Dr. Judson Brewer, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, discusses anxiety as a habit loop and shares strategies for breaking it. He explains the role of reward in anxiety, the impact of uncertainty, and the digital world. Dr. Judson emphasizes the importance of approaching anxiety objectively and scientifically. Strategies for breaking the habit loop include reflecting on lack of reward, getting curious about anxiety, and shifting focus. He also discusses how this approach can work for depression and anger.

Internationally renowned addiction psychiatrist and neuroscientist Judson Brewer discusses the science behind habits and how to change them. Topics explored include stress, boredom, mindfulness, pleasure, satisfaction, contentment, and the difference between habits and addictions. Dr. Jud also shares insights on the hunger test, the role of awareness in behavior change, and the impact of shame on personal growth.

Tara and Dr. Judson Brewer discuss anxiety as a habit that can be unlearned through mindfulness. They explore strategies like noting practice, recognizing habit loops, and cultivating self-care. They also touch on the impact of social media on anxiety, the connection between habits and anxiety, and the importance of curiosity in breaking free from habit loops.

Join Dr Judson Brewer, expert in mindfulness and overcoming anxiety, as he discusses the transformative potential of mindfulness in unraveling anxiety, breaking destructive habits, and reassigning the reward value of behaviors. Explore the impact of mindfulness on brain function, the challenge of awareness in today's distracted world, and effective techniques for habit change. Discover Judson Brewer's personal journey to becoming a mindfulness expert and his strategy for managing anxiety. Learn valuable insights into distinguishing anxiety from depression and replacing bad habits with good. Don't miss this eye-opening conversation!

Psychiatrist and addiction expert Judson Brewer was researching better treatment options for alcohol and cocaine addiction patients and found, through clinical studies, that meditation could significantly help break these behaviors or "habit loops" and prevent relapses. Brewer, who is now the director of research at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine's Center for Mindfulness, founded a company called Claritas MindSciences, which uses neurofeedback techniques combined with mindfulness exercises for several conditions, from eating disorders to smoking addiction. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The subject of anxiety never seems to lose its relevance. In this special episode we answer listener voicemails with one of the world’s leading experts on anxiety. Dr. Jud Brewer is the Chief Medical Officer at Sharecare and the Director of Research and Innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center. He is also the New York Times best-selling author of Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind and an expert in the field of habit change and the science of self-mastery. In this episode we talk about:  The current levels of anxiety in our cultureWhy fear and planning can be helpful, but worrying is notThe role of curiosity and kindness in short circuiting anxiety How to differentiate between anxiety and excitementWhether we can try too hard to treat our anxietyAnd why as a society we are moving away from distress tolerance Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/judson-brewer-530See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Judson Brewer visits Google to discuss his book "Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind." The book lays out a step-by-step plan that is clinically proven to break the cycles that drive anxiety and addictive habits.  We are living through one of the most anxious periods any of us can remember. Whether facing issues as public as a pandemic or as personal as having kids at home and fighting the urge to reach for a wine bottle every night, many of us are feeling overwhelmed and out of control. In this timely book, Dr. Judson Brewer explains how to uproot anxiety at its source using brain-based techniques and small hacks accessible to anyone. We think of anxiety as everything from mild unease to full-blown panic. But it's also what drives the addictive behaviors and bad habits we use to cope, such as stress eating, procrastination, and social media doom-scrolling. Anxiety lives in a part of the brain that resists rational thought, so we get stuck in anxiety habit loops that we can't think our way out of or use willpower to overcome. Dr. Brewer teaches us how to map our brains, so that we can discover our triggers, defuse them with the simple but powerful practice of curiosity, and to train our brains using mindfulness and other practices. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.  

You may think of anxiety as a reaction, a feeling, or a disorder. My guest today says that perhaps the best way to think about anxiety, especially if you want to treat it effectively, is as a habit.His name is Dr. Judson Brewer, and he's a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, and the author of Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind. Dr. Jud and I begin our conversation with what anxiety is, and how it gets connected into a habit loop that can lead to other maladaptive behaviors like drinking, overeating, and worrying. Dr. Jud then explains how to hack the anxiety habit loop by mapping it out, disenchanting your anxiety-driven behaviors, and giving your brain "a bigger, better offer" by getting curious about your anxiety. We also talk about why asking why you're anxious is not part of this process, and end our conversation with how this habit-based approach to behavior change can also work for things like depression and anger.Resources Related to the PodcastAoM Podcast #497: The Meaning, Manifestations, and Treatments for AnxietyAoM Podcast #614: Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your LifeAoM article, podcast, and video on hacking the habit loopAoM article on asking "what" instead of "why"Undoing Depression by Richard O'ConnorConnect With Dr. JudDr. Jud's Website

In this episode, we traverse a decade of Sam’s conversations on the topic of meditation.  We start with the very first recorded episode from the archives: a conversation with Sam’s meditation teacher and friend, Joseph Goldstein. Goldstein recalls how his thinking was unlocked—allowing him to fully realize the power of the practice—by the utterance of one single word. We then hear from author Richard Lang as he guides us towards a strangely obvious insight that came to be known as “the headless way.” Next, philosopher and neuroscientist Thomas Metzinger employs his vast expertise in both neurobiology and meditation to show how our brains generate a model of the world and self, and how meditation can help us catch that process in the act. Psychiatrist Judson Brewer then shifts the conversation to some very practical applications of mindfulness meditation, addressing the problem of addiction to things like food, smoking, or drugs by retraining the reward centers in our brains. Next, Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson dig into the neuroscience of meditation and discuss how experienced meditators may actually be physically altering their brains.  We then listen in on Sam’s conversation with author Robert Wright, who defends the claim that “Buddhism is true.” Sam and Wright discuss the validity of this claim while ensuring they keep it separate from the political and moral behaviors of Buddhist nations and individuals. We conclude with Sam delivering the answer to a question posed by the Belgian neuroscientist Steven Laureys. In doing so, Sam provides a comprehensive tour of his philosophies. He ties together his personal brand of moral analysis, his reverence for science and truth seeking, and his reasoning as to why he still meditates and why he proudly promotes the practice.   About the Series Filmmaker Jay Shapiro has produced The Essential Sam Harris, a new series of audio documentaries exploring the major topics that Sam has focused on over the course of his career. Each episode weaves together original analysis, critical perspective, and novel thought experiments with some of the most compelling exchanges from the Making Sense archive. Whether you are new to a particular topic, or think you have your mind made up about it, we think you’ll find this series fascinating.  

With three solid years on the New York Times bestseller list, James Clear’s Atomic Habits has made a habit of success. On this episode, the author and entrepreneur who has inspired millions of readers to change their health behaviors for the better puts it simply: Who we are reflects our habits. With his helpful metaphors and refreshingly straightforward and sustainable mindset techniques inspired by psychology greats, we can all build habits that make us shine.Learn MoreLearn more about James Clear and his weekly 3-2-1 newsletter on his website.Get a copy of Atomic Habits, then put your new tools to use with the Clear Habit Journal here.Check out more approaches to creating and unwinding habits on these Trained episodes featuring addiction psychiatrist Judson Brewer and behavior scientist BJ Fogg.