320 Eric Zimmer: The One You Feed

Jan 10, 2020

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Self-love is both the way I prevent and treat depression. - Eric Zimmer

How can you prevent and treat depression like you would the common cold?

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Wellness Force Radio Episode 320

Behavior Coach, Host of The One You Feed Podcast, and Author, Eric Zimmer, shares a new approach to looking at mental health, why depression is an emotional flu that we can heal through love and care, why humans are not meant to be alone and how you can feed your inner courage wolf.

Discover how to do your inner work from a heart-centered place.

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Listen To Episode 320 As Eric Zimmer Uncovers: 1:30 The Native American Story Of The Two Wolves

Cured
WFR 300 Special Edition: Top Lessons Learned From 300+ Shows
086 Mark Divine
Leave Wellness Force a review
Eric Zimmer
The One You Feed Podcast
The first time Eric heard the Native American parable about the two wolves while recovering from heroin addiction.
Dr. Gabor Mate
What led him towards his first steps to heroin addiction at a young age and how he began the path of recovery. (9:00)
Why disconnection is such a powerful force that leads people towards addiction.
His spiritual beliefs of living by a Zen Buddhist path.

13:50 Human Relations & Behavior Into Adulthood

His childhood environment and how that impacted his behavior then compared to now as an adult.
The love for nature he has despite growing up with parents who did not have that same interest.
What holds us back from actualizing who we want to be during our lifetimes. (16:00)
The basic yet most important skills for behavior change and how we're able to sustain it.
BJ Fogg
Nir Eyal
Charles Duhigg
206 Dan Pardi
The difference between knowing the strategy and acting on it.
Hal Elrod
275 Paul Chek
How the Four Doctors as told by Paul Chek brings us back to who we are at our core.
James Clear

23:00 Healing Through Community Support

His past and current involvement with AA and how it has saved not only his life but the lives of many people he personally knows.
The very profound experiences he has had with psychedelic substances.
His interest in someday participating in plant medicine ceremonies but the weariness of the risk he might experience based on his past.
285 Luke Storey
Zen Buddhism and what is at the core of its belief. (27:00)
Carl Jung
How he handles the shadow, welcoming it in, working with it, and then letting it go on its way.

29:30 The Differences Between Depression And Other Negative Emotions

The differences between depression and other negative emotions.
Why he sees depression as "a deadness" rather than "an anger" or "a sadness."
The moment he decided to just stop digging into the cause of his depression and treat it more like getting a common cold. (31:30)
Why we shouldn't try to contemplate our lives while also dealing with depression at the same time.
Lao Tzu
The fact that resisting depression will make it so much worse compared to accepting the pain and treating it on a physical level.
Why we don't have to see our personal pain and traumas as lessons, life reflections, or as something that had to happen for a reason. (37:00)
The simple fact that sometimes it just hurts to be human and that's okay; life is not only rewarding but also challenging.

41:00 Pain vs. Suffering

Difference between pain and suffering explained.
The fact that the cost of love is sometimes pain but we don't have to suffer from it.
What unity consciousness is and how it is there to support us when we are going through relatable difficult moments such as death. (42:40)
The emotional bandwidth that we can experience as human beings between ecstatic joy and our shadows.
Adyashanti
What it means to be "awakened" and live in this unity consciousness.
Why awakening gives you the freedom to feel things, not the freedom from feeling things. (46:00)
Whether or not a person can be "too mindful" and why there is a fear surrounding it.

49:00 Cultivating Curiosity For Life

How we can begin cultivating curiosity every day.
Why being curious is such a key trait for unlocking so many things we want to experience in life such as awe, awakening, fascination, or wonder.
The fact that self-love is a powerful tool for both preventing and treating depression (52:00)
How we can just allow the depression to be and accept it for what it is.
319 Dr. Jud Brewer
What steps we can take today to allow our curiosity to grow and also protect it.
How following what lights you up is a great self-care practice to hone in curiosity (55:00)
David Christian
Eric Tivers
317 Lauren Zander
M21 Wellness Guide
Wellness Force Community

Power Quotes From The Show

Treating Depression As An Emotional Flu

"I treat depression almost like I'd treat getting a common cold and give it basically no psychological attention. I often refer to depression as the emotional flu and thus I'd do what I'd do if I got the flu. I would make sure that I'm taking care of myself by getting enough sleep, Vitamin C, exercise, socialization, and good nutrition. I would do those things and beyond that, I would just let the depression take its course until it goes away. I don't turn my depression into deep, existential questioning." - Eric Zimmer

Curiosity Is A Key Human Trait

“Curiosity is one of the key traits that unlocks so many of the things that most of us would say is worth having in life. Whether that be awakening, awe, fascination, or wonder. It is also a remarkably good tool to lessen or emotional pain. The more curious we can become about emotional pain, the better able we are to take a step away from it and look at it in broader and new ways.” - Eric Zimmer

Suffering Equals Pain Times Resistance

"Resistance isn't helpful. I often quote this on my podcast, 'Suffering equals pain times resistance.' So, if I know that depression is my pain, the more I resist it and tell myself that it shouldn't be this way, the more I suffer. When I can sort of let it just be what it is, it's not that the pain isn't there, it's just that I don't make it worse. Sometimes the best thing we can do in certain situations is to not make it worse by waiting until the moment passes and engaging with it at a different time." - Eric Zimmer

Links From Today's Show

About Eric Zimmer

A behavior coach, podcast host, and author, Eric Zimmer is endlessly inspired by the quest for a greater understanding of how our minds work and how to intentionally create the lives we want to live.

At the age of 24, Eric was homeless, addicted to heroin and facing long jail sentences. In the years since he has found a way to recover from addiction and build a life worth living for himself.

Work With Eric

Eric works as a behavior coach and has done so for the past 20 years. He has coached hundreds of people from around the world on how to make significant life changes and create habits that serve them well in achieving the goals they’ve set for themselves.

In addition to his work as a behavior coach, he currently hosts the award-winning podcast, The One You Feed, based on an old parable about two wolves at battle within us. With over 300 episodes and over 13 million downloads, the show features conversations with experts across many fields of study about how to create a life that has less suffering and more fulfillment and meaning.

The One You Feed Podcast

Guests on the show include scientists, authors, researchers, teachers, thought leaders, spiritual gurus, and public figures and all offer practical, actionable wisdom that listeners can readily apply to their daily lives in order to act their way into a better experience of living.

His story and his work have been featured in the media including TedX, Mind Body Green, Elephant Journal, the BBC and Brain Pickings.

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