Huberman Lab

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

Sep 13, 2023

Dr. Paul Conti, a Stanford and Harvard-trained psychiatrist, shares his insights on mental health and self-inquiry. He discusses tools to overcome personal challenges by exploring self-awareness and defense mechanisms. Conti emphasizes the importance of adjusting internal narratives and reducing self-limiting beliefs. He dives into the notion of 'generative drive,' which fosters positive aspirations, and reflects on how childhood experiences shape our identity. The conversation highlights actionable steps for personal growth and the interplay of individual well-being with societal health.

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 Structure and Function of the Healthy Self

02:51

Exploring Self-Awareness & Agency in the World

03:38

The Dangerous Combination of High Aggressive and Pleasure Drives

02:59

Money ≠ happiness 😆

02:03

Intro

2min

Enhancing Mental Health: Resources and Insights

4min

Exploring Agency, Gratitude, and Mental Health Phenotypes

2min

Navigating the Self: Elements of Growth and Happiness

29min

Exploring Motivation and Nutritional Support for Mental Health

3min

Understanding Mental Health Through Drives

18min

The Interplay of Individual Happiness and Societal Health

5min

Rediscovering Self-Awareness and Personal Agency

18min

Understanding Self-Sabotage and Growth

18min

10.

Unraveling Childhood Narratives

25min

11.

Navigating Human Drives: Impact on Mental Health

9min

12.

Navigating Academic Collaboration

9min

13.

Narcissism in Social Dynamics

23min

14.

Navigating Drives: Mental Health and Social Media

19min

15.

The Generative Drive: A Path to Fulfillment

10min

16.

Concluding Insights on Mental Health and Podcast Engagement

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

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BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/huberman

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

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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 Structure and Function of the Healthy Self

Exploring Self-Awareness & Agency in the World

The Dangerous Combination of High Aggressive and Pleasure Drives

Money ≠ happiness 😆

Thank you to our sponsors

Timestamps

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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 Structure and Function of the Healthy Self

Exploring Self-Awareness & Agency in the World

The Dangerous Combination of High Aggressive and Pleasure Drives

Money ≠ happiness 😆

Thank you to our sponsors

Timestamps

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