Everyday Wellness with Cynthia Thurlow ™ cover image

Everyday Wellness with Cynthia Thurlow ™

Ep. 337 Transform Your Life with Practical Optimism with Dr. Sue Varma

Feb 21, 2024
Dr. Sue Varma, a psychiatrist, discusses the impact of shared experiences like 9/11 and the pandemic, practical optimism, self-care, and self-reliance. Topics include optimism inheritability, women's milestones, purpose, compassion, processing emotions, perfectionism, trauma, ACE scores, autoimmunity, mindfulness, and meditation.
55:06

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Practical optimism and self-care are essential for resilience in facing tragedies like 9/11 and the pandemic.
  • Acknowledging and processing emotions is crucial for mental and physical well-being, with reframing negative thoughts promoting optimism.

Deep dives

Impact of 9-11 and the Pandemic as Shared Life Experiences

The podcast episode discusses the profound impact of both the 9-11 terrorist attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic as shared life experiences. The speaker, Dr. Sue Varma, highlights how these events created a collective sense of grief, fear, and dread. The episode explores the role of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in both scenarios and emphasizes the importance of practical optimism, self-care, and self-reliance. Dr. Varma also touches on major milestones for women, midlife loneliness, the role of purpose and compassion, and the facade of perfectionism. The podcast delves into the connection between trauma, adverse childhood events (ACE) scores, and autoimmunity. Mindfulness and meditation are discussed as effective tools for processing emotions and promoting overall well-being.

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