Huberman Lab

GUEST SERIES | Dr. Paul Conti: How to Improve Your Mental Health

Sep 13, 2023

Dr. Paul Conti, Stanford and Harvard-trained psychiatrist, discusses tools for improving mental health through self-inquiry, aligning internal driving forces, adjusting internal narratives, and overcoming self-limiting concepts. He explores defense mechanisms like acting out and narcissism and delves into building healthy relationships with others. The podcast also touches on the importance of therapy, meditation, nutrition, quality sleep, trauma on sense of self, addressing intrusive thoughts, childhood narratives, and understanding different drives and their impact on mental well-being.

03:15:18

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Episode guests

Paul Conti

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Understanding and aligning with different drives (aggressive, pleasure, and generative) is crucial for motivation and fulfillment.

Engaging in self-reflection and questioning negative narratives can lead to personal growth and authenticity.

Narcissism often stems from childhood experiences of feeling inadequate and manifests in destructive behaviors.

Narcissistic individuals struggle with collaboration and meaningful connections, hindering personal growth.

Childhood trauma plays a significant role in the development of narcissism, but change is possible with therapy and self-improvement.

Treating narcissistic individuals requires a supportive team approach and strong boundaries for self-care.

Deep dives

Understanding the drive for motivation

When someone lacks motivation or feels unmotivated, it suggests that there might be an imbalance in their aggressive drive, pleasure drive, or generative drive. By exploring the person's interests, activities, and goals, it can be determined which drive is not being fulfilled or is frustrated. For example, if a person finds pleasure in activities like social media or video games but lacks motivation in other areas of life, it may indicate a lack of fulfillment in the generative drive or a lack of intrinsic curiosity. Understanding these drives and how they are experienced can help identify the roots of the problem and guide individuals towards actions and changes to bring about a healthier balance in their lives.

The Impact of Internal Voices on Our Thoughts and Actions

02:05

The Importance of Defense Mechanisms, Salience, Behavior, and Strivings in Understanding

04:15

The Dangerous Combination of High Aggressive and Pleasure Drives

02:59

True Story of Career Change and Finding Happiness

03:34

Introduction

2min

The Importance of Therapy and Meditation for Mental Health

4min

The Two Pillars of the Self

31min

Nutrition Sponsor and Discussion on Motivation

3min

Understanding the Generative Drive

18min

Consequences of Not Expressing Generative Drive, Importance of Sleep, and Finding Better Answers

5min

Leaving Misery and Finding Happiness

4min

Impact of Trauma on Sense of Self and Agency

21min

Self-Awareness and Addressing Intrusive Thoughts

12min

10.

The Power of Childhood Narratives

25min

11.

Understanding Drives and Mental Health

9min

12.

Handling Disagreements through Conversation

9min

13.

The Behavior of Dominating Social Interactions

23min

14.

Exploring the Variations of Aggressive Drive, Pleasure Drive, and Generative Drive

28min

15.

Ways to Support the Podcast and Discussion on Supplements

2min

This is episode 2 of a 4-part special series on mental health with Dr. Paul Conti, M.D., a Stanford and Harvard-trained psychiatrist currently running a clinical practice, the Pacific Premiere Group. Dr. Conti explains specific tools for how to overcome life’s challenges using a framework of self-inquiry that explores all the key elements of self, including defense mechanisms, behaviors, self-awareness and attention. We also discuss our internal driving forces, how to align them and ultimately, how to cultivate a powerful “generative drive” of positive, aspirational pursuits. Dr. Conti also explains how to adjust your internal narratives, reduce self-limiting concepts, overcome intrusive thoughts, and how certain defense mechanisms, such as “acting out” or narcissism, show up in ourselves and others. The next episode in this special series explores how to build healthy relationships with others.

For the full show notes, including articles, books, and other resources, visit hubermanlab.com.

Thank you to our sponsors

AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman

BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/huberman

Waking Up: https://wakingup.com/huberman

Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman

Momentous: https://livemomentous.com/huberman

Timestamps

(00:00:00) Improve Mental Health

(00:02:19) Sponsors: BetterHelp & Waking Up App

(00:05:26) Structure & Function of Healthy Self

(00:16:25) Agency & Gratitude

(00:21:14) Aggressive Drive, Pleasure Drive, Generative Drive

(00:30:00) Physical & Mental Health Similarities, Verb States

(00:37:05) Sponsor: AG1

(00:38:32) Lack of Motivation, Drives

(00:43:06) Video Games/Social Media & Distraction, Generative Drive

(00:51:46) Asking Better Questions, Psychiatric Medicine, Physical Health Parallels

(00:59:10) Sponsor: Eight Sleep

(01:00:30) Self-Reflection & Structure of Self “Cupboards”, Trauma & Agency

(01:08:53) Feeling Stuck, Defense Mechanisms & Sublimation, Character

(01:13:58) Self-Reflection & Function of Self “Cupboards”, Self-Awareness

(01:19:24) Defense Mechanisms & “Acting Out”

(01:26:43) Salience, Intrusive Thoughts

(01:31:24) Self-Reflection, Behaviors & Strivings; Roadmap Forward

(01:38:25) Internal Narratives, Childhood

(01:44:44) Internal Narratives: Self-Scrutiny & Overcoming; Trauma

(01:55:18) Time Required for Change, Understanding Intrusive Thoughts

(02:03:13) Self-Reflection on Internal Drives; Envy

(02:09:56) Generative Drive; Strong Aggressive Drive & Envy

(02:21:50) High Aggressive Drive & Social Relationships, Narcissism

(02:28:43) Narcissism, Destruction, Envy

(02:37:18) Narcissism & Childhood, Change

(02:41:26) Engaging with Narcissists, Disengagement

(02:44:47) Demoralization, Learned Helplessness

(02:49:34) Self-Inventory of Drives, Optimization

(02:56:09) Social Media & Salience, Generative Drive

(03:03:21) Rational Aspiration

(03:13:16) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Social Media, Momentous, Neural Network Newsletter

Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac

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Huberman Lab

GUEST SERIES | Dr. Paul Conti: How to Improve Your Mental Health

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Understanding the drive for motivation

The challenge of finding motivation and pleasure in life

The importance of exploration and understanding in achieving fulfillment

Importance of Self-Awareness in Overcoming Negative Narratives

The Roadmap of Change: Insights from the Example

The Impact of Early Narratives and the Power of Salience

The roots of narcissism and destructive behavior

The impact of narcissism on collaboration and social dynamics

The role of childhood trauma and potential for self-reflection in narcissistic individuals

Understanding the Challenges of Treating Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Balancing Aggressive Drive, Pleasure Drive, and Generative Drive

The Impact of Internal Voices on Our Thoughts and Actions

The Importance of Defense Mechanisms, Salience, Behavior, and Strivings in Understanding

The Dangerous Combination of High Aggressive and Pleasure Drives

True Story of Career Change and Finding Happiness

Thank you to our sponsors

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Huberman Lab

GUEST SERIES | Dr. Paul Conti: How to Improve Your Mental Health

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Understanding the drive for motivation

The challenge of finding motivation and pleasure in life

The importance of exploration and understanding in achieving fulfillment

Importance of Self-Awareness in Overcoming Negative Narratives

The Roadmap of Change: Insights from the Example

The Impact of Early Narratives and the Power of Salience

The roots of narcissism and destructive behavior

The impact of narcissism on collaboration and social dynamics

The role of childhood trauma and potential for self-reflection in narcissistic individuals

Understanding the Challenges of Treating Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Balancing Aggressive Drive, Pleasure Drive, and Generative Drive

The Impact of Internal Voices on Our Thoughts and Actions

The Importance of Defense Mechanisms, Salience, Behavior, and Strivings in Understanding

The Dangerous Combination of High Aggressive and Pleasure Drives

True Story of Career Change and Finding Happiness

Thank you to our sponsors

Timestamps

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