foundations of Wellbeing 2.0 program. This yearlong, online program teaches you how to grow the 12 key inner strengths that lead to lasting wellbeing during difficult times. Our New Year's sale is running now, and you can use the code BeingWell25 to get an additional 25% off the purchase price.

Sponsors:

Bombas designed their socks, shirts, and underwear to be the clothes you can’t wait to put on every day. Visit bombas.com/beingwell and use code beingwell for 20% off. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Ready to shake up your protein Ritual? Being Well listeners get 10% off during your first 3 months at ritual.com/WELL.

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Jul 25, 2022
Borderline Personality Disorder: Regulation, Nurturance, and Compassion
00:59:54

One of the most important and challenging skills we can develop is learning to regulate our strong emotions. While it’s very natural to have fluctuations in how we feel about others and ourselves, for some people these ups and downs are particularly intense. At clinical levels, this is known as Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). 

BPD is characterized by a pattern of instability in a person’s emotions, moods, behavior, self-image, and relationships. BPD is fairly common, and it's even more common for "borderline-y tendencies" to  show up in our lives. On this episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explore what to do when these tendencies show up, how to cultivate a healthy balance of sensitivity and tolerance to distress, regulating and nurturing ourselves, and how to navigate relationships with others when they exhibit borderline tendencies.

As a disclaimer, formal diagnosis of any condition should be done with a medical professional working directly with the person in question. This podcast episode is not a substitute for that.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:00: What are "borderline tendencies"?

6:50: 9 Symptoms of BPD

9:10: The what, why, and how of mental health

11:25: Childhood influences on borderline tendencies

15:05: Instability, impulsivity, and the drive for reassurance

25:00: Recognizing varying degrees of borderline patterns

27:00: Practical tips–regulation and nurturance

32:50: Boundaries, and avoiding spiraling

37:50: Acceptance, and the desire for change

40:35: Sensitivity and distress tolerance

45:00: What to do when you notice borderline tendencies in a relationship

51:00: Recognizing how much someone's nature is going to change

53:35: Treatability

54:50: Recap

New Course From Rick! Learn the lessons of a lifetime in the new and improved Foundations of Wellbeing 2.0 program. This yearlong, online program teaches you how to grow the 12 key inner strengths that lead to lasting wellbeing during difficult times. Our New Year's sale is running now, and you can use the code BeingWell25 to get an additional 25% off the purchase price.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Bombas designed their socks, shirts, and underwear to be the clothes you can’t wait to put on every day. Visit bombas.com/beingwell and use code beingwell for 20% off. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Ready to shake up your protein Ritual? Being Well listeners get 10% off during your first 3 months at ritual.com/WELL.

Connect with the show:

Jul 18, 2022
How to Make Learning STICK
01:00:55

One of the most important skills we can develop is learning how to learn–how to update old beliefs about ourselves, take in new information, and build psychological resources like courage, gratitude, and confidence. We have experiences from which we could potentially learn all the time, but how often are we able to actually implement lasting change from our positive experiences?

On this episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson dive into Rick’s recently published study on our capacity for deliberate growth. We talk a bit about the neurological components of learning, how the study worked, and what the practical takeaways are to help us make learning stick.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Positive Neuroplasticity Training:  Learn how to change your brain for the better in the 6-part course from Rick his study was based on!  Use code BEWELL50 for $50 off the purchase price.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:55: The focus of Rick’s recently published study on how to learn

4:35: Our capacity for deliberate growth

7:30: How does learning work in the brain?

11:25: Activation and installation

16:00: Acknowledging the difficulty of deliberate change

16:55: The HEAL framework

22:15: How Rick’s study results were measured

30:05: The results of the study

39:10: Possibilities for future studies

42:00: Little moments of recognition

44:05: Takeaways

45:50: Assessing the whole notion of statistical significance

51:05: Control groups and clusters

54:05: Rick reads the final statement from the study.

56:05: Recap 

 

Wednesday Meditation Group: Join Rick for his freely offered online weekly meditation, talk, and discussion.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

 

Sponsors:

Bombas designed their socks, shirts, and underwear to be the clothes you can’t wait to put on every day. Visit bombas.com/beingwell and use code beingwell for 20% off. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

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Visit Forrest's website

Jul 11, 2022
Rediscovering Your True Self: Parentification and the "Gifted Child"
01:01:36

When a child is particularly emotionally intelligent, and a parent is particularly emotionally vulnerable, an inversion of the typical relationship can occur where the child devotes themselves to meeting the parent’s needs rather than the other way around. This can lead the child to lose touch with their own wants and needs – with their authentic self – which then leads to underlying feelings of worthlessness, uncertainty, and self-alienation in adulthood.

Extreme versions of this pattern are known as parentification, but mild to moderate versions are surprisingly common. On today’s episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explore how we can heal from the effects of these difficult early experiences and rediscover who we truly are. 

This material was completely eye-opening for me, and it’s one of my favorite episodes we've ever produced.

Want to learn more? Check out Alice Miller’s classic book The Drama of the Gifted Child.

Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:55: Distinction between parentification and the gifted child

5:05: Serving a psychological function - what is the “gift” we’re talking about?

7:50: Self-definition vs. defining yourself through relationship

10:30: Examples of generational patterns

16:45: Accumulation of subtle forms of parentification over time

21:55: Patterns of interaction, and differentiation

24:00: Summary of material so far

27:00: “The manic defense against depression”

30:30: What can people do?

35:00: Love, aspiration, and power in parenting styles

40:20: Creating a coherent (and balanced) narrative

43:30: Seductive narratives, grief not shame, claiming your nature

51:25: What emotions were you permitted?

53:35: Recap

Wednesday Meditation Group: Join Rick for his freely offered online weekly meditation, talk, and discussion.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

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Ready to shake up your protein Ritual? Being Well listeners get 10% off during your first 3 months at ritual.com/WELL.

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Jul 04, 2022
Connecting with Your Best Parts
00:54:24

A little while ago, we had an episode on self-awareness where Rick emphasized how the majority of what people have to become self-aware of is the good inside themselves. The point felt significant enough to expand into a full episode about how to connect with our best parts.

On this episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson focus on how to accept, appreciate, and connect with our positive aspects, and how to deal with some of the developmental blocks that prevent us from embracing the good in ourselves. We look at how the culture we’re in affects our perspective, how to manage fears of conceit, and how to experience more intimacy and courage by releasing cynicism.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

3:20: What gets in the way of us hearing the good news about ourselves?

5:40: Stories we’re told about ourselves that form our identity
10:45: Reconnecting with childhood positive qualities

17:10: Intentions, talents, efforts

23:25: Avoiding conceit and the fear of sounding conceited

30:40: Releasing ideas that human nature is fundamentally bad

34:25: Tribalism

36:35: Seeing the cultural water we swim in

41:15: Intimacy, cynicism, courage

46:40: Cherishing ourselves and others

47:35: Recap

 

Wednesday Meditation Group: Join Rick for his freely offered online weekly meditation, talk, and discussion.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

 

Sponsors:

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

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Jun 27, 2022
Recovering from Complex PTSD with Elizabeth Ferreira
01:10:30

Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) is the result of the slow accumulation of many small traumatic experiences over time. On our most popular Being Well episode to date, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explored the details of CPTSD with Pete Walker, and on today’s episode, Forrest is joined by his partner Elizabeth Ferreira to discuss the topic through a more personal lens. Elizabeth shares her CPTSD origin story, what CPTSD feels like, and how to create a compassionate environment with or without a therapist so you can safely process grief, experience out repressed emotions, and learn to express your needs.

Check out Elizabeth's NEW PODCAST!

About our Guest: Elizabeth is a recent graduate of the Somatic Psychology program at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), and is currently earning hours toward her MFT license. She creates content on YouTube and Instagram focused on CPTSD, PMDD, and becoming a more whole version of who you are.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:15: Elizabeth’s story

5:20: Trauma in the broader family system

8:40: A “normal” story

11:50: Loneliness, and the parts of us we leave behind

15:00: Repressed emotions

17:10: Adverse childhood experiences

20:35: Stepping out of adverse environments

25:15: Trauma work as grief work

29:10: Symptoms of Complex PTSD

34:50: How do you need to be comforted?

37:30: Creating the sense of safety

40:30: Somatic interventions

45:30: Being witnessed

47:10: Claiming your needs

50:10: Facing the dreaded experience

53:50: Accuracy vs. sensitivity

57:05: Hidden parts

1:00:00: Start by joining

1:04:20: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

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Try Splendid Spoon today and take meal-planning off your plate. Just go to SplendidSpoon.com/BEINGWELL for $50 off your first box

Ready to shake up your protein Ritual? Being Well listeners get 10% off during your first 3 months at ritual.com/WELL.

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Jun 20, 2022
Attachment, and Cultivating Nonattachment
01:00:05

You might have heard the line “attachment is the root of suffering.” It comes from the Buddha, but you don’t have to be a Buddhist to recognize that becoming overly attached to a particular outcome, person, or view of yourself can lead to a lot of suffering. At the same time, there are clearly things that are sensible to be attached to – like our loved ones, a basic moral compass, and fundamentals like food and shelter. So, what’s the problem with attachment?

On this episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson discuss the problem with attachment, what differentiates healthy and unhealthy forms of attachment, and what we can do to relax attachment over time.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:10: Learning from Buddhism without trying to be a Buddhist

8:45: Two kinds of suffering

12:00: Distinguishing healthy desire and unhealthy desire

19:40: Markers of problematic attachments

24:10: Self-concept, and an example from Forrest of relaxing attachment 

30:25: Balancing "Right View" and nonattachment

42:25: Pain and release

50:55: What’s useful for you?

55:45: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Try Splendid Spoon today and take meal-planning off your plate. Just go to SplendidSpoon.com/BEINGWELL for $50 off your first box

Ready to shake up your protein Ritual? Being Well listeners get 10% off during your first 3 months at ritual.com/WELL.

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Jun 13, 2022
Intimacy, Individuality, and Breaking the Trauma Cycle with Terry Real
01:09:38

On one of our favorite episodes of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson are joined by author and therapist Terry Real to talk about how to overcome the myth of toxic individualism, break trauma cycles, and experience real intimacy in our relationships.

 They discuss how to balance acceptance and agency, develop a healthy sense of trust and self-esteem, communicate what we want effectively, and experience our power through collaboration rather than dominance. Terry describes how we can move past the delusions of toxic individualism and patriarchy that plague our culture, moving away from ‘me vs. you’ and into Us.

About our Guest: Terrence Real is an internationally recognized family therapist, speaker, and bestselling author. He is the founder of the Relational Life Institute, which offers workshops for couples as well as professional training for clinicians in his Relational Life Therapy (RLT) methodology. His latest book is Us: Getting Past You and Me to Build a More Loving Relationship which comes out June 7th.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction
1:45: Terry’s personal transformation
4:55: Regulating up to our parents
7:05: The Adaptive Child vs. the Wise Adult
14:25: Us vs. the delusions of individualism and patriarchy
18:05: Balancing acceptance and agency
22:45: Enlightened self-interest and working with couples
29:25: Three phases to get more of what you want in relationships without a counselor
33:35: How to support people–particularly women–in dealing with unfairness
37:15: Gendered tendencies–moving into intimacy and out of patriarchy
43:20: Shame and healthy self-esteem
49:40: Relational reckoning and relational integrity
56:55: Repairing trust and grandiosity
1:01:00: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Try Splendid Spoon today and take meal-planning off your plate. Just go to SplendidSpoon.com/BEINGWELL for $50 off your first box

Ready to shake up your protein Ritual? Being Well listeners get 10% off during your first 3 months at ritual.com/WELL.

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Jun 06, 2022
Overcoming Comparison and Accepting Ordinary with Dr. Ron Siegel
01:01:50

When was the last time you went through a day without comparing yourself to anyone? For instance, by comparing your life to someone else’s highlight reel on social media, or being critical of your own willpower and abilities? Avoiding these mental traps can be difficult in a culture that emphasizes the importance of being 'special.'


Of course, we are all special – and all ordinary. On this episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson are joined by psychologist and author Dr. Ronald Siegel to discuss why that might not be such a bad thing. They discuss how to drop the myth of the extraordinary, how to heal from feelings of inadequacy, and what healthy self-esteem looks like.


About our Guest: Dr. Siegel is Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School, international speaker on the topics of mindfulness and compassion, and author of several books including his latest, The Extraordinary Gift of Being Ordinary: Finding Happiness Right Where You Are.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:50: What prompted Ron’s inquiry into being ordinary

7:00: Cultural and evolutionary factors

12:55: Fluctuations in self-esteem based on success and failure

16:40: Social connection as antidote

18:35: What being ordinary looks like

20:45: Three ways to drop the myth of the extraordinary

31:35: Rick’s path to healing his own feelings of inadequacy

38:55: Predispositions to having a sense of worth and value

44:40: Love vs. ‘specialness’

48:40: Reaping the benefits of self-esteem without getting caught in its traps

56:10: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

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May 30, 2022
Working with Anger: Costs and Benefits, Repression, and the "Empty Boat"
00:51:49

Anger is one of the most complex, demanding, and difficult emotions we deal with on a regular basis, in part because it has both many costs and many uses. It burdens our bodies, relationships, and the world around us. And at the same time, there is a vital energy associated with anger that is extremely powerful and, when harnessed effectively, quite useful.

On this episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explore the varied ways anger surfaces, how we can relate to it, and how in recognizing what it has to tell us we can channel its energy towards good ends.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:10: Framing anger relative to other emotions

6:15: The three poisons

12:20: Useful aspects of anger and issues with labeling it as bad

22:45: Repression and not downregulating others’ emotions

28:30: Treating anger with respect rather than fear

30:15: What supports us in healthily claiming anger?

38:00: Characteristics that can predispose people to be angry

39:40: The Empty Boat and recognizing anger as an affliction against onesself

43:10: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Have a question for us? 

Email: contact@beingwellpodcast.com to submit questions or potential topics you'd like us to explore in future episodes.

Sponsors:

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May 23, 2022
Increasing Self-Awareness: The Key to Personal Growth
01:05:40

Self-awareness is both one of the most important skills for a person to have, and one of the most challenging to develop. In this episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explore what it takes to increase self-awareness over time, the different forms of awareness that come into play, and why maintaining self-awareness can be such a struggle. Rick then emphasizes how we can develop a greater awareness of the positive aspects of ourselves. 

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:45: Rick’s observations of people’s self-awareness when beginning therapy 

6:10: Distinguishing internal and external self-awareness

7:40: Different types of internal self-awareness

12:20: Why is it hard to become self-aware?

18:45: Positive discoveries and Forrest’s personal experience

29:05: The natural movement toward health and sanity

33:35: What causes us to lose touch with positive aspects of our nature?

42:45: How can we cultivate more self-awareness over time?

49:45: Questions to ask yourself

54:50: A creative exercise for mapping out parts of yourself

58:10: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Have a question for us? 

Email: contact@beingwellpodcast.com to submit questions or potential topics you'd like us to explore in future episodes.

Sponsors:

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May 16, 2022
Changing Old Patterns, Self-Awareness, and Repairing Family Relationships: Mailbag
00:56:04

Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson open up the mailbag to explore a variety of listener questions. They talk about what causes our brains to become attached to unwanted habits, how to know which of your thoughts are worth listening to, and the pros and cons of saying "kind of." They then consider how to improve sibling relationships, and what to do with the positive emotions we experience during meditation.


Have a question for us? Email: contact@beingwellpodcast.com to submit questions or topics you'd like us to explore in future episodes.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:45: Why do our brains keep us stuck on unwanted patterns or ways of thinking?

10:45: Three kinds of craving and the machinery of becoming

13:50: Why do we say “kind of” all the time?

25:50: How do you know which of your thoughts are worth listening to?

31:15: How do you improve a sibling relationship?

40:35: What do you do with positive emotions during meditation?

48:40: Recap

Wednesday Night Meditation with Rick: https://www.rickhanson.net/teaching/wednesday-meditations-with-dr-rick-hanson/

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May 09, 2022
Maximize Your Motivation: Dopamine, Discipline, and Accepting Our Nature
01:02:04

We all have things we want to accomplish in life, but having goals or knowing we should be doing something is often not nearly enough to get us to actually sustain our efforts in getting where we want to go.

Today on Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explore how to optimize our motivation. They discuss the brain's dopamine system, and distinguish motivation from discipline and liking from wanting. They then explore how we can align the brain's underlying biological circuitry with our desires, so we can stay relaxed and engaged while achieving our goals.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:05: Motivation vs. Discipline

5:30: Why don't we just want the things we know are good for us?

11:00: Creating unity between our biology and cognitive processing

15:50: Dopamine: An Overview

21:30: Distinguishing liking from wanting

25:35: Natural variations in dopamine metabolism

28:55: How people with lower levels of dopamine can stay motivated

33:35: Updating the reward value of your experiences

37:20: Being, doing, and having

43:05: What has helped Rick stay diligent and let go of resistance

46:40: Practical how-tos for interacting with the dopaminergic system 

50:35: Letting fish be fish

52:30: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

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May 02, 2022
Preventing Secondary Trauma and Compassion Fatigue with Laura van Dernoot Lipsky
00:50:45

With so much suffering going on in the world that’s worthy of our compassion and engagement, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by it even as we have the desire to remain engaged. Secondary traumatic stress is the stress we are exposed to when we interact with other people’s stress, and it manifests at both an individual and societal level. When not managed effectively, it wears us down and diminishes our ability to contribute in a positive way.

On this episode of Being Well, Forrest talks with trauma expert Laura van Dernoot Lipsy about how we can better manage secondary traumatic stress, how to avoid burnout and overwhelm, and what it looks like to stay hopeful and live fully in the face of daunting societal challenges.

About Our Guest: Laura van Dernoot Lipsky is the founder and director of The Trauma Stewardship Institute and author of Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others and The Age of Overwhelm. She is a widely recognized pioneer in the field of trauma exposure and has worked locally, nationally, and internationally for more than three decades.  Laura is also the host of Future Tripping, a podcast about navigating overwhelm.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:35: Laura’s personal experience

4:10: How secondary trauma shows up for people

6:45: Martyrdom and the responsibility of organizations to create sustainable environments

10:30: Concern with how trauma is normalized within communities

14:10: Internalized oppression and overwhelm in the broader culture

17:40: The broader systemic context and the ineffectiveness of burning yourself out

21:50: The necessity of taking breaks

26:40: How to feel okay taking time to unplug from discourse on charged topics

33:35: Differentiating between spheres of control and acknowledging grief

37:45: Finding ways to stay hopeful

40:35: What Laura is grateful for and stressed about

44:35: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Have a question for us? 

Email: contact@beingwellpodcast.com to submit questions or potential topics you'd like us to explore in future episodes.

Sponsors:

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Apr 25, 2022
Rumination: How to Disrupt Obsessive Thoughts
01:00:58

It’s normal and healthy for us to try to process our experiences emotionally, but sometimes during that process we find ourselves getting stuck on the same painful memory, anxiety, or disturbing thought. This frustrating experience, known as rumination, is a common psychological challenge that is both discouraging and unhelpful.

On this episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson spell out what rumination is, where it comes from, and how it functions in the brain. They then explore what practices and strategies we can use to identify rumination when it comes up, and move through an obsessive thought compassionately and effectively.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:25: How do we define rumination?

7:45: What do we get out of rumination?

13:30: Distinguishing rumination from grieving

16:30: Where rumination comes from in people

18:40: The default mode network

22:30: Ways to disengage the default mode network 

25:50: Strange attractors, Krishna, and the Gopis

30:35: Thought acceptance and noting

33:15: Recurring themes of your rumination

37:10: Novelty

38:45: Self-constructing invites rumination, self-acceptance undermines it

47:05: A quick walkthrough for dealing with a negative thought

53:00: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Have a question for us? 

Email: contact@beingwellpodcast.com to submit questions or potential topics you'd like us to explore in future episodes.

Sponsors:

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Apr 18, 2022
Navigating Modern Dating with Logan Ury
00:57:00

We’ve spent a lot of time on the podcast exploring how we can improve our skills in romantic relationships, but for many people one of the most difficult parts of a relationship is getting into one in the first place. 

On this episode, Forrest talks with Logan Ury, Director of Relationship Science at the dating app Hinge, about the psychology of dating. They explore chemistry, romance, apps, and how to reframe our self-limiting tendencies so we can find love that is fulfilling and brings out the best in us.

About our Guest: Logan Ury is a behavioral scientist turned dating coach, and the author of  How to Not Die Alone: The Surprising Science That Will Help You Find Love. She is the Director of Relationship Science at the dating app Hinge, and former head of Google’s behavioral science team the Irrational Lab.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction  

1:40: Why is modern dating so hard?

4:15: Romanticism

6:20: Being in a relationship for self-actualization

8:25: Romanticizers, Maximizers, and Hesitators

11:15: Reframes for the Romanticizer

14:20: What kind of shared qualities actually matter?

19:25: Reframes for the Maximizer

26:35: The tendency to externalize problems and avoid vulnerability

32:25: Reframes for the Hesitator

36:50: Information vs. emotion - appreciation for romance

41:05: Bids, and turning towards

43:05: What other things do people tend to underestimate in relationships?

47:20: The aspect of you that is brought out by your partner

48:45: How to use apps in more effective ways

51:00: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Have a question for us? 

Email: contact@beingwellpodcast.com to submit questions or potential topics you'd like us to explore in future episodes.

Sponsors:

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Apr 11, 2022
Understand and Manage Stress: Causes, Biological Basis, and Increasing Resilience
01:04:14

On this episode, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson take a deep dive into defining stress, how it functions, how it impacts our lives and bodies, and what we can do to repair from its effects. 

We discuss how to distinguish stress from effort, the influence of the modern world on how stressed we feel, the various biological mechanisms involved in stress, and the challenges presented by chronic exposure to it. We then consider what we can do to increase resilience, including positively responding to stressors even in the midst of  limitations and uncertainty.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:50: What is stress exactly?

3:30: Distinguishing stress from effort

7:25: Circles of concern and what we can actually influence

10:15: Zebras, and different levels of allostatic load

15:30: How the Endocrine System and Nervous System respond to stress

21:45: The amygdala response

23:20: What are the costs of stress?

35:30: The story so far

36:25: How do we positively adapt to stress?

41:35: The influence of basic lifestyle factors

43:50: Questions to ask yourself

45:30: Claiming agency while accepting limitations and uncertainty

51:05: What we can do to repair from the effects of our stress

57:40: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

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Apr 04, 2022
Use the Enneagram to Rewrite Your Story with Ian Cron
00:54:42

One of the most effective ways to change how we show up in the world is to identify and change our underlying personal narrative. On this episode, Forrest Hanson talks with Ian Cron about how we can use the Enneagram personality typing system to aid us in this process.

About our Guest: Ian Cron is a therapist, master Enneagram teacher, best-selling author of The Road Back to You and his latest The Story of You, and host of popular Enneagram podcast Typology.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:30: Ian’s narrative and how it has changed over time

5:45: Overview of the Enneagram and its uses

11:30: A few examples of common limiting narratives

19:10: A quick primer of how the Enneagram works and each type

26:00: How people can push back on their unconscious narratives

35:25: Cultivating awareness of how your old story is playing out in the present

37:10: Ian’s inflection point

41:30: Integration and levels of development

43:15: The link between your virtue and your fixation

49:00: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

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Mar 28, 2022
Hedonic Adaptation: Causes, Critiques, and How to Stay Happy
00:58:17

We’ve talked on this show about lots of ways we can be happier over time, but one of the hardest things to do is to STAY happy as the events of life wash over us. On today’s episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explore "hedonic adaptation" - our tendency to return to a stable baseline of happiness - and discuss how we can get off the "hedonic treadmill." 

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:25: What is hedonic adaptation?

6:25: Three factors of happiness

9:45: Survey of various research on hedonic adaptation and subjective well-being

19:55: Financial circumstances and relationships

27:35: How to sustain happiness - loving, knowing, growing

38:15: The single most effective intervention to fight hedonic adaptation

41:30: Forrest’s take on how lasting change happens

45:00: Antidote experiences and improving memory

47:50: Can we actually become happier?

51:00: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Visit athleticgreens.com/BEINGWELL to take ownership over your health, and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance!

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Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

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Mar 21, 2022
The Science of "Self" with Dr. Jud Brewer
01:16:05

One of the underlying threads that runs through many of our conversations on Being Well is our relationship with our “self”. On this episode, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson talk with neuroscientist, mindfulness researcher, and bestselling author Dr. Jud Brewer about where we can find the “self” in the brain, and the benefits of relaxing our attachment to it.

About our Guest: Dr. Jud Brewer is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center and associate professor in Behavioral and Social Sciences at the School of Public Health and Psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Brown University. He is the executive medical director of behavioral health at Sharecare, and a research affiliate at MIT. His bestselling books include Unwinding Anxiety and The Craving Mind.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:45: What is a “self”?

5:10: Distinguishing consciousness, person, and self

7:25: Can there be a unified sense of self in an everchanging psychological process?

11:50: Selfing and what triggers a sense of “me”

15:20: Evolutionary speculations about the origins of selfing

18:50: Predictive processing and personal associations

21:55: How Jud responds to selfing

28:10: The unicorn metaphor of self and relief in sensory experience

36:45: The experience of addiction and anxiety

40:50: Somatic markers and distinguishing healthy vs. unhealthy desires

41:40: Letting go vs. straining to create a self

45:40: Underlying neurological components of the self

56:30: The fluidity of awareness without self

58:30: When and how does the default mode network become functional?

1:03:00: Neuro-psychedelic research and unlearning

1:07:15: Having a self vs. taking ourselves personally

1:11:00: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Have a question for us? 

Email: contact@beingwellpodcast.com to submit questions or potential topics you'd like us to explore in future episodes.

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Mar 14, 2022
Supporting Yourself During Difficult Times
00:59:33

The tone of this episode of Being Well is a bit different. For context, we recorded it four days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

It feels like we've had more than our fair share of difficult times over the last few years. Like many people, we wish there were more we could do to support those suffering around the world. Today Dr. Rick and Forrest focus on what we can do, in our mind and in our lives, to relate to the challenging emotions – fear, grief, anxiety, anger, helplessness, and so on – that naturally arise during these times. 

The advertising revenue from this episode will be donated to charities dedicated to supporting the people of Ukraine. If you'd like to join us in donating, we’ve included links below to several charities.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

5:10: Anxiety calming exercise

12:40: Pause

18:55: Feel your feelings

23:45: Resource yourself

26:45: Compassion

29:55: Humor

32:00: Get educated

40:35: Make a plan

45:55: Move into action

52:35: Recap

Make a donation to support Ukraine via one of the charities below:

CARE's Ukraine Crisis Fund

United Help Ukraine

Global Giving Ukraine Fund

Rescue.org

A list of charities by subject for supporting the people of Ukraine.

 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Have a question for us? 

Email: contact@beingwellpodcast.com to submit questions or potential topics you'd like us to explore in future episodes.

Sponsors:

Visit athleticgreens.com/BEINGWELL to take ownership over your health, and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance!

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!

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Mar 07, 2022
Coping with Failure, and Dealing with Disappointment
00:54:27

One of the most important skills we can develop is the ability to deal with disappointment and cope with failures big and small. On this episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson discuss what it looks like to experience failure not as falling short, but as an opportunity for growth. They explore cultural narratives around "failure," individual variation in sensitivity, and how to manage the pain of failure, adapt expectations, and develop systems of feedback to allow for a greater sense of ease and purpose.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:00: What do we mean by failure?

5:55: How loss works in the brain and what makes us sensitive to losing

8:30: Managing expectations of success

10:30: Attributional styles

13:10: How some can handle failure with greater ease than others

22:30: Deconstructing old narratives and failure as an opportunity for learning

28:30: Managing the pain of failure and setting up feedback systems

34:20: An example from Forrest’s experience

38:20: Poor decisions, lack of foresight, losing your nerve

40:30: Willingness to take risks

45:00: Defining our notion of success and failure via process vs. outcome

48:20: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Have a question for us? 

Email: contact@beingwellpodcast.com to submit questions or potential topics you'd like us to explore in future episodes.

Sponsors:

Visit athleticgreens.com/BEINGWELL to take ownership over your health, and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance!

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

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Feb 28, 2022
Standing Up for What You Believe In with Todd Kashdan
01:05:44

There’s a tension we’ve all felt at some point between the benefits of conformity and the desire to be true to ourselves and stand up for what we think is right. On today’s episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson are joined by Dr. Todd Kashdan to explore how we can combine prosocial values with principled insubordination, so we can speak up for others (and ourselves) and maximize our chances of creating meaningful change even in the face of social pressure.


About Our Guest: Dr. Todd Kashdan is Professor of Psychology at George Mason University. He is a leading authority on well-being, curiosity, psychological flexibility, and resilience. He has published over 210 peer-reviewed articles, and is the author of several books including Curious? , The Upside of Your Dark Side, and most recently The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:45: Combining skillful positivity and dissent

7:55: Distinguishing principled insubordination and generic misanthropy

10:05: Four elements of principled insubordination

19:05: Yin and Yang applied to insubordination

21:35: Safe havens and a secure base

26:20: How capable are we of cultivating self-awareness?

32:05: Positive intent, courage, and sitting with discomfort

38:45: Strategies for being a moral and effective dissident

46:40: Navigating societal hierarchies

51:50: Process comments as insubordination

53:00: What Todd does when his kids are insubordinate

58:05: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Have a question for us? 

Email: contact@beingwellpodcast.com to submit questions or potential topics you'd like us to explore in future episodes.

 

Sponsors:

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Feb 21, 2022
The Secret to Solving Most Psychological Problems: Integration
00:57:26

We explore a lot of big ideas on this show, and alongside them a lot of specific tactics and frameworks that can support people in growing and changing for the better. This includes everything from how to get the most out of therapy, to how to deal with traumatic experiences, to how to manage a variety of psychological conditions and individual tendencies. There’s a question that underlies all of these domains: how does personal healing actually work?

On today’s episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson discuss the fundamental strategies that allow us to become aware of and integrate all parts of ourselves–those we want to celebrate and expand, and those we’d like to heal and change.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

3:00: Overview of psychological patterns related to healing

7:25: Forrest’s personal journey as a case study

13:15: Rick assessing Forrest’s narrative from a psychologist’s perspective

15:45: Cognizing and other stories we tell to avoid parts of ourselves

20:40: Showing appreciation for our defenses, completing patterns

26:50: Catharsis and ways to reach it

39:15: Practical ways to reclaim and reconnect with parts of yourself

43:45: Playing with the nature of identity/ego

47:00: Self-forgiveness and celebrating what you’re good at

50:05: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Have a question for us? 

Email: contact@beingwellpodcast.com to submit questions or potential topics you'd like us to explore in future episodes.

Sponsors:

Get the probiotic rooted in the latest microbiome science from Pendulum, and use code BEINGWELL for 20% off your purchase.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

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Feb 14, 2022
Family Challenges, Financial Risks, and Connecting With a Wounded Inner Child: Mailbag
01:00:02

We’re incredibly lucky to have such an engaged and interested group of people listening to the podcast, and because of that we regularly receive a lot of interesting questions via email and social media (links below). On today’s episode, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson dive into a few of these questions, discussing topics such as: how to manage family relationships, principles for approaching life’s changes, and what kind of therapy Rick actually practices.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:00: Bringing up challenges with family when times are already hard.

11:25: What kind of therapy does Rick practice?

19:15: Taking financial risks to experience life vs. creating financial security

30:00: “Neurons that fire together wire together” explained

34:05: Developing a connection with your inner child/younger self if your childhood was filled with painful experiences

41:40: Managing challenges between your family and your partner

54:15: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Have a question for us? 

Email: contact@beingwellpodcast.com to submit questions or potential topics you'd like us to explore in future episodes.

 

Sponsors:

Find the new CBD+ performance gummies and the whole dosist health line-up today at dosisthealth.com. Use promo code BEINGWELL20 for 20% off your purchase. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Feb 07, 2022
Embracing Uncertainty with Kaira Jewel Lingo
00:56:00

Kaira Jewel Lingo, a former Buddhist nun at the Plum Village community under the guidance of Thich Naht Han, joins Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson to explore how we can cultivate trust and equanimity in the face of uncertainty. They discuss the somatic experience of opening to the unknown, taking action as an antidote to anxiety, and how to have equanimity both when things work out...and when they don’t.

About our Guest: Kaira Jewel Lingo is a Buddhist teacher who weaves mindfulness and meditation practice with social justice. At the age of 25, she became a Buddhist nun at the Plum Village community in France under the guidance of Thich Naht Han, where she stayed for 15 years. She became a Zen teacher in 2007, and is also a teacher in the Vipassana/Insight tradition through Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Finally, she is the author of We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons for Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption.

Recording Note: This episode was recorded before the passing of Thich Naht Han.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:45: Kaira Jewel’s background

2:35: Trust in times of major change

9:10: Two kinds of uncertainty

14:10: Store consciousness and trusting the unknown

18:50: Somatic contraction and expansion

23:05: Responding to the truth of suffering with joyful engagement

30:50: Practicing equanimity

42:10: Defining equanimity

43:30: How to return to center in unstable moments

48:20: Body-based equanimity exercise

50:50: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Find the new CBD+ performance gummies and the whole dosist health line-up today at dosisthealth.com. Use promo code BEINGWELL20 for 20% off your purchase. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Jan 31, 2022
Creating an Abundance Mindset
01:07:28

So many forces in our brains, bodies, and culture move us toward the experience of scarcity – that something is missing, that we don’t have enough, and that we never will have enough. The feeling of scarcity both feels bad in itself, and is also the creator and amplifier of so many other challenges we face. 

On this episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson talk about what a scarcity and an abundance mindset is, what some sources of scarcity are, and how we can move to an authentic experience of abundance.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:35: Defining scarcity and abundance 

6:45: Why are we biologically predisposed towards scarcity?

17:05: When to relax and expand

20:20: Scarcity at the cultural level

26:20: Critique of promoting an “abundance mindset” and a practical definition

30:45: Orienting to a sense of abundance 

38:05: Motivating with punishment vs reward

40:55: Abundance in objectively difficult times

47:15: Specific ways to shift from scarcity to abundance

58:45: A sense of wonder and groundedness

1:01:25: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Find the new CBD+ performance gummies and the whole dosist health line-up today at dosisthealth.com. Use promo code BEINGWELL20 for 20% off your purchase. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Jan 24, 2022
How to Find Your Passion and Purpose
01:03:29

Most people abandon their New Year's Resolutions by mid-January. This often occurs because people make resolutions based on what they feel like they should want, rather than what they actually do want. In other words, their goals and resolutions aren’t in alignment with their purpose.

On this episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson discuss how we can identify and pursue our purpose, and why it’s so valuable to have one in the first place. They explore questions and strategies that can help us develop clarity on what we find meaningful, what our core values are, and how we’d like to spend our time.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

3:00: Why spend time discussing how to have a purpose?

11:00: Nonverbal ways to establish yourself in your purpose

12:50: Ways to be flexible that make purpose accessible

17:45: Fresh starts help us retain freedom in the present

21:20: How to listen to yourself when it's unclear what you want

26:05: Getting feedback from others and abandoning doomed pursuits

32:10: Moving past the inner critic and fear of letting others down

38:10: Five questions to ask yourself

48:15: Soul work and sacredness

50:30: Doing what helps you look at things differently

54:10: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Find the new CBD+ performance gummies and the whole dosist health line-up today at dosisthealth.com. Use promo code BEINGWELL20 for 20% off your purchase. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Jan 17, 2022
Finding Joy in the Face of Challenges
00:53:53

Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson are joined by James Baraz, a meditation teacher for over 40 years and cofounder of Spirit Rock Meditation Center, to explore how we can find still find joy during difficult times. We discuss how to balance a sense of equanimity with compassion for the suffering of the world, and how cultivating joy at an individual level can support healing at the collective level.

About our Guest: James is the coauthor of Awakening Joy: 10 Steps to True Happiness, and leads the popular online course of the same name. He is also the guiding teacher of One Earth Sangha, a website devoted to expressing a Buddhist response to climate change.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:45: Why joy is important in Buddhism

5:05: James’ journey to prioritizing joy

11:40: How to practice awakening joy without turning away from suffering

17:20: Putting yourself back together after cultivating awareness of suffering

24:10: The 10 Steps of Awakening Joy

28:45: How people can use emotionally positive states in contemplative practice

32:00: Positivity in relation to the climate crisis and other collective challenges

38:05: Equanimity, compassion, including both sides of the river

43:35: The great perfection

47:10: James’ realistic hope for the next 25 years 

49:30: Recap

Awakening Joy: Awakening Joy is an internationally recognized course designed to awaken joy through exciting themes and practices that incline the mind toward well-being and deeper insight. It's a 5-month course taught online by James, check it out and learn more here. 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Find the new CBD+ performance gummies and the whole dosist health line-up today at dosisthealth.com. Use promo code BEINGWELL20 for 20% off your purchase. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Jan 10, 2022
How to Use Mindfulness to Beat Depression with Dr. Zindel Segal
00:54:14

On today’s episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson talk with Dr. Zindel Segal about Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), an eight-week group therapy program designed to help those who suffer from chronic unhappiness and prevent relapse after episodes of severe clinical depression.

About our Guest: Dr. Segal is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto at Scarborough, and one of the creators of MBCT. He specializes in mood disorders, particularly depression, and has had an enormous influence on the clinical adoption of mindfulness-based practices and their addition to more traditional forms of cognitive therapy.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:00: Origins of MBCT

4:30: Why Segal prioritized studying mindfulness as an intervention to depression

7:10: Comparing MBCT with traditional CBT

10:20: What about depression makes us more reactive to thoughts and feelings?

13:15: Mindfulness of sadness vs direct experience

18:35: MBCT practices explained

23:10: Three minute breathing space exercise

31:00: Attentional control training

33:45: Managing feelings of inadequacy

39:00: Motivation and implicit compassion

43:15: Ongoing practices after the MBCT course

45:45: Creating access to mindfulness resources

48:15: Recap

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Sponsors:

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Jan 03, 2022
How to Get More From 2022
01:06:47

Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson reflect on 2021, and explore how to maximize what we get out of 2022. We discuss how to rest in our aspirations, claim identity-based change, reframe personal narratives, and form the habits that lead to a more grounded, meaningful life.

Thank you for listening over the last year, looking forward to much more!

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:20: How was 2021 for you?

5:35: Gratitude for listener support

8:25: Rick’s yearly reflection process

12:45: Collaging practice

18:35: Language, and keeping a positive orientation toward desires and resolutions

26:55: Sentence completion exercise

31:10: Identity-based change

35:25: Rick’s approach to nature-based change

39:30: Reframing personal narratives

43:35: Making room for new parts of yourself in middle age

46:10: Process for forming resolutions outlined.

53:35: Rick and Forrest’s goals for 2022

58:05: Drawing on the support of others

59:30: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Dec 27, 2021
Navigating Estrangement Situations
01:19:30

We’ve received a substantial number of questions from our listeners regarding familial estrangement: when one family member distances themselves from the others, or chooses not to interact with them at all. It’s a common and extremely challenging situation, and the pain related to it can be particularly intense during the holidays.

Today on Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson discuss family estrangement, particularly between parents and children, and how the questions we engage in this territory apply more broadly to how we balance our own boundaries with the responsibilities we have toward other people.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Our holiday sale is going on now, and podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25  for another 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

3:05: Our framework for discussing estrangement in this episode

6:10: Joining and distancing

9:40: Duties in relationship between children and aging parents

15:35: Parents’ behavior then vs. now

19:00: Distinguishing family systems from parents as individuals

24:10: Functional forgiveness when someone doesn’t show remorse

26:45: Choosing the kind of relationship we want to have

31:45: Parents’ pain when children distance

33:40: How parents can consider the child’s perspective

39:40: Grieving an estranged relationship internally

45:30: Approaches to interacting with estranged children

52:30: How to decide whether or not to engage in a relationship

55:10: Awareness of cultural influences

57:20: Ownership and what parents can do to repair

1:03:00: The wide range of variables influencing family relationships

1:07:00: Wishing well regardless of circumstances

1:09:30: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Dec 20, 2021
Dating 101: Green and Red Flags, Your First Fight, Dealing With Rejection
01:05:28

Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson expand their conversation focused on finding a long-term partner to include what traits to look for, and how to navigate early sticking points. They discuss life growth curves, how to manage early conflict, healthy approaches for dealing with rejection, and how to support those still navigating a difficult search.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Our holiday sale is going on now, and podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25  for another 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:45: Green and red flags to look for in a partner

8:50: Pursuer-distancer dynamic

9:45: Shared growth curves--relationship as a process, not a person

12:50: Riding the river of practical daily life

19:25: Someone who brings out the best parts of you 

25:25: Different kinds of romantic relationships

28:55: Rejection and feeling wanted

30:45: Asymmetry and power dynamics

34:40: Agency within the pain of rejection

40:05: Recognizing self-worth

45:00: Managing early conflict

51:50: The struggle to find a prospective partner

59:40: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Check out Woven Earth's line of sleep-supporting CBD products!  Use code BEINGWELL20 for 20% off the purchase price of any of their products.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Dec 13, 2021
How to Find a Long-Term Relationship: Intention, Skills, and Marketing
01:04:45

We’ve spent a lot of time on Being Well discussing how to improve our relationships - how to navigate conflict effectively, communicate more skillfully, and create a romantic relationship that’s truly fulfilling - but we’ve spent very little time talking about how to get into one of those relationships in the first place.

Today, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson talk about how to maximize your chances of finding a fulfilling long-term relationship. They explore how to develop a clear intention of what you want, the key psychological skills that invite a healthy relationship, and how to market yourself authentically while dating.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Our holiday sale is going on now, and podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25  for another 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:55: What supports people in finding a long-term partner?

4:35: Having a clear intention

8:45: Psychological skills to maximize our chances of finding a long-term relationship

12:15: Marketing and sorting through suspects

14:40: Intention expanded

22:15: Psychological skills expanded

22:50: A healthy sense of self worth

26:10: Being aware of your selection biases

29:35: Communication skills

34:30: Seeing the best in one another

37:30: Settling anxious and avoidant tendencies

42:00: Resting in presence with someone

43:15: Not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good

44:25: Marketing explained

55:00: Authenticity

58:20: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Find the new CBD+ performance gummies and the whole dosist health line-up today at dosisthealth.com. Use promo code BEINGWELL20 for 20% off your purchase. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Dec 06, 2021
Existential Dread, and Overcoming an Existential Crisis
00:55:05

It’s natural to have moments – even in the course of a generally happy, mostly fulfilling life – where we question our meaning, value, and purpose. This "existential dread" sometimes culminates in an "existential crisis." Today Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson consider how we can confront these basic questions with acceptance and curiosity, and find the meaning and purpose that can help us live good lives.

If you're in crisis, are thinking about suicide, or are concerned about a loved one, please call 1-800-273-8255. The Lifeline network is available 24/7 across the United States.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching to listening? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Our holiday sale is going on now, and podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25  for another 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Key Topics:

0:00 Introduction

2:35 Meaning and purpose as the basis for Existentialism

5:20 Four basic issues of existence

7:00 Practical reasons for exploring Existentialism

10:50 Forrest’s childhood acceptance of death.

12:00 Four approaches to confronting existential frailty

13:45 Rick’s orientation to existential dread and its three psychological challenges

15:45 Rick’s personal experience confronting ambivalence and asking the point of living

20:25 Confronting an existential crisis as a catapult into a meaningful life

22:45 Morbid preoccupation as avoidance and self-ing

23:45 The three major whys of living: pleasure, service, and learning

26:10 What death can teach us about living a good life

31:30 Waves and water - resting in gratitude for life and it’s inevitable ending

36:15 Humor in the space of emptiness between living things

39:10 Natural fear vs. anticipatory dread

43:10 Finding your why when familiar structures break down

48:35 Recap and front porch meditation

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Find the new CBD+ performance gummies and the whole dosist health line-up today at dosisthealth.com. Use promo code BEINGWELL20 for 20% off your purchase. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

 

Nov 29, 2021
Moving Past Perfectionism and Unhealthy Striving with Dr. Diana Hill
01:06:52

How can we aim high, achieve our goals, and get what we want out of life without falling prey to unhealthy striving and excessive perfectionism? Dr. Diana Hill joins Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson to explore the costs of perfectionism, productivity anxiety, psychological flexibility, calming the threat system, and how we can go from striving to thriving. 

About Our Guest: Dr. Diana Hill specializes in evidence-based and compassion-focused approaches to living well. She has a thriving private practice in Santa Barbara, CA, is the author of the ACT Daily Journal, and is one of the hosts of the Psychologists Off the Clock Podcast. Diana is also the host of a new podcast called Your Life in Process launching in Jan 2022, where she offers practical teachings and conversations on becoming psychologically flexible from the inside out.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching to listening? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Our holiday sale is going on now, and podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25  for another 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Key Topics:

0:00 Introduction

2:00 Dr. Hill’s personal journey

4:40 Signs of unhealthy striving

6:50 Recognizing striving in the body

12:50 Signs of being in a healthier place around striving

16:15 What drives perfectionism and how to develop comfort with difficult experiences

22:20 Psychological flexibility and how to see your experience more clearly

26:35 Social and internalized factors in the search for approval 

34:55 Practical ways to develop psychological flexibility

38:00 Inner freedom and choice within discomfort

45:30 Exposure therapy and cognitive diffusion for releasing control and anxiety

55:00 The middle way and climbing the mountains that are important to you.

59:50 Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

Find the new CBD+ performance gummies and the whole dosist health line-up today at dosisthealth.com. Use promo code BEINGWELL20 for 20% off your purchase. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

 

Nov 22, 2021
Creating a Secure Relationship with Elizabeth Earnshaw
01:09:02

We all want a relationship that's more than just functional, we want one that's truly fulfilling. On today's episode Forrest is joined by a wonderful therapist and author who focuses on giving people the tools they need to communicate, navigate hard times, and create deeper connections with other people: Elizabeth Earnshaw. They explore: 

  • How the pandemic impacted our relationships
  • The Gottman approach
  • The stages of a relationship
  • Balancing differing needs for intimacy
  • How to request, and give, repair.

They then close the episode with a fun game focused on debunking common relationship myths.

About our Guest: Elizabeth is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, the founder of A Better Life Therapy, and the author of I Want This to WorkYou might also know her as @lizlistens on Instagram, where she’s helped countless people transform their relationships.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Our holiday sale is going on now, and podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25  for another 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction.

1:45: Elizabeth’s background.

5:30: How did the pandemic impact relationships?

7:30: Responding to stress in relationships.

9:00: Co-regulation.

11:15: Punishing others for our unpleasant emotions. 

13:45: The four stages of relationships.

17:50: What to look for in a partner. 

20:10: The “Four Horsemen” of bad relationship communication. 

24:25: Key skills for navigating conflict together. 

27:00: How to request repair from your partner.

34:10: Deciding if you should leave.

37:45: Interdependence.

41:30: Balancing differing needs for intimacy.

46:30: The Instagram Meme Game: Common misconceptions about relationships.

47:30: “Partners should share everything with each other.”

50:30: “Your partner should be your ride or die.”

52:15: “Never go to bed angry.”

54:50: “My partner is my missing piece.”

56:35: “If you can’t handle me on my worst day, you don’t deserve me on my best day.”

1:02:05: Recap.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

From Boston Globe Media comes a new podcast, TURNING POINTS, a show about navigating mental health. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Find the new CBD+ performance gummies and the whole dosist health line-up today at dosisthealth.com. Use promo code BEINGWELL20 for 20% off your purchase. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Nov 15, 2021
Life's Essential Psychological Skills, Part 2
00:45:28

Today we're continuing our exploration of the key inner strengths and psychological skills we truly feel like we couldn’t live without. In the second of two episodes dedicated to this topic, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson talk about joy, seeing the mind's deceits, keeping your good humor, the wild spirit, and finding meaning.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Our holiday sale is going on now, and podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25  for another 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:30: Cognitive restructuring: fighting your negative brain.

7:10: Not taking things so seriously. 

9:40: The “stage play” of life.

12:40: Joy.

17:40: The wild spirit. 

23:20: Breaking our patterns. 

25:15: The “routinization of charisma.” 

29:00: Finding meaning. 

38:40: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

From Boston Globe Media comes a new podcast, TURNING POINTS, a show about navigating mental health. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Find the new CBD+ performance gummies and the whole dosist health line-up today at dosisthealth.com. Use promo code BEINGWELL20 for 20% off your purchase. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Nov 08, 2021
10 Skills We Can't Live Without: Part 1
00:46:00

Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explore which key inner strengths and psychological skills they truly feel like they couldn’t live without. In the first of two episodes dedicated to this topic, they talk about benevolence, patience, curiosity, self-regulation, and grit. 

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Our holiday sale is going on now, and podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25  for another 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

3:00: What do you take with you?

4:15: Benevolence. 

8:10: Patience. 

12:15: What helps us learn how to wait?

16:40: The value of “asking the question.”

17:30: Curiosity.

22:30: Self-regulation.

28:30: Regulation enabling exploration.

32:30: Grit.

40:50: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

From Boston Globe Media comes a new podcast, TURNING POINTS, a show about navigating mental health. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Find the new CBD+ performance gummies and the whole dosist health line-up today at dosisthealth.com. Use promo code BEINGWELL20 for 20% off your purchase. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Nov 01, 2021
Healing Your Attachment Wounds with Dr. Diane Poole Heller
01:00:15

Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson focus on two of our most important subjects, attachment wounds and traumatic experiences, with a longtime therapist, trainer of therapists, and world-class expert on attachment theory: Dr. Diane Poole Heller. 

About our Guest: Dr. Heller focuses on using somatic, or body-based, approaches to help people resolve the painful experiences and negative patterns that hold us back. Her work on adult attachment has created a path for adults with childhood attachment injuries to develop the secure attachment skills that lead to more connected and fulfilling adult relationships.

Key Topics:

2:30: What is attachment, and why should we care?

4:45: Secure attachment.

7:50: Avoidant attachment. 

12:30: The potential for movement toward secure attachment.

16:00: Ambivalent (or anxious) attachment.

20:45: Disorganized attachment. 

24:15: Somatic approaches to attachment wounds. 

29:50: Allowing the body to move out of threat.

34:10: Secure attachment skills.

38:55: Repatterning ourselves. 

47:20: Becoming more secure in connection. 

50:30: Three questions to help calm relational activation.

55:45: A message to your younger self.

56:45: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

From Boston Globe Media comes a new podcast, TURNING POINTS, a show about navigating mental health. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Find the new CBD+ performance gummies and the whole dosist health line-up today at dosisthealth.com. Use promo code BEINGWELL20 for 20% off your purchase. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Oct 25, 2021
Building a Better Relationship with Yourself
00:50:18

The most important relationship we have is with ourselves. You’re the only person you’ll be around every minute of every day for the rest of your life. And, unfortunately, that relationship is often our most difficult one. Today Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explore how we can become better friends to ourselves, and learn to like ourselves more.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:20: What does it mean to “like ourselves?”

5:20: Why don’t people like themselves?

11:50: Giving yourself the same breaks you give others.

14:10: Regulating impulses. 

19:15: Does “liking ourselves more” make someone narcissistic?

24:30: What supported Rick in liking himself more?

29:00: Seeing yourself clearly.

32:30: The IFS model and the caring committee. 

36:30: Our nurturing parts.

39:10: A practicing of being for yourself.

45:10: Recap.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

From Boston Globe Media comes a new podcast, TURNING POINTS, a show about navigating mental health. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Find the new CBD+ performance gummies and the whole dosist health line-up today at dosisthealth.com. Use promo code BEINGWELL20 for 20% off your purchase. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Oct 18, 2021
How to Create a Relationship That Lasts
01:00:09

How can we create relationships that last? On this episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson lean on Rick's 35+ years of couples counseling experience to explore how we can build relationships that are loving, healthy, enjoyable, and reliable. This includes learning the structure of most relationship problems, how to make vulnerable communications, and how to stay open to change.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:15: What issues brought couples into therapy most often?

4:50: The structure of most relationship problems.

12:30: Giving your partner what they need.

15:30: What differentiated couples that improved from those that didn’t?

21:15: Skills that increase the chances of building a good relationship.

21:45: Loving vs. liking. 

25:00: Deliberately activating feelings of “liking.”

27:00: Getting “on the side” of the relationship.

31:10: How to make a vulnerable communication.

39:15: Openness to change. 

43:40: Three red flags in relationships.

46:00: Practices to deepen your relationship with your partner.

54:30: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Find the new CBD+ performance gummies and the whole dosist health line-up today at dosisthealth.com. Use promo code BEINGWELL20 for 20% off your purchase. 

New Day from Lemonada just premiered on September 15th - listen wherever you get podcasts.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Oct 11, 2021
Unwinding Anxiety and Addiction with Dr. Jud Brewer
01:08:19

In one of our favorite conversations, Dr. Jud Brewer joins us to explore the habit of anxiety, mindfulness practices to heal addiction, and what we can learn from the brains of the world’s most advanced meditators.

About Our Guest: Dr. Jud is a psychiatrist, neuroscientist and New York Times best-selling author. He’s the director of research and innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center, where he also serves as an associate professor, as well as the executive medical director of behavioral health at Sharecare Inc.

Dr. Jud is also the author of The Craving Mind and Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

2:00: What got Jud from psychiatry to studying mindfulness?

5:45: Addiction and the structure of habits. 

10:15: Mindfulness as a treatment for addiction. 

14:00: Liking without wanting.

19:45: Habit formation and reward-based learning.

24:00: Awareness, and honoring your experience.

26:15: Curiosity.

28:10: The “habit” of anxiety. 

32:00: Anxiety’s habit loop.

34:45: The true purpose of worrying.

39:00: Generalized vs. acute anxiety. 

41:00: Anxiety and performance. 

46:20: Practices for unwinding from anxiety.

54:45: Learning from the brains of experienced practitioners. 

1:03:30: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Find the new CBD+ performance gummies and the whole dosist health line-up today at dosisthealth.com. Use promo code BEINGWELL20 for 20% off your purchase. 

New Day from Lemonada just premiered on September 15th - listen wherever you get podcasts.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Oct 04, 2021
Debunking Self-Help's BIGGEST Myths: No Pain No Gain, Hedonic Adaptation, and Meditation
01:04:33

In the second of two episodes, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explore common self-help myths and misconceptions, including ones related to hedonic adaptation, "no pain no gain," and meditation.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:30: Misconception #1: People can’t really change in lasting ways/Hedonic adaptation stops people from becoming happier.

17:00: Misconception #2: No pain, no gain. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. 

27:50: Misconception #3: You can only meditate by sitting quietly on a cushion. 

41:15: Misconception #4: I can heal myself all on my own. Relying on a therapist means something is “wrong” with me.

50:00: Misconception #5: All therapy is talk therapy. It’s really cognitive and top-down.

57:45: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Find the new CBD+ performance gummies and the whole dosist health line-up today at dosisthealth.com. Use promo code BEINGWELL20 for 20% off your purchase. 

New Day from Lemonada just premiered on September 15th - listen wherever you get podcasts.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Sep 27, 2021
Self-Help's BIGGEST Misconceptions: Therapy, Trauma, and Resilience
00:53:41

As mental health and the psychological sciences have gone increasingly mainstream, so too have some common misconceptions and misunderstandings. In the first of two episodes, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explore some of the biggest misconceptions related to therapy, trauma, and what it means to be "resilient."

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Membership includes expanded show notes and transcripts of the episodes. 

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:10: Misconception #1: "Personal growth is narcissistic."

5:05: The social value of individual growth.

10:25: Misconception #2: "Well-being is all about individual effort."

18:50: Misconception #3: "Therapy is for people who are messed up."

23:00: Misconception #4: "If I go to therapy, I'll become dependent on it."

30:00: Misconception #5: "If I go to therapy, it'll destabilize me or mess me up."

34:45: Misconception #6: "People use the word 'trauma' too much. These days EVERYTHING is a 'trauma.'"

43:50: How we define what is and isn't stressful.

48:10: Recap

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Find the new CBD+ performance gummies and the whole dosist health line-up today at dosisthealth.com. Use promo code BEINGWELL20 for 20% off your purchase. 

New Day from Lemonada just premiered on September 15th - listen wherever you get podcasts.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Sep 20, 2021
Dealing with PMDD with Elizabeth Ferreira
01:00:21

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD, is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome that includes severe anxiety, depression, and feelings of shame. It affects 5-10% of women, and most don't even know they have it. On today's episode, Forrest is joined by his partner Elizabeth Ferreira to explore what PMDD is, how to know if you might have it, effective practices for managing PMDD, and how to create a happy, healthy, fulfilling relationship alongside it. 

About Our Guest: Elizabeth is a graduate student studying somatic psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies. If you'd like to hear more from Elizabeth and learn about somatic psychology, she's just started a YouTube channel!

During this conversation we focused on psychological and lifestyle change-based interventions for PMDD. Not everyone has a life that allows them to make these changes, and in addition to these practices many people need significant medical intervention to feel relief. Treatment options range from oral contraceptives and SSRIs to chemical menopause or even a full hysterectomy and oophorectomy. 

Some of these interventions come with significant side effects, and this podcast episode is no replacement for consulting with a physician. To learn more about medical options, check out the links below: 

The International Association for Pre-Menstrual Disorders
IAPMD Facebook Support Group

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:00: What’s PMDD?

4:45: Diagnostic criteria for PMDD. 

8:20: Challenges of awareness around “invisible” problems.

10:00: The experience of a PMDD episode. 

15:15: Practices that help PMDD.

27:05: Externalizing PMDD. 

29:45: Therapy and PMDD.

33:30: Accepting your needs. 

39:30: Dealing with shame and isolation.

44:45: Continuing to meet the challenge.

49:00: Partnering someone with PMDD. 

54:45: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Sep 13, 2021
Avoidance: How to Stop Procrastination and Worry
00:52:42

Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explore what "avoidant behavior" is, common forms it takes, and what we can do to limit its unhealthy aspects.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Membership includes expanded show notes and transcripts of the episodes. 

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:10: Approaching, Avoiding, and Abiding

4:25: Common Forms of Avoidance

7:30: The Costs of Avoidance

11:30: Situational Avoidance

13:40: Cognitive Avoidance

15:30: Emotional Avoidance

16:45: The True Function of Worrying

23:05: Somatic Avoidance

27:40: Useful Aspects of Avoidance

30:45: What Helps People With Their Avoidant Behaviors?

34:30: What We Do vs. What We Are

38:30: Bounding the Problem

40:50: Anticipate Blocks

42:00: Active Coping, and Critiques of Positive Psychology

46:50: An Exercise for Fighting Avoidance

49:40: Recap

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Sep 06, 2021
Deconstructing Yourself with Michael Taft
00:51:23

What goes into making "a self," and how can we bring together the many aspects of who we are? Today Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson talk with meditation teacher, bestselling author, and podcaster (and their good friend) Michael Taft about moving from the spiritual to the secular and back again, ego dissolution, and how we can deconstruct ourselves.

About Our Guest: Michael is a meditation teacher, bestselling author and neuroscience junkie. He’s been practicing meditation for over 35 years, and is the author of several books, including The Mindful Geek.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:30: Michael’s journey from the spiritual to the secular to back again.

5:00: LSD, yoga, and Shinzen Young

8:30: Reconciling the spiritual and the secular.

15:45: What is “deconstructing yourself?”

20:45: Ego dissolution and panic. 

25:00: “Spiritual emergencies” and cautions around mindfulness. 

29:20: Psychedelics and seeing the ego as an object. 

31:00: Practices that help people see the empty nature of the self.

34:00: Key teachings for life’s long road. 

45:00: A message to your younger self.

47:00: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Aug 30, 2021
Overcome Your Limiting Beliefs
00:54:06

We all have limiting beliefs: patterns of think about ourselves and the world that tend to hold us back. On this episode Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explore how we can push back on these problematic beliefs and build more supportive ones.

Change Your Mind Workshop: Learn how to step out of old assumptions and attitudes, free yourself from limiting beliefs, and cultivate more useful, hopeful thoughts about yourself and others during this new workshop from Dr. Rick Hanson. Attend this online event live on August 28-29, or watch the recordings after. Enter code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for 25% off the purchase price.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

3:25: The PASS Process

8:35: Limiting beliefs about our nature.

14:10: Limiting beliefs about our ability to learn.

19:00: Limiting beliefs about our worthiness.

21:45: Limiting beliefs about vulnerability.

25:50: Limiting beliefs related to gender socialization.

31:10: Perfectionism: Limiting beliefs that “keep us safe.”

35:30: Social Scripts: Limiting beliefs about relationships

41:45: The beliefs that un-limit us. 

50:55: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Aug 23, 2021
Break Your Old Patterns
00:54:01

We all have times in life where it feels like we’re stagnating. We’re unfulfilled, bored, or trapped in cycles of behavior that don’t serve us. We’re stuck in a rut. Today Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explore how we can break old patterns, and get un-stuck.

Change Your Mind Workshop: Learn how to step out of old assumptions and attitudes, free yourself from limiting beliefs, and cultivate more useful, hopeful thoughts about yourself and others during this new workshop from Dr. Rick Hanson. Attend this online event live on August 28-29, or watch the recordings after. Enter code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for 25% off the purchase price.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics

0:00: Introduction

2:00: What tends to keep us stuck in a rut?

5:15: Limiting beliefs.

7:45: Appraisals and attributions.

9:30: The invisible cage.

11:15: Challenging our assumptions.

15:20: A 3-step process for challenging assumptions. 

18:30: Rick applies the process to his own material.

22:15: Core skills that support the creation of new beliefs.

25:45: Social scripts. 

31:30: Key skills for building new beliefs. 

34:00: Avoiding “must.” 

38:00: Groups don’t like to change. 

41:30: Finding those who grow alongside you.

43:20: Have the courage to change.

48:10: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Aug 16, 2021
Finding and Maintaining Fulfillment
00:53:21

We're all searching for fulfillment in one way or another. Today Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson discuss how we can find and maintain it, and if it's truly possible to be fulfilled all the time. We're exploring how we can relate to our low moments amidst a "good vibes only" culture, what gets in the way of fulfillment, and the importance of respecting individual differences in nature. 

Here's the video about fulfillment on Forrest's channel that we refer to during the episode.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:45: Fulfillment: “Climate” rather than “weather.”

3:20: Context for the episode: Forrest’s video

5:00: Authentic fulfillment in the self-help space.

9:15: The tyranny of low expectations.

13:20: Eudaimonic and hedonic wellbeing.

15:30: Pitfalls of chasing fulfillment.

17:40: The importance of nature, individual variation, and circumstance.

27:00: What are the upper reaches of possibility?

29:50: Dealing with “low fulfillment” moments.

38:30: What tends to lead to fulfillment…and dealing with existential dread.

43:30: Finding meaning amidst meaninglessness. 

48:05: Recap

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Just One Thing: Dr. Rick Hanson offers 3 free, regular newsletters with a variety of tips, practices, videos, meditations, and other helpful resources you can use in everyday life to grow the good that lasts. Learn more and sign up here.

Sponsors:

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Aug 09, 2021
How to Change for Good with Dr. Katy Milkman
01:01:29

Though there’s no lack of advice out there, changing in lasting ways is hard. Today Forrest and Dr. Rick Hanson are joined by Dr. Katy Milkman, an expert on the science of change, to explore how we can build better habits, sustain motivation, and change for good. 

About Our Guest: Dr. Katy Milkman is a Professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Her research explores ways that insights from economics and psychology can be harnessed to change consequential behaviors for good. Katy is the author of the bestselling new book How to Change: The Science of Getting From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, and is also the host of the popular podcast Choiceology with Katy Milkman.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:30: Why is it so hard to change?

5:35: Using Rick as an example of changing a habit.

10:10: Short-term costs vs. long-term benefits.

13:45: Are we more motivated by carrots or sticks? And which sustains motivation better?

21:00: Fresh start effect. 

24:00: Our bias against change. 

27:30: Making internal changes. 

30:30: How much can we change our nature?

36:00: Changing internal factors. 

41:15: Tracking the things you’re trying to change. 

45:00: Nature vs. nurture. 

48:30: Durable behavior change. 

55:30: Recap

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

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Aug 02, 2021
Become Less Resentful
01:02:34

When we’re hurt in our relationships, it’s normal to experience resentment. We don’t talk about resentment very much, we’re more likely to talk about anger, fear, or sadness. But resentment is a kind of combination of all of these difficult feelings. resentment and bitterness causes as much harm to our relationships – and to our own well-being – as any other emotion.

Today Forrest and Dr. Rick Hanson explore resentment:  where it comes from, what it does, and what we can do about it.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:00: What is resentment, and what function does it serve?

5:50: Resentment as repressed emotion.

9:00: Resentment and power differences.

11:10: Aspects of resentment.

12:40: Costs of resentment. 

18:50: Given the costs, why do people hold on to their resentment?

22:20: Resentment connects us to people. 

28:30: Healthy aspects of resentment.

31:00:  Feeling "good enough." 

34:00: Working with resentment: what do you want your experience to be?

42:00: Resentment as an indicator of unresolved communication.

44:30: The social functions of resentment.

48:00: Metta as an antidote to resentment.

54:30: Disentangled forgiveness.

57:00: Recap.

Just One Thing: Dr. Rick Hanson offers 3 free, regular newsletters with a variety of tips, practices, videos, meditations, and other helpful resources you can use in everyday life to grow the good that lasts. Learn more and sign up here.

Rick's Wednesday Meditation Group: Join Rick for a free online weekly meditation, talk, and discussion every Wednesday from 6-7:30 pm PT/9-10:30 pm ET. Follow the link to learn more. If you can't join live, the sessions are recorded for later viewing.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Start a new healthy habit with Seed! Visit seed.com/beingwell and use code BEINGWELL to get 20% off your first month of Seed’s Daily Synbiotic.

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Jul 26, 2021
Uncovering Your Natural Goodness with Tara Brach
00:59:25

Tara Brach joins Dr. Rick Hanson to help us learn how to "trust the gold:" recognizing and appreciating our essential human goodness, while resting in the key refuges of truth, love, and freedom.

About our Guest:  Tara is the founder and guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C. Tara has taught all over the world, and is the author of four books, including her most recent book Trusting the Gold: Uncovering Your Natural GoodnessYou can also find Tara through her Tara Brach podcast.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

2:05: What does it mean to “trust the gold?”

6:05: Blocks to seeing our true goodness.

9:50: The impact of childhood.

13:05: Objection #1: Fears of falling into narcissism or arrogance. 

18:30: The benefits of satisfying our needs.

21:20: Objection #2: Fears of laziness and lack of success.

25:15: Two paths to trusting the gold.

30:10: “Deal with the bad, turn toward the good, take in the good.”

34:00: Letting in love.

39:55: The three kinds of gold.

44:50: Offering kindness.

47:25: Trauma, and trusting our goodness when we feel unclean.

54:25: Recognizing bad behavior while also trusting inner goodness.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Sponsors:

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Start a new healthy habit with Seed! Visit seed.com/beingwell and use code BEINGWELL to get 20% off your first month of Seed’s Daily Synbiotic.

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Jul 19, 2021
Learning When to Let Go
00:56:32

Most personal growth content out there suggests having a "never give up" mindset. But the truth is that a big part of life is deciding when it's time to stop investing our limited effort into that job, skill, or relationship that's no longer serving you. 

Today Dr. Rick Hanson and Forrest explore how to determine when it's time for things to end, dealing with disappointment, giving ourselves credit for our good efforts, and getting excited about what's to come.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:15: Being sure you’re not ending too soon.

4:50: Improving distress tolerance vs. protecting yourself.

9:50: Trusting the past. 

13:30: What keeps people stuck: sunk cost fallacy.

14:30: The longing for a just world.

16:50: Dealing with disappointment.

22:00: Optimism, and turning toward the future.

24:30: Understanding the limitations of our environment. 

27:15: Redefining success. 

30:05: Knowing you gave things your best effort. 

32:00: Impulsivity.

33:30: Unilateral virtue.

37:30: Finding your five.

39:30: Helping other people feel heard. 

42:45: Being clear about the “last chance.”

45:30: The fear of change, and turning toward the future.

52:45: Recap.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Start a new healthy habit with Seed! Visit seed.com/beingwell and use code BEINGWELL to get 20% off your first month of Seed’s Daily Synbiotic.

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Jul 12, 2021
How Speech Shapes Your Identity with Dr. Katherine Kinzler
00:59:19

Forrest is joined by pioneering psychologist Dr. Katherine Kinzler to explore how our speech shapes our social identity, and the views we hold about other people.

A big part of human nature is to rapidly sort people into two groups: “like me,” and “not like me.” Our general tendency is to gravitate toward people we perceive as “like me,” and avoid and oppose people we perceive as “not like me.” We use many different kinds of markers to determine which group a person belongs to: markers like perceived race, gender, political affiliation, and social class. 

But there’s an often-overlooked factor that might influence how we view ourselves and others even more powerfully: the way we speak. 

About Our Guest: Dr. Kinzler is a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, and the leader of the Development of Social Cognition Laboratory. She’s also the author of the wonderful book How You Say It: Why You Talk the Way You Do―And What It Says About You. 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Ideas:

2:25: Why language is such an important signifier of identity.

8:15: Why the brain cares so much about categories.

10:50: Brain plasticity and early language acquisition.

13:50: Language bias and dialectical prejudice.

19:15: Interventions for limiting linguistic prejudice. 

23:00: How dialect changes as identity changes.

28:50: Consequences of dialectical prejudice.

34:30: Dialectical prejudice in the courtroom.

36:30: What can we do about dialect prejudice?

40:50: Positive results of bilingual exposure.

45:00: Becoming a better communicator.

49:00: Katherine’s “wave a magic wand” change.

51:30: When to start talking with kids about language.

53:00: Recap

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Start a new healthy habit with Seed! Visit seed.com/beingwell and use code BEINGWELL to get 20% off your first month of Seed’s Daily Synbiotic.

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Jul 05, 2021
What to Do When Things End
00:51:48

Life includes many major culminating moments: we finish the big work project, receive the award, watch the kids leave home, go on the vacation, win the title, or enter retirement. These experiences can come with enormous fulfillment…for a while. And then, we might ask ourselves: Now what? Today Rick and Forrest explore that question, including how we can relate to the past, integrate learning, turn toward the future, and age well through life. 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You  can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics

1:15: Context for the episode.

4:20: Our culture’s constant focus on “what’s next?”

9:30: Cognitive bias, and the brain’s “anticipation machine.”

13:45: Developmental stages of life

17:40: Stages of integration and disintegration. 

27:30: The opportunities of old age. 

31:45: Rick’s reflections on aging.

35:15: Bowing to past selves.

41:40: Giving our full effort.

44:00: Being a mentor, and having things to care for.

47:45: Recap 

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Start a new healthy habit with Seed! Visit seed.com/beingwell and use code BEINGWELL to get 20% off your first month of Seed’s Daily Synbiotic.

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Jun 28, 2021
Internal Family Systems Therapy with Dr. Richard Schwartz
00:50:42

We all have different parts inside of us. This is perfectly normal, not psychotic. But our relationship with some parts is often better than others, and a wonderful path to healing and growth is to repair our relationship with all of our parts. That's the premise of Internal Family Systems Therapy, and today Forrest is exploring this powerful modality with the founder of IFS: Dr. Richard Schwartz.

It's a special episode that includes a live demonstration of an IFS session between Forrest and Dr. Schwartz.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

2:00: Internal Family Systems' origin story.

4:30: An introduction to IFS.

12:40: Allowing the Self to help itself.

14:20: Richard and Forrest do a mock IFS session.

17:40: The "Manager" gets in the way.

18:20: "Direct access" to the "Protector" part.

24:00: Integrating the "session."

27:15: Speaking from our parts.

29:15: "No bad parts."

33:00: Working with our exiled parts. 

35:10: Anger toward our parts, and self-compassion.

37:30: IFS' de-pathologizing stance, and place in the medical model. 

39:40: Psychedelic assisted psychotherapy.

42:15: Trauma work, and being with the younger self.

47:45: Recap

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Start a new healthy habit with Seed! Visit seed.com/beingwell and use code BEINGWELL to get 20% off your first month of Seed’s Daily Synbiotic.

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Jun 21, 2021
Connecting With Your Inner Child
00:54:46

One of the common topics on the podcast is developmental psychology: how what happened to us as a child can influence our lives today. Alongside that, there can also be a lot of value in reconnecting with the person we were when we were young, before the world got in the way. This can give us a sense of our true nature, and new ideas for how to become an ever-more-complete version of ourselves out in the world.

Follow this link to watch the conversation on YouTube!

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

1:10: Uncovering our true nature.

4:20: Our cultural view of children.

7:20: “Feeling down” into younger layers.

13:30: What were you like when you were young?

18:20: A process of contacting your true nature.

25:00: What were your innate desires?

34:00: Compassion for our source.

39:00: Guiding questions, and the layers of self we can access.

43:00: The core needs of most young people.

51:40: Writing a letter to your younger self.

53:00: Recap

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Start a new healthy habit with Seed! Visit seed.com/beingwell and use code BEINGWELL to get 20% off your first month of Seed’s Daily Synbiotic.

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Jun 14, 2021
Fierce Compassion with Dr. Kristin Neff
00:59:49

People generally think of self-compassion as a "soft" emotion that helps us comfort, reassure, and nurture ourselves. Today a pioneer in the field of compassion research, Dr. Kristin Neff, joins the show to explore the fierce side of self-compassion, including how it can help us draw healthy boundaries, take necessary action, and stand against injustice.

About Our Guest: Dr. Kristin Neff is an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin. She conducted the first empirical studies on self-compassion almost twenty years ago, and is the author of Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself.  On June 15th she'll be releasing her new book: Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power and Thrive.

Watch our conversation on YouTube here!

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

1:50: How is fierce self-compassion different from “typical” self-compassion?

5:50: The balance of fierceness and tenderness.

7:45: The importance of fierceness for women.

17:15: Practices that support fierce self-compassion.

20:30: Applying fierce self-compassion internally.

25:40: The harms of traditional gender role socialization.

32:10: What behaviors were you rewarded for?

34:45: Research on the value of self-compassion.

40:40: The impact of self-compassion on motivation. 

45:15: Committing to our own well being.

50:45: How men can support women.

55:00: A message to your younger self.

57:15: Recap

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Start a new healthy habit with Seed! Visit seed.com/beingwell and use code BEINGWELL to get 20% off your first month of Seed’s Daily Synbiotic.

Build healthy habits with Most Days! Download it in the App Store or go to MostDays.com/beingwell for more information.

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Jun 07, 2021
How to Make a Big Decision
01:07:29

Some of the most important moments of our lives are crossroads of different kinds. There’s a big decision, and we have to pick one thing over another. Today Dr. Hanson and Forrest explore how to make the important decisions in life. 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

2:00: Common themes in big decisions.

5:00: Balancing short- and long-term decisions.

10:15: Knowing your own nature, and having different priorities.

17:20: Using analysis to inform intuition.

21:15: Identifying the “parts” of a decision.

22:50: Analyzing costs and benefits.

33:00: Write it down.

36:20: Working backwards.

40:30: Getting clear on what you want. 

42:30: Thinking over the long haul. 

43:30: The three circles.

45:00: Finding “comps.”

50:30: The calculus of a decision.

59:00: Affective forecasting

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Start a new healthy habit with Seed! Visit seed.com/beingwell and use code BEINGWELL to get 20% off your first month of Seed’s Daily Synbiotic.

Build healthy habits with Most Days! Download it in the App Store or go to MostDays.com/beingwell for more information.

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May 31, 2021
Being with Grief with Dr. Joanne Cacciatore
01:07:31

In this conversation from the Life After COVID Summit, Dr. Joanne Cacciatore joins Forrest to help us put the past in perspective, and relate in healthier and more whole ways to the many things we've lost over the past year. 

Last weekend Dr. Rick Hanson and Forrest Hanson were joined by 11 world-class experts for a FREE three-day online event to explore how we can recover from old wounds, build key strengths, and create a better future together. Over 10,000 people joined us for the Summit, and we received incredible feedback.

If you missed it, all of the conversations will remain freely available through May 25th. Click here to learn more about the Summit and register now.

Key Topics:

2:00: Mortality salience. 

5:00: Putting “little stresses” in context alongside the big ones. 

6:40: The problems with “getting back to normal,” and our new opportunities.

12:10: Remember what has happened, and turning toward grief. 

15:30: Practices that support us during grief. 

20:30: The importance of social support.

26:50: How we can support people who are grieving.

30:15: Should we name the people who are no longer here?

31:55: Understanding the trauma associated with grief. 

39:50: Working with anger. 

43:40: Using the body as a tool for healing.

48:00: Caregiver fatigue.

53:30: Survival guilt. 

57:30: Advice for the future. 

59:20: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Start a new healthy habit with Seed! Visit seed.com/beingwell and use code BEINGWELL to get 20% off your first month of Seed’s Daily Synbiotic.

Build healthy habits with Most Days! Download it in the App Store or go to MostDays.com/beingwell for more information.

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May 24, 2021
Dealing with Life's Disruptions
01:01:57

Today we’re focusing on a topic that’s been particularly important over the last year: how we can deal more effectively with life's major disruptions. This includes recovering from setbacks, finding the opportunities, and even getting the most out of disruptions that are positive. 

Life After COVID Summit: Join Dr. Rick Hanson, Forrest Hanson, and a roster of world-class experts during this FREE three-day online event to explore our life after COVID. Click here to learn more about the Summit and register now.

Key Topics:

0:55: “One mistake after another.”

1:55: Life After COVID Summit.

5:30: The opportunities in major disruptions.

9:00: The impact of social environments on our self-identity.

11:10: The Theory of Positive Disintegration.

13:30: Framing disruption as a normal feature of life.

18:30: Examples of normal disruptions that occur in life.

21:45: The importance of social support.

23:30: Practices to limit the harm during a moment of disruption.

31:15: The necessity of eventually processing the emotion.

36:00: Taking the time you need.

39:15: Moving into action.

42:20: Integrating a disruption.

47:50: Orienting toward change. 

52:00: Mindfulness of contraction and expansion.

54:20: Recap

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Build healthy habits with Most Days! Download it in the App Store or go to MostDays.com/beingwell for more information.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Start a new healthy habit with Seed! Visit seed.com/beingwell and use code BEINGWELL to get 20% off your first month of Seed’s Daily Synbiotic.

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May 17, 2021
Meeting Your Internal Family with Susan McConnell
00:56:30

We usually experience ourselves as being one "self," but we all have different characters, different "parts," running around inside our heads. And our relationship with some parts is better than others. Today's guest, Susan McConnell, joins Forrest to explore Somatic Internal Family Systems, a powerful form of therapy that helps us bring those parts together as a unified self.

About Our Guest: Susan is a senior trainer for the IFS Institute, and has taught Internal Family Systems both in the United States and around the world since 1997. She developed the Somatic IFS approach, which is a synthesis of Susan’s forty years of study, teaching, and clinical practice. Her new book Somatic Internal Family Systems Therapycame out late last year. 

Life After COVID Summit: Join Dr. Rick Hanson, Forrest Hanson, and a roster of world-class experts during this FREE three-day online event to explore our life after COVID. Click here to learn more about the Summit and register now.

Key Topics:

3:50: The Internal Family Systems model.

8:00: The Self, and relationships between our parts.

14:30: Common parts that people tend to have.

18:30: The “spiritual bypass.”

22:45: Using the body to become aware of our parts.

30:15: The benefits of somatic psychotherapy.

33:40: The five practices of somatic IFS.

39:15: Unifying the parts.

41:20: The Six F’s for finding protector parts.

Forrest has a new YouTube channel! Subscribe to the channel, and watch his newest video over there. 

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Start a new healthy habit with Seed! Visit seed.com/beingwell and use code BEINGWELL to get 20% off your first month of Seed’s Daily Synbiotic.

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May 10, 2021
The Heart of Zen with Henry Shukman
00:55:02

Henry Shukman, the guiding teacher of Mountain Cloud Zen Center, joins Rick and Forrest to explore self-transcendent experiences, relaxing self-identification, and the warm heart at the core of Zen practice.

About our Guest: Henry Shukman is a writer, poet, and Zen Master of the Sanbo Zen lineage. He’s published nine books to date which have won numerous awards, and writes regularly for Tricycle, The New York Times and other publications. His most recent book is One Blade of Grass: Finding the Old Road of the Heart, a Zen Memoir

Life After COVID Summit: Join Dr. Rick Hanson, Forrest Hanson, and a roster of world-class experts during this FREE three-day online event to explore our life after COVID. Click here to learn more about the Summit and register now.

Key Topics:

1:50: How Henry came to meditative practice.

3:30: Henry’s self-transcendent experience.

7:20: How Zen practice has changed Henry’s experience of himself.

10:35: Gradual cultivation, sudden awakening. 

14:30: The role of transcendent experiences. 

18:50: The importance of virtue. 

21:40: Unethical behavior among contemplative teachers. 

22:40: The risks of “seeking” self-transcendent experiences.

27:00: A framework that supports awakening.

31:00: Where it’s valuable to rest our awareness. 

35:30: Practicing when there’s suffering associated with the container of the body.

41:10: Non-separateness, and relaxing identification with self. 

47:15: Fear around not-self. 

48:10: “The apple falls away from the tree.”

51:15: Recap

Forrest has a new YouTube channel! Subscribe to the channel, and watch his newest video over there. 

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Start a new healthy habit with Seed! Visit seed.com/beingwell and use code BEINGWELL to get 20% off your first month of Seed’s Daily Synbiotic.

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May 03, 2021
The New Normal with Dr. Jennifer Ashton
00:53:28

Dr. Jennifer Ashton joins Rick and Forrest to discuss everything you need to know about the current state of the pandemic. This includes what vaccinated people should feel comfortable doing, the J&J vaccine pause, how to think about risk, and how we can support our mental health during the New Normal. 

About Our Guest: Dr. Ashton is the Chief Medical Correspondent for ABC News, and has appeared on the ABC Network up to 14 hours a day in order to bring viewers important medical information. She is in regular contact with public health officials, including the Surgeon General and Dr. Anthony Fauci. Dr. Ashton is also the bestselling author of six books, including her recently published book The New Normal: A Roadmap to Resilience in the Pandemic Era

Life After COVID Summit: Join Dr. Rick Hanson, Forrest Hanson, and a roster of world-class experts during this FREE three-day online event to explore our life after COVID. Click here to learn more about the Summit and register now.

Key Topics:

3:10: Why can’t we just go back to the “old normal?”

6:10: Being realistic about uncertainty.

7:45: The J&J vaccine pause, and why this is encouraging.

11:15: How to think about risk.

14:30: What should vaccinated people feel comfortable doing?

18:30: What else can we do to support our health right now?

20:25: The communication challenges of the pandemic.

24:40: How to “think like a doctor,” and approach new medical information.

27:30: Respecting the common good with our choices.

33:50: Mental health during a pandemic.

37:00: The RAIN method.

40:20: Compassion, grief, and interconnection.

44:00: The lack of preparation, and hopes for the future.

Forrest has a new YouTube channel! Subscribe to the channel, and watch his newest video over there. 

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Start a new healthy habit with Seed! Visit seed.com/beingwell and use code BEINGWELL to get 20% off your first month of Seed’s Daily Synbiotic.

Connect with the show:

Apr 26, 2021
Why We Meditate: Purposes, Methods, and Common Misconceptions
00:53:58

What's the "point" of meditation, and how can we build a practice that works for us? In this episode Rick and Forrest clear up some common misconceptions about meditation, explore major forms of meditation, and share how you can get more out of your practice.

Life After COVID Summit: Join Dr. Rick Hanson, Forrest Hanson, and a roster of world-class experts during this FREE three-day online event to explore our life after COVID. Click here to learn more about the Summit and register now.

Key Topics:

1:15: Forrest’s history with meditation, and some of the benefits of practice.

5:30: What’s the “point” of meditation?

11:30: Skepticism toward narrow views of meditation.

14:10: Do you have to be “spiritual” or “religious” to meditate?

14:45: Three breaths practice.

16:30: Secular vs. spiritual orientations toward meditation.

17:45: The two major tools: insight vs. “calming” meditation. 

20:40: Virtue, concentration, and wisdom.

23:20: The tendency to “skip” to insight. 

26:30: Why Rick meditates.

32:30: What does it mean to be an “intermediate” or “advanced” meditator?

34:15: What are some of the forms meditation can take?

47:45: Recap

As a quick note, there's a little background noise at some moments during the episode.

Forrest has a new YouTube channel! Subscribe to the channel, and watch his newest video over there. 

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Start a new healthy habit with Seed! Visit seed.com/beingwell and use code BEINGWELL to get 20% off your first month of Seed’s Daily Synbiotic.

Connect with the show:

Apr 19, 2021
Working With Your Anxiety
00:46:39

Over the last year we’ve all been through a lot. In addition to the many major costs, there have been smaller, subtler costs as well, including a pervasive feeling of anxiety. In this episode, Rick and Forrest walk through a normal experience of anxiety and offer some suggestions for how to overcome it. 

Life After COVID Summit: Join Dr. Rick Hanson, Forrest Hanson, and a roster of world-class experts during this FREE three-day online event to explore our life after COVID. Click here to learn more about the Summit and register now.

Key Topics:

3:30: Accepting the presence of anxiety.

6:30: Recognize what’s alright right now.

10:00: Finding heart, and connecting with other people.

18:30: Take action. 

26:30: Appreciating the biological part of anxiety.

32:00: Surrendering to what will happen.

37:00: What enables surrender?

41:20: Recap.

Forrest has a new YouTube channel! Subscribe to the channel, and watch his newest video over there. 

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Start a new healthy habit with Seed! Visit seed.com/beingwell and use code BEINGWELL to get 20% off your first month of Seed’s Daily Synbiotic.

Connect with the show:

Apr 12, 2021
Relaxing the Self with Stephen Snyder
01:05:45

How can we bring useful qualities of contemplative practice into our normal, everyday lives as people living in the real world? Senior meditation teacher and author Stephen Snyder joins us to explore that overarching question, alongside a variety of topics related to “not-self,” the true nature of the self, and self-transcendence.

About our Guest: Stephen is a senior meditation teach who has been practicing meditation since 1976. He’s the author of three books, including Buddha’s Heart. Stephen is also a lawyer by trade, and has practiced law on behalf of a number of Zen masters and Buddhist organizations. 

Life After COVID Summit: Join Dr. Rick Hanson, Forrest Hanson, and a roster of world-class experts during this FREE three-day online event to explore our life after COVID. Click here to learn more about the Summit and register now.

Key Topics:

2:35: Stephen’s background in Buddhism. 

6:30: A brief background in types of Buddhist practice.

10:30: Bringing practice into our work life.

14:00: Why do contemplative teachers behave badly? 

17:50: Personality and the self.

20:00: “Not-self” and the end of suffering. 

23:20: Why would we want to “transcend” the self?

26:10: Maintaining practice during a normal life. 

29:45: Do we have a “self,” and the fear of emptiness.

33:30: Suffering attached to the self. 

35:30: What do we get out of practice?

39:30: The purpose and limitations of meditation.

41:45: The threat of change. 

44:10: The “brahmavihārās,” and Buddha’s Heart

47:00: Practices for self-development.

52:30: What’s ‘in’ a self-transcendent experience?

56:30: Ways to experience self-transcendence. 

1:02:10: Recap

Forrest has a new YouTube channel! Subscribe to the channel, and watch his newest video over there. 

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Start a new healthy habit with Seed! Visit seed.com/beingwell and use code BEINGWELL to get 20% off your first month of Seed’s Daily Synbiotic.

Connect with the show:

Apr 05, 2021
Building Healthy Boundaries with Nedra Tawwab
01:01:21

One of the hardest, and most important, parts of creating great relationships is setting healthy boundaries with other people. Boundaries expert Nedra Glover Tawwab joins the show to explore how we can trust our instincts, work through codependency, and build better boundaries. 

About Our Guest: Nedra has been a therapist for 13 years, and focuses on helping people build better relationships by teaching them how to implement healthy boundaries. Her work has been featured in The New York TimesThe Guardian, Psychology Today, Self, and Vice, and she’s the author of Set Boundaries, Find Peace, on sale now.

You also might have encountered Nedra’s work on Instagram, where she has an extremely popular page that shares wonderful content. 

Life After COVID Summit: Join Dr. Rick Hanson, Forrest Hanson, and a roster of world-class experts including Nedra during this FREE three-day online event to explore our life after COVID. Click here to learn more about the Summit and register now.

Key Topics:

1:40: What drew Nedra to her work on boundaries. 

4:25: Early signs that your boundaries are strong or flimsy.

6:20: Honoring the needs of children.

8:45: Trusting your instincts. 

11:40: Codependency.

13:05: How healthy boundaries support intimate relationships.

15:15: Distinctions between different kinds of boundaries

17:20: Working with feelings of selfishness. 

19:45: Walking through a process of setting a boundary. 

23:30: Anxiety associated with setting boundaries. 

26:00: Dealing with people who won’t change. 

30:40: Self-esteem and self-worth.

35:55: Fear and guilt.

39:50: Teaching people that boundaries are okay.

44:30: Respecting the boundaries of other people.

46:30: Accepting and letting go.

51:00: Creating healthy internal boundaries.

54:00: A message to your younger self. 

Forrest has a new YouTube channel! Subscribe to the channel, and watch his newest video over there. 

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Mar 29, 2021
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Dr. Steven C. Hayes
01:01:42

The creator of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dr. Steven C. Hayes, joins the show to help us explore how to use techniques from this powerful approach to therapy to address major challenges and improve our wellbeing.

About our Guest: Dr. Steven C. Hayes is Nevada Foundation Professor in the Behavior Analysis program at the Department of Psychology of the University of Nevada. He's the creator of ACT, and the  author of 44 books and over 600 scientific articles. His most recent book is A Liberated Mind: How To Pivot Toward What Matters, an essential guide to ACT. 

Life After COVID Summit: Join Dr. Rick Hanson, Forrest Hanson, and a roster of world-class experts including Dr. Hayes during this FREE three-day online event to explore our life after COVID. Click here to learn more about the Summit and register now.

Key Topics:

2:25: The basics of ACT.

5:30: The Lord of the Rings and psychological flexibility.

7:15: Accepting our own history. 

10:45: How can we accept painful things?

13:45: Language, technology, and how it gets in the way.

18:00: Coming into the present moment.

21:00: Determinism, autonomy, and agency.

26:30: How can we make change last?

29:30: Steven’s experience with accepting tinnitus. 

34:45: How to keep growing when the world pushes back.

45:30: Giving people an opportunity to impress you.

49:00: Dealing with anger. 

53:30: Pitfalls while using ACT. 

56:10: Recap

Forrest has a new YouTube channel! Subscribe to the channel, and watch his newest video over there. 

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Mar 22, 2021
Becoming Wise with Dr. Roger Walsh
01:01:04

How can we bring together psychological science and contemplative practice, and what can we all learn from the world’s great wisdom traditions? Dr. Roger Walsh, a professor of psychiatry, philosophy, and anthropology, and expert on the world's great wisdom traditions, joins the show to help us explore this central question.

About Our Guest: Roger is professor of psychiatry, philosophy, and anthropology, as well as professor in the religious studies program at UC Irvine. His scholarship has had a huge impact on the fields he’s participated in, and he’s the author of a number of wonderful books. 

Life After COVID Summit: Join Dr. Rick Hanson, Forrest Hanson, and a roster of world-class experts during this FREE three-day online event to explore our life after COVID. Click here to learn more about the Summit and register now.

Key Topics:

1:35: What drew such a successful academic toward contemplative practice?

7:30: Conflict and synergy between psychological science and contemplative practice.

10:30: The challenges of translating ancient wisdom.

12:25: The maturation of spiritual faith. 

16:30: What helps people move from one developmental stage to another?

22:00: The gradual process of self-development.

25:15: Commonalities among the world’s many wisdom traditions.

33:00: Things that hold us back. 

39:45: Therapeutic lifestyle changes.

44:00: What can we do for the world?

50:50: Many small impacts.

53:00: Non-judgementality and non-attachment.

58:00: Recap

Forrest has a new YouTube channel! Subscribe to the channel, and watch his newest video over there. 

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Mar 15, 2021
Understanding The Replication Crisis
00:19:30

Ever heard of the marshmallow experiment? The 10,000 hour rule? How about the Dunning-Kruger effect, the Stanford prison experiment, or willpower fatigue? These are some of the most well-known pieces of research from the social sciences. And they all share one problem: they're wrong. Or, at least, they're really misunderstood.

On this episode of "10 Good Minutes," Forrest explores social science's Replicability Crisis, and asks whether you can actually trust the research that goes into Being Well.

If you'd like to watch this episode rather than listen to it, Forrest has a new YouTube channel! Subscribe to the channel, and watch the video over there. 

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Cited Research:

Kruger, J.; Dunning, D. (1999) "Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments.” 

Nuhfer, Edward; Cogan, Christopher; Fleischer, Steven; Gaze, Eric; Wirth, Karl. (2016) "Random Number Simulations Reveal How Random Noise Affects the Measurements and Graphical Portrayals of Self-Assessed Competency.” 

Shoda, Y., Mischel, W., & Peake, P. K. (1990). Predicting adolescent cognitive and self-regulatory competencies from preschool delay of gratification: Identifying diagnostic conditions. 

Tyler W. Watts, Greg J. Duncan, Haonan Quan. (2018) Revisiting the Marshmallow Test: A Conceptual Replication Investigating Links Between Early Delay of Gratification and Later Outcomes. 

B. Nyhan , J. Reifler. (2010) “When Corrections Fail: The Persistence of Political Misperceptions.” Wood, T., Porter, E. (2018) “The Elusive Backfire Effect: Mass Attitudes' Steadfast Factual Adherence.” 

Brown NJ, Sokal AD, Friedman HL. (2013). The complex dynamics of wishful thinking: the critical positivity ratio. 

Haney, C., Banks, C., & Zimbardo, P. (1973). Study of Prisoners and Guards in a Simulated Prison. Baumeister, R.F. (2002) Ego Depletion and Self-Control Failure: An Energy Model of the Self's Executive Function. 

Carter E.C., Kofler L.M., Forster D.E., McCullough M.E. (2015) A series of meta-analytic tests of the depletion effect: Self-control does not seem to rely on a limited resource. 

Brown N.J., Sokal A.D., Friedman H.L. (2013). The complex dynamics of wishful thinking: the critical positivity ratio. 

Ericsson, A. K. (2008) Deliberate Practice and Acquisition of Expert Performance: A General Overview. 

Life After COVID Summit: Join Dr. Rick Hanson, Forrest Hanson, and a roster of world-class experts during this FREE three-day online event to explore our life after COVID. Click here to learn more about the Summit and register now.

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Mar 13, 2021
How to Meet Your Needs for Connection: Attunement
01:08:54

During this time of increased isolation our needs for connection are harder to meet than ever. Today Rick and Forrest are exploring how we can use the psychological technique of "attunement" to connect better with others, and meet our own need for connection.

Life After COVID Summit: Join Dr. Rick Hanson, Forrest Hanson, and a roster of world-class experts during this FREE three-day online event to explore our life after COVID. Click here to learn more about the Summit and register now.

Key Topics:

2:15: Moments that satisfy our need for connection. 

5:45: The “Still Face Experiment” 

8:55: Attention, availability, responsiveness. 

10:35: Which relationships fill you up?

13:50: What is attunement?

18:40: The “emotional risk” of attunement. 

24:30: Paying attention. 

31:20: Being open to being changed.

33:10: Do I matter to you?

37:30: Availability and co-regulation.

41:15: “Our interactions are systems.” 

42:30: Rick pushes back a bit on co-regulation.

44:50: The impact of our nature on how we view interactions.

47:45: Becoming responsive.

52:40: Communicating wants and needs. 

57:40: Respecting your own needs. 

59:15: The impact of social power and privilege on our interactions.

1:04:30: Recap

Forrest has a new YouTube channel! Subscribe to the channel, and watch his newest video over there. 

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Mar 08, 2021
Accepting and Identifying Our Needs
01:07:51

Everyone has needs, there’s no avoiding them. In order to "be well" we need to meet those needs. But being "needy" is often viewed as a weakness, and accepting that we have needs can be painful.

On today's episode, Rick and Forrest explore how we can accept our needs, identify the needs that are most important to us, and build the resources to meet our needs and the needs of other people. 

Life After COVID Summit: Join Dr. Rick Hanson, Forrest Hanson, and a roster of world-class experts during this FREE three-day online event to explore our life after COVID. Click here to learn more about the Summit and register now.

Key Topics:

2:30: The three core needs.

5:00: What it feels like when you don’t meet your needs. 

8:45: The pain of not meeting needs for connection. 

13:30: Rick’s story of coming to terms with being “needy.”

20:00: Admitting our needs. 

27:00: Identifying our primary needs. 

31:00: Forrest and Rick process an interaction. 

37:45: Trying on different ways of being.

39:45: Key suggestions for identifying needs. 

44:45: Resilience through meeting needs. 

46:30: Meeting the needs of other people.

54:30: Healthy boundaries. 

1:04:00: Recap

Forrest has a new YouTube channel! Subscribe to the channel, and watch his newest video over there. 

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Mar 01, 2021
Building The Perfect Relationship with Dr. Stan Tatkin
01:04:38

Relationships are hard, and making them last is even harder. Today we’re exploring how we can be happier and healthier in all of our relationships with a wonderful clinician, teacher, and researcher: Dr. Stan Tatkin.

About our Guest: Dr. Stan Tatkin is an expert on human behavior, and particularly the unique dynamics found in couples relationships. He’s the creator of PACT: the Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy, and the author of six bestselling books, including Wired for Love and We Do.

Life After COVID Summit: Join Dr. Rick Hanson, Forrest Hanson, and a roster of world-class experts during this FREE three-day online event to explore our life after COVID. Click here to learn more about the Summit and register now.

Key Topics:

1:45: The importance of attachment. 

5:30: What happens when children are neglected?

9:00: Finding safety in our relationships.

13:30: How to build safety through physical cues. 

19:10: Apology, and building a culture in our relationships.

23:00: Finding common principles. 

31:00: Dealbreakers, and entering relationships intentionally.

37:00: Fairness in our relationships. 

45:30: Being and staying interested.

49:15: Trusting your partner’s experience. 

54:50: The most important characteristics in a life partner.

57:00: What’s the most important thing you do each day for your own well-being?

58:30: A message to your younger self.

1:00:00: Recap

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Feb 22, 2021
Personalize Your Nutrition with Dr. Tim Spector
00:56:29

We generally focus on topics related to mental health, but there's nothing like a pandemic to throw the importance of our physical health into sharp relief! Today Forrest is joined by Dr. Tim Spector to explore the importance of personalizing your nutrition, how our diet can help fight COVID, and why most everything we've been told about food is wrong. 

About Our Guest: Dr. Tim Spector is professor of genetic epidemiology and Director of the TwinsUK Registry at Kings College, London. He’s also one of the leaders of the COVID Symptom Study, and one of the founders of the health science company Zoe . He's the author of The Diet Myth, and his most recent book is  Spoon-Fed: Why Almost Everything We’ve Been Told about Food is Wrong.

Life After COVID Summit: Join Dr. Rick Hanson, Forrest Hanson, and a roster of world-class experts during this FREE three-day online event to explore our life after COVID. Click here to learn more about the Summit and register now.

Key Topics:

2:05: What is the microbiome?

4:10: How diet interacts with your unique microbiome. 

6:45: The PREDICT 1 study, and the limited impact of genetics.

9:30: Why personalized nutrition is so important.

12:00: The meaningless nature of calorie counts. 

17:00: Running experiments with your nutrition. 

22:30: Microbes and mood.

24:40: Intermittent fasting. 

30:15: The role of processed food. 

35:15: The microbiome and COVID. 

41:00: Polyphenols. 

43:00: Vitamins and COVID. 

48:50: Recap

If you're interested in any of Zoe's offerings, Tim offered the discount code BEINGWELL35 for our listeners.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Feb 15, 2021
How to Change Who We Are
01:18:47

There are times in our lives when we recognize that something’s got to change. Today Dr. Hanson and Forrest explore a big question: What goes into making who we are, and how can we give ourselves the freedom to grow and change over time? 

Life After COVID Summit: Join Dr. Rick Hanson, Forrest Hanson, and a roster of world-class experts during this FREE three-day online event to explore our life after COVID. Click here to learn more about the Summit and register now.

Key Topics:

2:00: What does “self-concept” mean?

6:00: Where does self-concept come from?

11:30: Different ways to understand childhood development.

17:00: Why is it so hard for people to change? 

26:00: Social forces that prevent us from changing.

33:00: Three case studies of personal change. 

34:00: Who owns the problem?

38:30: Do you really want it?

44:30: We can change if we’re willing to take risks.

52:00: Trusting yourself, and feeling validated. 

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Feb 08, 2021
Radical Compassion with Tara Brach
00:54:56

Tara Brach joins Rick and Forrest to explore how we can find more compassion and acceptance while maintaining our motivation to change ourselves, and our world, in positive ways. 

About Our Guest: Tara is the founder and guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C., and has a doctorate in clinical psychology. She is the author of three books: Radical Acceptance, True Refuge, and most recently Radical Compassion, and leads one of the largest mental-health and Buddhism-focused podcasts in the world.

Key Topics:

2:00: Why “radical?” What does it mean to have “radical compassion?”

6:30: Practical applications of “no self.” 

9:00: Maintaining “less self” while also being motivated to change.

10:30: How can we “accept ourselves” while also wanting to change in positive ways?

12:30: What gets in the way of compassion and self-acceptance. 

17:15: The “trance” that keeps us away from compassion. 

20:00: The RAIN meditation.

27:15: Making it easier to nurture ourselves.

32:15: “After the rain.” 

34:00: Can, and should, we find acceptance and compassion for people we disagree with?

41:45: Coming to terms with our participation in systems of oppression.

48:50: Hope during challenging times. 

52:30: Recap

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

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Feb 01, 2021
Do We Control Our Happiness?
00:20:07

With so much challenging stuff going on in the world around us these days, it's natural to ask a simple question: how much control do we have over how happy we are?

On this episode of "10 Good Minutes," Forrest explores the research behind happiness, reveals the most important factors, and gives some practical advice for maximizing sustainable well-being.

If you'd like to watch this episode rather than listen to it, Forrest has a new YouTube channel! Subscribe to the channel, and watch the video over there. 

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Research:

Pursuing Happiness: The Architecture of Sustainable Change

Our podcast episode with Dr. Lyubomirsky.

Twin studies find that identical twins raised in different households are more similar in their level of happiness than fraternal twins raised in the same household. 

Emotional well-being decouples from income at ~$75,000/year.

BRAND NEW research suggests that "experienced well-being" continues to rise as income increases above $75,000/year.

Circumstantial factors that most consistently predict high subjective well being.

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Jan 29, 2021
How to Deal with Dissociation
00:58:59

When we’re presented with challenging circumstances it’s natural for us to cope with them through a wide variety of behaviors. Today Dr. Hanson and Forrest explore one of the most common coping mechanisms: dissociation. This includes what it is, the function it serves, the experiences that can lead to dissociation, and what we can do about it.

Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

2:00: What is dissociation?

9:35: “Fragmentation and separation.”

11:45: Recovered and implanted memory.

17:45: Why do people dissociate?

22:10: Common symptoms of dissociation.

29:30: The risks of over-pathologizing. 

31:40: Coming into your own life. 

36:20: Growing self-worth as an antidote for dissociation. 

40:15: Challenges of mindfulness for dissociation.

43:00: Focusing on an aspect of experience. 

46:30: Enjoyment as a grounding experience. 

48:55: “Our nature is to be associated.”

51:30: Recap

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

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Jan 25, 2021
How to Cope During a Pandemic with Dr. Bruce Perry
00:51:30

On this timely episode, Dr. Bruce Perry joins the podcast to explore how we can limit the long-term impact of stressful events, and heal from past traumatic experiences. 

About Our Guest:  Dr. Bruce Perry is one of the world’s leading experts on childhood trauma, and his clinical research and practice focuses on examining the long-term effects of trauma in children, adolescents, and adults. He is the Senior Fellow of The ChildTrauma Academy, and the author, with Maia Szalavitz, of The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog.

Life After COVID Summit: Join Dr. Rick Hanson, Forrest Hanson, and a roster of world-class experts including Dr. Perry during this FREE three-day online event to explore our "new normal." Click here to learn more about the Summit and register now.

Key Topics:

1:15: Pandemic fatigue. 

4:45: Experiencing acute stressors alongside chronic stress. 

7:20: Practices to help yourself de-stress. 

11:30: The impact of stress on our ability to regulate ourselves.

13:30: How to limit the long-term impact of stressful events.

18:40: How we can explore traumatic material without re-traumatizing ourselves.

23:30: Avoiding helplessness, and experiencing control and agency. 

25:30: Dissociation as a coping response.

31:00: Disruptions of attunement. 

36:00: Caregiver fatigue, and caring for ourselves. 

41:30: The pandemic’s impact on people who have been previously traumatized.

44:00: A wish for the future. 

46:00: Recap

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

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Jan 18, 2021
Being More, Doing Less
00:44:22

We’re somehow both more efficient than ever before, and, at the same time, busier than ever before.  All of the many ways that we’ve found to optimize our performance has led to much more "doing," and not nearly as much "being." Today Rick and Forrest explore how we can get more in touch with being, and how by focusing more on "being" we might even be able to "do" more than ever before. 

Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Ideas:

1:10: Rick making dad jokes. 

2:00: The difference between “doing” and “being.”

6:20: Getting wrapped up in doing that crowds out “being.”

10:15: Craving in the brain. 

15:05: How to grow what we want to be. 

21:40: Allowing “being” to create friction-less “doing.”

25:45: How to get in touch with the feeling of “being.”

31:50: Internal resistance to being. 

35:30: Who are you when you’re not scared? 

41:15: Recap

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

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Jan 11, 2021
Optimism and Influence with Dr. Tali Sharot
00:48:50

What allows people to push on even during the darkest times?  And how can we use that answer to influence our behavior, or the behavior of other people? Today Rick and Forrest are joined by Dr. Tali Sharot to explore the optimism bias, how optimism can exist alongside negativity, and how we can influence others more effectively. 

About our Guest: Dr. Sharot is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, and the director of the Affective Brain Lab. She’s also the author of a number of wonderful books, including The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain, and The Influential Mind: What the Brain Reveals About Our Power to Change Others

Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Ideas:

1:30: What is the optimism bias, and how does it appear in people’s lives?

3:30: Where does the optimism bias come from? Did we evolve it?

8:45: How can someone cultivate an attitude of optimism? 

13:00: Bringing good things into our awareness.

16:30: The negativity bias vs. the optimism bias. 

19:30: Negativity, positivity, and memory.

23:00: The impact of surprise on our memory.

27:30: What helps us change our behavior and form new habits?

30:00: Changing behavior and beliefs on a national scale.

34:30: What really influences people's behavior?

40:00: Is human nature more positive or more negative?

44:00: Recap

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Sponsors:

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

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Jan 04, 2021
Guided Practice: Achieving Your New Year's Resolutions
00:17:39

What do you want to achieve in 2021? In this short episode, Dr. Rick Hanson walks you through a guided practice focused on helping you achieve your goals. 

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

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Jan 01, 2021
How to Make 2021 Your Best Year
00:52:42

We all have something we want to do "someday," but for most of us "someday" just never seems to come around. Here's how to make 2021 the year you finally put all the pieces together, and achieve the goals you've set for yourself.

Key Topics:

4:00: What leads to change that lasts?

5:40: Do you really WANT to change?

9:00: How to change your self-concept. 

14:00: “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”

16:00: Small changes that lead to big ones.

20:00: Appreciating the finite nature of life. 

22:30: “What do you want to give as a gift to the person you will be tomorrow?”

25:30: What makes for a good resolution?

29:00: Using Forrest as a guinea pig: setting good goals and maximizing your resolutions.

33:00: Picking very clear commitments, and making things simple.

34:30: Thinking about how it would feel at the end of 2021 if you accomplished what you set out to do.

41:00: Finding consistent effort. 

45:00: Summarizing the key questions. 

48:00: Recap.

Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

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Dec 28, 2020
Facing Your Dreaded Experience
00:54:40

We all have things that frighten us. But some fears can become so core to who we are that we start to organize our lives around not having to experience them. In this not-to-be-missed episode, Dr. Hanson and Forrest explore how we can identify and face our "dreaded experiences," which exert a quiet power over our lives. 

Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

2:40: What is a “dreaded experience?”

6:40: The three step process of a dreaded experience.

9:10: The critical distinction between “event” and “experience.”

12:20: Forrest’s dreaded experiences. 

16:30: Normal avoidance vs. making yourself small.

18:15: Where do dreaded experiences come from?

24:10: Starting to risk the dreaded experience. 

29:00: Ways to start safely facing fears.

38:00: Identifying your dreaded experience. 

41:20: Being seen as your whole self.

46:30: Our journey of growth. 

49:30: Recap

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Sponsors:

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

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Dec 21, 2020
Why Does Therapy Work?
00:13:50

Why does talking to a therapist have such a huge impact on people's lives? On the first edition of "10 Good Minutes," Forrest Hanson dives into the research behind the key factor in any therapeutic relationship. 

If you enjoy this episode, you'll love our Patreon account!

Studies:

Psychotherapy is as effective for the treatment of depression as medication.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is particularly effective when it comes to treating depression and anxiety disorders.

Only a few of the studies demonstrating therapy’s effectiveness provide evidence without bias, and there’s a lot of publication bias.

Psychotherapy changes how clients use their brains in meaningful ways.

Therapeutic outcome doesn’t seem to be affected by how experienced the therapist is.

The strength of the alliance established between therapist and client is a key factor.

Empathy appears to be a key factor in the formation of a strong alliance and therapeutic outcomes more generally

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Want fresh, delicious, simple dinners delivered right to your doorstep? Check out HelloFresh, America’s #1 meal kit, and use code beingwell90 to get $90 off including free shipping! 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

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Dec 18, 2020
Compassion, Power, and Human Nature with Dr. Dacher Keltner
00:56:06

Does power corrupt? Where does compassion come from? And do positive or negative emotions serve as the basis for our true nature? Today we're exploring these questions with Dr. Dacher Keltner, a world-class expert on emotion, power, and morality.

About Our Guest: Dr. Keltner is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, where he directs the Berkeley Social Interaction Lab. He’s also the founder and co-director of the Greater Good Science Center. Dr. Keltner is also the author of three books: Born to Be GoodThe Compassionate Instinct, and most recently, The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence

Here's the referenced research from Dacher on emotion and facial expression.

Key Topics:

2:15: What is an emotion, and how many emotions are there?

7:45: The complex weave of positive emotions. 

11:30: Why did we evolve positive emotions?

15:00: The influence of compassion. 

20:45: Power dynamics, and in-groups vs. out-groups.

25:30: How and why power corrupts.

33:30: Are we only nice to other people because we have to be?

38:45: Finding awe in mystery. 

44:00: Committing to daily practice. 

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. Sponsors:

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

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Dec 14, 2020
What We Learned from 2020
00:50:50

It’s been a long, strange, challenging year. As we get toward the end of it, and look forward to 2021, it feels appropriate to start by taking a look back and seeing what, if anything, we can learn from the year that’s gone by. 

Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

2:30: The importance of internal resources.

4:15: "It can happen to us too."

6:00: Putting more effort into what’s local.

8:30: Interdependence and interconnection. 

12:30: Appreciating the pains that aren’t happening.

17:30: Seeing clearly and allowing yourself to take appropriate action.

22:30: Your compassion is not dependent.

25:45: Avoiding playing into grievance theater.

30:40: Nonattachment.

33:00: Focusing on what really matters, and being fed up.

38:45: Lessons from our listeners.

43:30: What’s still here?

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Sponsors:

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

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Dec 07, 2020
Unlearning Unconscious Bias with Dr. Jack Glaser
01:07:27

We're all subject to forms of bias and prejudice. On this episode, Forrest and Rick are joined by Dr. Jack Glaser, an expert on intergroup bias and racial prejudice, to explore what we can do to overcome our innate tendencies. 

About the Guest: Dr. Jack Glaser is a Professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. He studies intergroup biases and the unconscious operation of stereotypes and prejudice, and is particularly interested in racial profiling. Jack is also the author of Suspect Race: Causes & Consequences of Racial Profilingand is on the board of the Center for Policing Equity.

Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

2:15: Jack’s history, what drew him to the study of bias.

4:50: What is implicit bias? 

10:30: What’s the purpose of bias, where does it come from, and what consequences does it create?

18:15: How individual biases scale up to groups and systems.

23:10: The myth of meritocracy.

25:30: Assimilation, accommodation, and bias.

27:25: Errors of attribution. 

30:00: The lens we view our world through, and “alternative facts.”

36:00: Can we become less biased?

42:45: Can we deliberately override our biases through effort?

48:45: Fighting bias is an ongoing process. 

50:30: Bias under pressure, and what we can do.

1:01:10: “The brain does crazy stuff sometimes.”

1:03:00: Recap

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Sponsors:

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

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Nov 30, 2020
Meditation: Gratitude and Finding Pleasure
00:17:42

On today's short episode, Dr. Rick Hanson leads a guided meditation aimed at experiencing gratitude and finding the small pleasures in life. 

Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Connect with the show:

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Nov 27, 2020
Sadness and Disappointment Around the Holidays
00:53:14

The holidays are coming up, and for many people they’re likely to be very different this year from usual. Experiencing sadness or disappointment around the holidays is normal even among the best circumstances, and we're far from those. On this episode, Dr. Hanson and Forrest explore how to work with this year's natural feelings of sadness and disappointment.

Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

4:50: A therapy session focused on sadness with Rick. 

9:30: Associations between current sad experiences and our past material. 

11:45: A process for experiencing and working with sadness. 

17:45: Imagery to aid experiencing.

19:00: Helping sadness soften and release. 

24:30: Non-judgement 

28:40: Identifying underlying beliefs.

29:40: Letting in good experiences alongside challenging ones. 

33:10: Finding the root experience, and communicating our needs. 

37:00: Sadness vs. depression. 

41:30: Dealing with disappointment. 

45:00: Finding agency in a moment of disappointment. 

48:10: “Strong hopes, weak expectations.” 

50:20: Recap. 

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Sponsors:

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

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Nov 23, 2020
Learn Faster, Learn Smarter with Josh Kaufman
00:51:38

Learning is the single most important skill: if you know how to learn, you can get good at anything else. Today we're joined by Josh Kaufman, author of The Personal MBA, to explore the 20 hour rule, the problems with 10,000 hours, cognitive biases, and how you can learn anything more quickly.

About our Guest: Josh is the author of three bestselling books: The Personal MBA, The First 20 Hours, and How to Fight a Hydra. The Personal MBA is a #1 international bestseller, and he's also responsible for one of my favorite TED talks which has more than 22 million views - The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything.

Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

2:15: Why focus on business and learning?

5:30: 20 hours vs. 10,000 hours.

9:00: The power law of practice.

11:30: Precommitment, and making it through 20 hours. 

15:00: The importance of deliberate practice. 

17:00: Fast feedback loops. 

19:45: Breaking big tasks into small tasks. 

26:40: Responses to threat, and how our psychological state impacts learning. 

32:30: Cognitive biases and social proof.

38:40: “Commitment and consistency” bias. 

46:00: Recap.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

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Nov 16, 2020
Relaxing Anxiety During Stressful Times
00:50:01

If you live in the United States – and probably for many people who don’t – it’s been a bit of a stressful week. Today Dr. Hanson and Forrest talk about relaxing anxiety, weathering the storm, and taking in the year as a whole. 

Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

1:30: Where do we want to allocate our attention?

5:00: Rational, appropriate stress and anxiety. 

8:00: The cost of ‘negative’ emotions. 

12:30: Practices of calming stress. 

14:45: Giving yourself grace, and accepting some amount of stress. 

17:40: Deal with the bad, turn toward the good, take in the good. 

22:15: Seeing what is true. 

26:45: Being happy when others are not. 

36:40: A practice for calming and centering. 

44:45: Learning from the hard parts of practice.

If you'd like to learn more about Jaimal Yogis, here's his website

Overcome Anxiety:  Let go of anxiety and grow a greater sense of calm strength with Rick's Dealing with Anxiety program, which offers 5 powerful practices for managing stress and worries. Save 10% with coupon code BEINGWELL.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

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Nov 09, 2020
10 Lessons for a Great Life, Part 2: Accepting Difference, Embracing Life, and Impermanence
00:48:17

In the second part of our 10 most essential lessons for a great life, we explore accepting difference, open heartedness, healthy skepticism, embracing life, and impermanence. 

Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

2:30: Different people are different.

10:00: Open your heart. 

13:45: Open heartedness as a ‘field.’

19:20: Cultivate a stance of healthy skepticism. 

27:00: Honor the gift of your life. 

33:00: All things end. 

37:00: The feeling of one minute.

Overcome Anxiety:  Let go of anxiety and grow a greater sense of calm strength with Rick's Dealing with Anxiety program, which offers 5 powerful practices for managing stress and worries. Save 10% with coupon code BEINGWELL.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

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Nov 02, 2020
10 Lessons for a Great Life, Part 1: Respecting Childhood, Slowing Down, and Supporting Yourself
00:44:30

What are the most essential lessons we've ever learned? Today we're exploring the first half of our 10 most important practices, skills, techniques, and reflections for the long road of life. Today we cover getting on your own side, the impact of childhood, widening your view, slowing down, and taking in the good.

A quick summary of Rick's approach to taking in the good.

Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

1:30: Introduction: The view from the porch. 

4:10: Get on your own side. 

7:10: Respect the impact of childhood experiences. 

13:20: Widen your view. 

21:10: Grow the space between stimulus and response.

30:00: Take in the good. 

44:00: Recap and ending.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Sponsors:

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Connect with the show:

Oct 26, 2020
How to Have Hard Conversations with Celeste Headlee
00:59:07

About the Episode: Studies show that Americans feel less connected and more divided than ever before. Celeste Headlee, an award winning journalist, joins us to explore how we can navigate the many hard conversations that are happening these days. 

About our Guest: In her 20-year career in public radio, Celeste appeared on NPR, PRI, CNN, and the BBC. She has been the Executive Producer of On Second Thought for Georgia Public Broadcasting, and anchored shows including Tell Me More, Talk of the Nation, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition at NPR. 

Celeste is also the author of two wonderful books: We Need To Talk: How To Have Conversations That Matter and Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving

Here's a summary of George Lakoff's framing theory that was mentioned during our conversation.

Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

1:30: “Pandemic okay.”

4:45: Being a good talker vs. being a good conversationalist. 

7:15: Why intelligent people can struggle to be good conversationalists. 

11:30: Working with the inevitable presence of bias. 

14:15: Facts, feelings, and frame theory.

18:00: Metacognition and confirmation bias. 

22:45: Do facts change people’s opinions?

24:45: Making it easy for people to change their mind. 

31:00: Maintaining our mental health inside hard conversations. 

35:45: “Bothsides-ism”

40:00: How to engage when someone’s argument isn’t based on facts you agree with.

45:00: Doing less to do more.

50:00: The power of weak ties, and the negative impact of too much tech.

53:00: A message to your younger self. 

Overcome Anxiety:  Let go of anxiety and grow a greater sense of calm strength with Rick's Dealing with Anxiety program, which offers 5 powerful practices for managing stress and worries. Save 10% with coupon code BEINGWELL.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Sponsors:

 

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Connect with the show:

Oct 19, 2020
Staying Sane During Hard Times
00:46:00

It’s one thing to use some of the tools that we talk about on this podcast when things feel stable and are going “good enough.” It’s another to apply them when the world feels threatening. Today we’re learning how to have more 'equanimity,' which is what allows us to maintain our composure, presence of mind, and perhaps even wellbeing under challenging circumstances.  

Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

1:30: How do we define equanimity?

4:00: Psychological experience of equanimity. 

4:30: Hedonic tone.

8:00: Brain science behind equanimity.

11:30: Liking and wanting.

14:30: Equanimity in secular Buddhism. 

15:30: Equanimity, privilege, and gaslighting. 

22:00: Dealing with unfairness.

26:30: Responding to painful experiences in the moment. 

30:30: The ‘four foundations’ of equanimity. 

35:30: Manage aversion.

37:30: Grow the good. 

39:15: Find what endures.

Overcome Anxiety:  Let go of anxiety and grow a greater sense of calm strength with Rick's Dealing with Anxiety program, which offers 5 powerful practices for managing stress and worries. Save 10% with coupon code BEINGWELL.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Sponsors:

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Connect with the show:

Oct 12, 2020
Maximize Productivity with Mindfulness
00:57:54

How can we be more productive, and improve our ability to focus on the things we really care about, without it becoming a source of stress? Chris Bailey, who TED described as "possibly the most productive person you could ever meet," joins us to explore how to get your brain to focus. 

About our Guest: Chris is the bestselling author of Hyperfocus and The Productivity Project, and his website A Life of Productivity has a small army of devoted readers. Chris' wonderful TED talk, How to Get Your Brain to Focus, touches on many of the topics we explore in this episode.

Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

3:15: What does it mean to be productive?

5:00: A year of productivity. 

7:00: What is the goal of productivity?

10:45: Defining success, and the Rule of Threes.

15:30: Our negative attitudes toward productivity.

18:30: Defining and finding intentionality.

22:40: Productivity benefits of meditation.

31:20: Finding fulfillment and working calmly.

36:15: Maintaining focus and productivity during challenging times.

41:30: The TV and your attention.

49:00: How to build our capacity for focus. 

Overcome Anxiety:  Let go of anxiety and grow a greater sense of calm strength with Rick's Dealing with Anxiety program, which offers 5 powerful practices for managing stress and worries. Save 10% with coupon code BEINGWELL.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Sponsors:

Want fresh, delicious, simple dinners delivered right to your doorstep? Check out HelloFresh, America’s #1 meal kit, and use code beingwell90 to get $90 off including free shipping! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Connect with the show:

Oct 05, 2020
Children, Trauma, and Racism with Dr. Allison Briscoe-Smith
00:56:59

How have children experienced this year's challenges, and how can we get better at talking with them about race and racism?

Today we’re focusing on trauma, resilience, and effective coping, and particularly on the unique challenges experienced by young people and their parents.

About our Guest: Dr. Allison Briscoe-Smith is a child clinical psychologist who specializes in trauma and issues of race. She is a senior fellow of Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and is both a professor and the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Wright Institute. 

Here's Allison's wonderful article on parenting during overwhelming times that I referenced during our conversation.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

2:25: Honoring the small challenges alongside the big ones. 

5:30: What challenges are children facing this year?

7:30: How are children processing our challenges differently from adults?

9:50: Helping children manage this time.

11:30: Finding hope, and having things to look forward to.

13:30: Signs of PTSD, and listening to our children. 

16:30: How can we get better at talking to kids?

21:00: How children are processing racial violence.

24:10: Talking with children about racial violence.

28:00: Bias, implicit and otherwise.

34:30: How does bias find its way into the virtual classroom?

37:05: What are we privileging in different spaces?

42:00: The first time a kid experiences or perpetrates racism.

48:30: Creating a family mission statement.

Sponsors: 

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Sep 28, 2020
Angry and Content
00:48:49

How can we maintain contentment, calm, or inner peace, while still aiming high, pursuing good goals, and experiencing natural frustration and anger? And is contentment even a good goal when there's so much injustice out in the world?

Rick's Course: If you'd like to learn how to change your brain for the better, check out Rick's Positive Neuroplasticity Training. It's a six-week online course that will teach you how to beat your brain's negativity bias, and have more confidence, compassion, and inner peace. Use coupon code BEWELL50 at checkout for $50 off the purchase price.

Key Topics:

1:45: Why contentment matters.

4:30: Can we be content when things are hard?

6:00: Being skeptical of the “wanting mind.”

8:30: How can we return to contentment when moved from it?

12:10: What’s wrong with being driven? Does contentment make us lazy?

16:20: Self-actualization and taking action from a place of fullness.

19:00: Staying content while performing basic tasks.

21:50: Contentment vs. complacency. 

25:20: Content while hurt or angry. 

29:30: How to build contentment when times are tough.

35:00: Can we be content and afraid?

46:00: Recap

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Sponsors:

Explore your creativity at Skillshare.com/BEINGWELL and get a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Connect with the show:

Sep 21, 2020
Authentic Happiness with Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar
00:51:18

How can we find happiness even when times are challenging? Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar joins us to explore authentic happiness, accepting difficult emotions, and giving yourself permission to be human. 

About our Guest: Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar is the bestselling author of six books, founder of the Happiness Studies Academy, and former professor of two of the largest courses in Harvard’s history. Learn more about his Certificate in Happiness Studies program here. Use the code HAPPY for a 10% discount. 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

2:45: Unhappiness in spite of success.

4:15: How do you define happiness?

5:50: Combining self-actualization with in-the-moment happiness. 

8:45: Accepting our painful emotions. 

10:10: Giving ourselves permission to be human.

19:10: What did students learn in Tal’s courses that they didn’t expect? 

22:30: How to make hard personal choices. 

28:00: Authenticity and comparison. 

30:15: Does pursuing happiness actually make you unhappy?

36:10: Creating lasting change. 

40:10: Happiness as a business value-add. 

43:00: Managing expectations. 

46:00: The Happiness Studies Academy.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Sponsors:

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

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Sep 14, 2020
How to Change Your Brain
00:56:19

Today, we're exploring the single most important skill we will ever teach on this podcast: How to change the brain in lasting ways.

The dirty secret of the personal growth industry, and self-help and psychology more broadly, is that most of what we learn doesn't stick. So, what can we do to achieve the ‘holy grail’ of personal growth – lasting change in our hearts, minds, and behaviors? 

Rick's Course: If you'd like to learn more about how to change your brain for the better, check out Rick's Positive Neuroplasticity Training. It's a six-week online course that will teach you how to beat your brain's negativity bias, and have more confidence, compassion, and inner peace. Use coupon code BEWELL50 at checkout for $50 off the purchase price! 

Key Topics:

3:30: What is neuroplasticity?

8:00: The power of deliberate practice. 

9:30: Meditation and the brain. 

12:45: Why is it so hard to change? The negativity bias. 

19:45: Human exceptionalism and energy conservation. 

23:00: An experiential example. 

30:30: How to change deep-seated issues. 

36:45: The Positive Neuroplasticity Training.

39:15: Changing self-concept to change behavior. 

49:00: Participating in who you are becoming. 

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Sponsors:

Want fresh, delicious, simple dinners delivered right to your doorstep? Check out HelloFresh, America’s #1 meal kit, and use code beingwell90 to get $90 off including free shipping! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Connect with the show:

Sep 07, 2020
Complex PTSD and Developmental Trauma with Pete Walker
00:54:39

What are the consequences of growing up inside an abusive family, and what can we do as adults to heal old wounds? Today we're joined by Pete Walker, a practicing therapist and expert in Complex PTSD.

About Our Guest: Pete is a licensed psychotherapist practicing in the San Francisco Bay Area, who specializes in helping adults who were traumatized in childhood. He’s the author of three books, including Complex PTSD : From Surviving To ThrivingIt’s a practical, user-friendly self-help guide to recovering from the lingering effects of childhood trauma, and to achieving a rich and fulfilling life as an adult.

Pete has a variety of resources on his website, including his 13 Steps of Emotional Flashback Management

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Timestamps:

3:00: What distinguishes CPTSD from PTSD?

5:55: CPTSD as “developmental trauma disorder”

8:55: Presence of the bad vs. absence of the good. 

11:40: The importance of empathy. 

13:35: “They’re crazy or I’m crazy,” and the consequences of that. 

17:10: Healthy anger. 

19:00: Becoming a support to yourself.

21:30: Stages of recovery.

25:00: Corrective emotional experiences. 

27:30: The lifelong process of recovery. 

32:10: Reparenting and the inner child. 

34:45: Managing the relationship with our family of origin. 

41:30: Forgiveness. 

44:30: The inner critic and internalized abusers. 

48:30: A message to your younger self. 

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Aug 31, 2020
Psychological Safety with Dr. Amy Edmondson
00:45:28

What makes for a great team – whether personal or professional – and how can organizations and individuals create a more psychologically healthy environment? 

Many of us have been fortunate enough to be on a really great team…and most all of us have probably been on a bad one. So, what makes for a great team – whether personal or professional – and is it as simple as just being good at your job, or is there more to it than that? It turns out one of the key factors is called psychological safety, which we'll be learning about today with the help of a world-class expert.

About our Guest: Dr. Amy Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, where she studies teaming, psychological safety, and organizational learning. She’s the author of six books, including her most recent book, The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation and Growth

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

2:00: What is psychological safety?

7:15: How does psychological safety relate to personality?

11:45: Stress and high performance. 

14:00: Me vs. We

17:30: Psychological safety vs. psychological abuse. 

22:00: Creating a safe group environment.

27:00: Accepting responsibility.

31:30: Psychological safety in virtual environments.

34:00: Giving good feedback.

37:30: Just one thing. 

41:30: A message to your younger self.

Sponsors:

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Aug 24, 2020
Real Change with Sharon Salzberg
00:48:39

Sharon Salzberg, one of the most prominent teachers of mindfulness in the West, joins us to discuss how we can create real change in our hearts, minds, and lives. 

About our Guest: Sharon Salzberg is a central figure in the field of meditation, a world-renowned teacher and NY Times bestselling author. Her 11th book, Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World, comes out September 1st. She's also the host of the fantastic Metta Hour podcast. 

New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Key Topics:

2:45: Sharon’s experience over the last few months.

4:30: Feeling the breath.

6:20: Sitting with painful feelings. 

7:15: Turning toward the good, and metta.

10:15: “Mindfulness to change the world.”

13:30: Key skills from Real Change. 

18:00: Dealing with burnout and overwhelm. 

24:30: Grief.

28:00: Effective compassion vs. empathic overwhelm.

33:00: Generosity, and giving to fill your own cup. 

36:00: Metta. 

38:00: Kindness toward difficult people.

40:00: Doing what you can.

42:00: Patience, and putting wins on the board. 

45:00: A message to your younger self.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

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Aug 17, 2020
Key Skills for Great Relationships
00:56:57

In part two of our conversation, we explore some of the key psychological skills that lead to a truly great relationship informed by 35 years of couples counseling experience. 

The Relationships Workshop: Join Rick for a live, online relationship workshop that will teach you how to have more fulfilling, effective, and joyful relationships than ever before. Follow the link to learn more, and podcast listeners can enter code BEWELL50 at checkout for $50 off the purchase price! 

Key Skills:

3:00: Give your full attention. 

6:30: Tune into your body. 

7:20: Cultivate interest. 

11:00: How can we know if we’re actually empathic?

13:00: Your attention is yours

16:00: Accepting some level of discomfort. 

17:45: Getting comfortable with people wanting things from you. 

21:00: Three stories of relating.

22:30: Fulfilling relationship tasks. 

24:30: Changing our relationship to criticism. 

30:30: Chronic giving, and setting firm boundaries. 

37:30: Cultivating a stronger sense of self. 

44:30: Talk about what matters. 

50:50: The desire to be found. 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Sponsors:

Want fresh, delicious, simple dinners delivered right to your doorstep? Check out HelloFresh, America’s #1 meal kit, and use code beingwell90 to get $90 off including free shipping! 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Connect with the show:

Aug 10, 2020
How to Have Great Relationships: Attachment and the Self
00:50:06

We all want great relationships - ones that are fulfilling, loving, stable, and fun. This is the first of two episodes focused on becoming a 'great relater.' Today Dr. Hanson and Forrest focus on understanding our individual attachment style, and how we can work through our personal material. 

The Relationships Workshop: Join Rick for his online relationship workshop that will teach you how to have more fulfilling, effective, and joyful relationships than ever before. Follow the link to learn more, and podcast listeners can enter code BEWELL50 at checkout for $50 off the purchase price! 

Key Topics:

0:25: Staying content while  striving for achievement. 

4:00: Information on the relationship workshop. 

6:20: Who helps you feel enlarged? 

7:55: Rick makes fun of Forrest…and managing different levels of standard. 

9:00: Building a good relator.

10:15: Attachment theory

17:00: Getting less attached to our attachment style. 

19:15: Insecure attachment styles. 

23:00: What issues does anxious attachment create?

26:00: A relationship between anxious and avoidant. 

29:00: Skills for relating with an anxious person. 

32:00: Finding optimal distance. 

35:30: Working through a dreaded experience. 

39:30: Exposure and blame. 

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Sponsors:

 Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! Use code beingwell to let them know you came from us. 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

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Aug 03, 2020
The Pitfalls of Self-Help: Comparison and The Secret
00:50:42

In the second episode related to the pitfalls of self-help, we explore how individuals and environments can manipulate others by making them feel like something is wrong with them. 

This is a self-help podcast. And there's a lot to like about self-help! But it has it's issues as well. Today we're exploring our exploration of those issues by focusing on painful forms of comparison and the natural vs. supernatural frame.

Key Topics:

2:45: Being goal directed vs. self-acceptance. 

6:50: Exploitative practices and the fragile psyche. 

10:20: Relating to “problems” in healthy ways. 

14:20: Comparison and creating a sense of lack. 

16:30: Identifying good teachers and communities.

21:30: Comparison.

24:00: Separating means and ends. 

26:00: How to deal with comparison. 

30:30: How much do we actually control?

33:00: The Secret, and the natural vs. supernatural frames. 

39:15: Cheapening the truly transcendent. 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

From Dr. Hanson: Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

From our Sponsors 

Reset and rebalance with Recess, a sparkling water infused with hemp extract and adaptogens. Take 15% off your first order by using code BEINGWELL at checkout.

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Jul 27, 2020
Polyvagal Theory with Dr. Stephen Porges
00:51:11

Dr. Stephen Porges joins Rick and Forrest to explore his Polyvagal Theory, which explains how we can use the systems of the body to completely change our relationship with stress. 

About Our Guest: Dr. Stephen Porges is a Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina. In 1994 he proposed the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that links the evolution of the nervous system to social behavior and emphasizes the importance of physiological states in our psychological experiences.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

1:45: Summary of Polyvagal Theory.

6:00: Evolutionary neuro-biology: the three systems of the body.

15:15: The adaptive nature of the three systems.

19:45: Shutdown, trauma, and constructing a narrative. 

23:00: Challenges of COVID to the social engagement system

28:15: How to intervene in the body.

33:00: Being stuck with problematic people.

35:30: Using the breath and staying calm.

38:00: Co-regulation

42:00: A message to your younger self. 

From Dr. Hanson: Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price!

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Sponsors:

Want fresh, delicious, simple dinners delivered right to your doorstep? Check out HelloFresh, America’s #1 meal kit, and use code beingwell90 to get $90 off including free shipping! 

Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Want to sleep better? Try the legendary Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.

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Jul 20, 2020
The Pitfalls of Self-Help: Forced Positivity
00:45:15

Do self-help environments force us into inauthentic happiness? And how can we move away from the false front, and into more authentic expression? This is the first of a series of episodes dedicated to some of the self-help community's pitfalls. 

This is a self-help podcast. And there's a lot to like about self-help! But it has it's issues as well. Today we're exploring one of them: toxic positivity and forced happiness.

New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Key Topics:

3:00: Rick’s personal experience inside the personal development world. 

8:00: Things that tend to limit abuses of power. 

10:00: The democratization of self-help, and related pitfalls. 

18:00: Act, scared self, and true being. 

21:00: Where does toxic positivity appear?

26:00: The importance of authenticity.

29:30: The false front. 

32:30: Encouraging other people to be fully authentic. 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

From Dr. Hanson: 

Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price!

The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

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Jul 13, 2020
Start Now: Mid-Year Resolutions
00:43:15

We're halfway through a very strange year, and it's a good time to take stock, check in with ourselves, and establish some new commitments – even if they’re as simple as being kind to ourselves. 

One way we can reclaim our experience of agency is by finding where we do still have influence over our outcomes. And that’s what we’ll be exploring today: how to start anew under the circumstances we find ourselves in. 

New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Key Topics:

3:45: Hope and disappointment. 

7:30: Reckoning, repentance, and renewal. 

11:00: Controlling what you can. 

14:00: Coping with self-criticism and shame. 

18:30: How to approach the future. 

20:45: Building key habits. 

24:00: Changing our identity in order to change our behavior. 

26:30: Forrest's changing identity - moving into empathy. 

29:30: Using key phrases. 

31:00: Rick's changing identity - feeling like a good person.

34:00: Realistic optimism. 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

From Dr. Hanson: Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price!

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

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Jul 06, 2020
Can We Do No Harm?
00:46:41

Is it possible to "do no harm," and should we even try? Dr. Hanson and Forrest explore what it means to do no harm, and the inner resources that allow us to do as little as possible.

New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Key Topics:

1:10: Reckoning and repenting in this moment. 

4:45: What does it mean to truly do no harm?

6:45: How does doing no harm help us “be well?”

11:30: Reasons to take a collective perspective. 

16:15: Grappling with the reality of causing harm. 

19:00: The importance of repair.

22:30: Extending repair to yourself. 

29:30: Are there necessary harms?

33:00: Resources that allow us to do less harm. 

40:30: What happens when we stop being a danger to others?

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

From Dr. Hanson: Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price!

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

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Jun 29, 2020
Unlearning Racist Conditioning with Erin Trent Johnson
00:28:51

What can we do to combat, unlearn, and ultimately unburden ourselves from the influence of systemic structures of racism - both out in the world and inside of ourselves?

About Our Guest: Erin is the CEO, principal coach, and founder of Community Equity Partners, and the senior advisor at the Equity Lab. Erin works with educational, non-profit, government, and tech organizations that are committed to creating equitable and inclusive practices. 

Key Topics:

1:10: Finding hope and awakening in the moment.

6:30: "Unburdening" ourselves. 

9:15: Overt vs. covert structures and systems of racism. 

16:15: Key moments that lead to waking to systemic racism.  

23:30: A message to your younger self. 

Sponsors:

Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price!

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

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Jun 22, 2020
Healing Our History with Dr. Sherri Taylor
00:39:16

What is intergenerational trauma, how does it influence our lives today, and what can we do to heal and persevere when things get tough?

The events of the past few weeks have cast the importance of healing the wounds of the past into stark relief. Today we’re exploring how the traumatic past, including that handed down through the generations, can influence our lives today. 

About Our Guest: Dr. Sherri Taylor is an assistant professor of somatic psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and also teaches in the clinical psychology doctoral program at The Wright Institute. 

Sponsor Message: Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price!

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

4:10: What is intergenerational trauma?

7:30: Adaptive strategies for coping with trauma.

12:30: The primacy of the body. 

15:15: Reclaiming comfort in your body. 

20:45: Sensorymotor psychotherapy

22:30: Being with grief. 

26:15: How to keep going when this process gets hard. 

Check out my new website here!

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Jun 15, 2020
Institutional Racism and Traumatic Stress with Dr. Alfiee
00:43:55

Racism and racist structures place an enormous mental health burden on the people they persecute. Dr. Alfiee joins me to discuss the mental health consequences of institutional racism, unique challenges faced by marginalized youth, disparities in access to mental health services, and the importance of "naming and claiming." 

About Our Guest: Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble is a licensed psychologist who spent 20 years in academic medicine. She's the lead author of The Handbook of Mental Health in African American Youth, the host of the podcast "Couched in Color with Dr. Alfiee," and the founder of the mental health nonprofit the AAKOMA Project.

To join me in donating to the AAKOMA Project, follow this link.

CNN Townhall with Dr. Alfiee.

Key Topics:

3:30: The impact of institutional racism on mental health.

7:00: Forms of exposure to racism.

9:45: Allostatic load, weathering, and secondary traumatic stress.

15:30: Ways to manage traumatic stress.

19:45: Confusing stress and anxiety.

22:30: The importance of accurate labeling.

25:00: AAKOMA and availability of mental health resources.

29:00: Access, and the stigmatization of mental health.

33:30: Removing the stigma.

37:20: A message to your younger self.

Sponsors: Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price!

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

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Jun 08, 2020
We Should Be Uncomfortable
00:09:52

It's our turn to be uncomfortable. 

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co

Racism is a public health crisis. 

Ways You Can Help

Donate to: 

Jun 05, 2020
Living and Dying Well with Frank Ostaseski
00:58:35

What can death teach us about living well? A pioneer in the field of end-of-life care joins us to explore the fear of death, anger, true courage, and acceptance in the face of it all. 

About our Guest: Frank is an internationally respected Buddhist teacher and advocate for compassionate care-giving. In 1987, he co-founded the Zen Hospice Project, which helped establish a longstanding model for mindful and compassionate care. In 2005, he founded the Metta Institute.

Frank is also the author of The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully, which is one of my favorite books.

From Dr. Hanson: 

The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price!

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

2:00: Frank’s recovery from multiple strokes.

5:30: Fear and choice.  

10:00: What death can teach us about ourselves.

12:20: Supporting caregivers and spreading kindness.

16:40: The fear of death. 

23:30: Coming to terms with the deaths of those we love.

27:00: Allowing.

32:00: Meeting our defenses.

36:30: Removing judgement from anger.

43:00: Bringing wisdom to anger.

44:45: Courage in the world.

47:15: Coming together and falling apart.

54:45: Accepting each other as is. 

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Jun 01, 2020
Transcending the Self with Dr. David Yaden
00:47:35

What does it mean to "transcend the self?" Today Dr. Hanson, Forrest, and Dr. David Yaden explore self-transcendent, or “peak,” experiences, which the famous psychologist Abraham Maslow defined as “moments of highest happiness and fulfillment.”

As a note, David is referred to as a "PhD student" during the episode. Since it was recorded, he's gone on to earn his doctorate!

About our Guest: David is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Johns Hopkins Medicine who studies the varieties of spiritual and self-transcendent experiences from the perspectives of psychology and cognitive neuroscience. 

Read David's paper on The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience here. 

New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Key Topics:

3:00: The two key characteristics of self-transcendent experiences.

4:30: “Everyday” versions of peak experiences. 

8:00: Self-transcendence and psychopathology.

11:00: David’s account of self-transcendence. 

13:50: The lasting impact of peak experiences. 

17:00: Is there a “place” where self-transcendence occurs in the brain? 

20:45: Making use of peak experiences.

28:00: Should we seek peak experiences out? 

36:00: Relaxing the sense of self. 

41:30: A message to your younger self.

43:30: Recap

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

From Dr. Hanson: Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price!

The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

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May 25, 2020
The Science of Well-Being with Laurie Santos
00:54:25

Dr. Laurie Santos joins the podcast to share what the science says about how we can maintain our well-being during this difficult time.

About our Guest: Laurie is a Professor of Psychology and Head of Silliman College at Yale University. Her course “Psychology and the Good Life” is the most popular class in the university’s history. It’s now available for free online as “The Science of Well-Being." She’s also the director of the Comparative Cognition Laboratory at Yale, which explores the evolutionary origins of the human mind

Laurie hosts the critically acclaimed podcast The Happiness Lab. We couldn't recommend it more highly, if you like our podcast you should definitely give it a listen.

New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Key Topics:

2:00: Key resources for happiness during pandemic. 

6:00: Understanding and combating logical errors. 

10:00: How to stay strong during a crisis. 

14:30: Developing an internal orientation toward positivity. 

17:15: Key misconceptions about happiness. 

20:30: Intrinsic and extrinsic rewards.

22:45: Self-compassion. 

24:30: What can we learn from monkeys?

31:00: Why didn’t “errors of reasoning” evolve out of us?

34:15: Liking vs. Craving.

37:00: The critical role of lasting learning. 

48:00: A message to your younger self.

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price!

 

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May 18, 2020
COVID and Releasing Obsessive Fear
00:45:07

Can we work with, and release, obsessive fear during this particularly anxiety-provoking time? Dr. Dan Kalb, an expert on anxiety disorders and OCD, joins the show to help us learn how. 

About our Guest:  Anxiety and worry are a part of life. But when they disrupt the normal flow of life, work and school are harder, family and social relationships suffer, and life is not as enjoyable. Dr. Kalb has been a practicing psychologist for over 25 years, and focuses much of his practice on working with people who suffer from this form of extreme anxiety, hoarding, or OCD. 

New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Key Topics:

1:45: What is an anxiety disorder?

6:00: Mindfulness and being in the present moment.

11:30: Releasing obsessions, and not becoming ensnared by negative thoughts.

16:45: Acceptance, and useful vs. harmful self-reassurance. 

24:30: Fears of death, and how to manage them. 

29:30: Key techniques for releasing fear. 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price!

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May 11, 2020
Creativity and the Enneagram with Sleeping at Last
00:54:51

What can we learn about ourselves from and through art? Sleeping At Last, an incredible musician, joins us to explore the Enneagram, the creative process, art and emotion, and how we can become ever more true to ourselves.

About Our Guest: Sleeping at Last, also known as Ryan O’Neal,  is a well-known singer, songwriter, and composer who's written music for shows like Grey's Anatomy.  Over the last seven years Ryan has worked on his Atlas series, an ongoing project that includes an incredible series of songs based on the Enneagram of Personality, which is my favorite personality typing system.

New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Key Topics:

3:00: Sleeping at Last’s background and artistic origin story.

6:30: Music as a kind of journal. 

8:30: How masks allow for vulnerability.

11:10: Writing in theme, and finding safe spaces for emotion through art. 

17:00: Sleeping at Last’s creative process. 

20:00: The Enneagram. 

25:00: Forrest and Type 6

30:30: Ryan and Type 9.

33:50: 6 by Sleeping at Last

38:15: Learning about people through art.

43:00: Pressure. 

44:45: Increasing creative output. 

53:00: A message to Ryan's younger self. 

Listen to the fantastic Sleeping at Last Podcast! On it, Ryan explains the process and inspiration behind his music, and I couldn’t recommend it more strongly.

Learn more about The Nine Types

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price!

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May 04, 2020
The Highest Happiness
00:46:48

What is the "highest happiness," and what can we do to achieve it? 

This is the second conversation with Dr. Hanson related to his new book Neurodharma: New Science, Ancient Wisdom, and Seven Practices of the Highest Happiness. Today we're focusing on the final four practices in the book: wholeness, nowness, allness, and timelessness. 

Neurodharma is now available! Click here if you'd like to learn more.

New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Key Topics:

2:00: Why aim for “the heights of human potential” when the here and now already seems so challenging?

7:30: Wholeness, Nowness, Allness, and Timelessness. 

11:00: What is an aspect of awakening?

14:20: The front edge of now. 

17:00: The value of timelessness for a “normal person.”

23:00: The elements of consciousness. 

26:45: The inherent emptiness of things. 

32:50: Avoiding the pitfalls of emptiness. 

34:30: The apparent self. 

38:00: Our relationship to changing the self. 

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

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Apr 27, 2020
Neurodharma
00:47:06

Throughout history people have sought the heights of human potential - to become as wise, strong, happy, and loving as any person can ever be. Call these peak experiences, sense of oneness, or enlightenment itself. And now, science is revealing how these remarkable ways of being seem to be based on equally remarkable changes in our own nervous system.

What do those individuals have in common, how did they reach that summit, and what can we learn from them? That's the subject of Rick's new book: Neurodharma: New Science, Ancient Wisdom, and Seven Practices of the Highest Happiness

Neurodharma comes out May 5th, and is now available for pre-order. Click here if you'd like to learn more.

New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Key Topics:

2:15: What is the upper bound of human potential, and why should we care?

5:30: Different ways of knowing ourselves

10:00: How can modern science contribute to personal growth?

15:00: How is the brain of an “enlightened” person different from our own?

20:00: The janas, and how they change the brain. 

24:00: The seven practices of the highest happiness. 

28:00: Experiencing the body as a whole. 

35:00: Balancing me and we. 

40:00: Egocentric and allocentric. 

Sponsor Message: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

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Apr 20, 2020
A Meditation for the Helpers
00:18:28

I want to express the profound gratitude I feel toward everyone who is serving others during this time of the Coronavirus pandemic. In particular, healthcare providers, first responders, and the whole ecosystem of helpers who have come together to support us all.

I've received a number of truly humbling requests to offer a guided practice aimed at supporting the inner strengths those providers need so desperately these days. This meditation focuses on cultivating a feeling of both acceptance and calm strength. I hope you find it helpful.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

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New Book: If you're interested in Dr. Hanson's work, you'll love his new book Neurodharma. It explores the new science and ancient wisdom for being as wise and strong, happy and loving, as any person can ever be. It comes out May 5th, follow the link to pre-order. 

Apr 17, 2020
Overcoming Compassion Fatigue
00:31:32

How can we continue to support others when our own well has run dry? Today we're exploring practices for managing and overcoming both direct traumatic stress and compassion fatigue, or "secondary traumatic stress." 

New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Key Topics:

3:00: The anxiety, outrage, and overwhelm of this moment.

7:00: Finding refuge. 

12:00: Refuge and purpose in the collective experience. 

15:00: Surrendering to the moment as it is.

17:00: Opening to the experience and letting it go. 

22:00: Giving yourself permission to feel. 

26:00: "Want to" and "have to."

28:00: A message of gratitude. 

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price!

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

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Apr 13, 2020
Coping with Quarantine
00:35:49

Over the last month many people have been stuck at home - occasionally with people they'd rather not be around. Maintaining a healthy relationship can be a struggle under the best of times, let alone during times of stress. On this episode we explore how individuals and families can deal with the interpersonal stress that comes from being stuck together, and the sadness and loss that comes from being separated from things we love.

New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Key Topics:

3:00: The costs of sustained stress

4:40: Unique pressures placed on relationships during this time. 

8:00: Specific tools for maintaining a healthy relationship

15:00: How we’ve been supported by our circumstances until now.

17:15: Redefining ourselves during this time.

24:00: Seeing your own good purposes. 

26:00: Experiencing common humanity.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price!

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

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Apr 06, 2020
Become a Better Friend to Yourself
00:53:09

It's often easier to be a good friend to others than to ourselves. Today we're exploring how to balance constructive and harmful self-criticism, move away from our "act," embrace change, manage feelings of worthlessness, and ultimately be a good friend to ourselves.

New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Key Topics:

3:15: A few ways to be kind to yourself.

8:15: Finding your key resources.

12:50: Useful vs. harmful self-criticism. 

15:00: Putting your past in perspective. 

20:15: Moving away from the “act.”

23:00: Finding optimal distance.

28:00: Ways to tune into your own goodness.

34:00: What to do when you don’t feel like a good person.

43:00: Narcissism vs. authentic feelings of goodness. 

46:00: Relating to the self as something that can change. 

50:00: Ego ideal

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price!

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

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Mar 30, 2020
The Gift of Presence
00:34:22

How can we use mindfulness practically during our everyday lives, and how can "presence" be a particularly valuable tool for women?

About Our Guest: Caroline Welch is the CEO and co-founder of the Mindsight Institute. Mindsight, a term coined by Dr. Dan Siegel, is our human capacity to perceive the mind of the self and others. It’s essentially a kind of focused attention that help us observe the working of our own mind, and helps get us off of the autopilot of ingrained behaviors and habitual responses.

Caroline's new book, The Gift of Presence: A Mindfulness Guide for Women, offers a scientifically inspired approach to a simple question: Is there a way for women to live with more calm amid the chaos? 

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price!

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Key Topics:

4:00: Aspects of mindfulness that may be particularly important for women.

10:00: Pivoting, and why mindfulness can be a valuable aid to making good choices. 

15:30: Do men and women experience presence differently? 

18:30: The importance of representation. 

21:45: Stories from the book that particularly stuck with Caroline. 

24:15: Multitasking and being “in the moment.”

27:00: Pace, and the right to slow down.

29:00: Regrets of the dying. 

32:00: A message to your younger self. 

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Mar 23, 2020
Fear in the Time of Coronavirus
00:46:41

We haven’t generally done episodes related to current events, but these events are challenging to ignore. The coronavirus pandemic has already placed a heavy toll on society – over a hundred thousand people have already been sick, thousands are dead, businesses, schools, and recreational events have closed, and there's been substantial economic turmoil.

Today we’re exploring how to cope with the natural fears that arise during challenging times, the difference between useful and harmful anxiety, and how we can grow the inner strengths we need to thrive when things get tough.

New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! 

Key Topics:

4:50: Rick’s approach to this moment.

6:00: Claiming your agency.

10:40: Useful anxiety vs. harmful anxiety.

13:45: What makes something uniquely scary.

18:15: Finding, sometimes not particularly useful, ways to express agency.

22:30: How to start determining which form of anxiety you’re experiencing.

25:00: Three ways to work with excessive negative rumination.

28:30: Tools for managing needless anxiety.

33:00: Recognizing privilege while working through survivor’s guilt. 

36:30: Anger and the sadness underneath it.

From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need. 

Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price!

Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

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Mar 16, 2020
Healing Trauma with Dr. Peter Levine
00:45:33