Ep. 260 – Anxiety Series: Dr. Jud Brewer

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Mar 18, 2025

Join Dr. Jud Brewer, a New York Times best-selling author and leading expert in habit change, as he discusses the neuroscience of anxiety. He explains how anxiety differs from fear and how mindfulness can alleviate excessive worrying. The conversation highlights the transformative power of curiosity in understanding our thoughts. Dr. Brewer also addresses the impact of the internet on collective anxiety, particularly among youth. Listeners will gain practical insights to navigate their own anxiety with kindness and awareness.

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INSIGHT

Neuroscience of Anxiety

Anxiety is the fear of the future, a blend of two helpful survival mechanisms (fear and planning).
It arises from placing fear, designed for present survival, into future scenarios.

INSIGHT

Planning and Uncertainty

Planning requires information and past experience to simulate the future.
Uncertainty increases when we lack experience or face complex situations with many moving parts.

INSIGHT

Worry vs. Planning

Worrying and catastrophizing, unlike planning, cause suffering.
Checking plans repeatedly without new information is unproductive worrying.

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For episode 260, we are launching a new Anxiety Series on the Metta Hour. Sharon is speaking with Mental Health experts, providers and researchers for tools to work with anxiety in increasingly challenging times. To launch the series, Sharon sits down with Dr. Jud Brewer MD, Ph.D.

Dr, Jud is a New York Times best-selling author and thought leader in the field of habit change and the “science of self-mastery,” who blends over 20 years of experience with mindfulness training and a career in scientific research. He is passionate about understanding how our brains work, and how to use that knowledge to help people make deep, permanent change in their lives — with the goal of reducing suffering in the world at large. Dr. Jud is the director of research and innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center, where he also serves as an associate professor in Behavioral and Social Sciences at the School of Public Health and Psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Brown University, and a research affiliate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In this episode, Sharon and Dr. Jud discuss:

The neuroscientific definition of anxiety
Fear of the future
How we simulate the future
The difference between planning and worrying
Anxious feeling versus thought
Qualifiers for mental health diagnoses
The research behind Mental Noting
The antidote to anxiety is curiosity
Exploring gratification to its end
How much does worrying help?
Thinking isn’t what changes behavior
We’re wired for happiness
Neuroscientists don’t talk about willpower
Internet myths about anxiety
Deprivation curiosity
How misinformation fuels anxiety
Collective anxiety
Default Mode Network
Five Finger Breathing
Noticing our “oh no” moments
Kindness and curiosity are best friends
The Unwinding Anxiety App

The conversation closes with a short guided curiosity practice. You can learn more about Dr. Jud’s work and get a copy of his book, Unwinding Anxiety, right here and learn more about his Mindshift Recovery App right here.

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