How reflective are you with the thoughts you think? In this episode, Mireille and Adam talk through a few more cognitive distortions. These “distortions” are general tendencies or patterns of thinking that are false or inaccurate, which also have the potential to cause psychological damage. Generally speaking, people develop cognitive distortions as a way of coping with adverse life events. The more prolonged and severe those adverse events are, the more likely it is that one or more cognitive distortions will form. By recognizing these patterns in our thoughts and possibly how, when, or why we’re prone to use them, like many things, we create the opportunity to change them. Join the discussionChangelog++ members support our work, get closer to the metal, and make the ads disappear. Join today!Featuring:Mireille Reece, PsyD – LinkedInAdam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, XShow Notes:Mireille is giving a talk at Heartifacts in August — check out this blog post for details on her talk and ways you can win a free pass to the conference! 50 Common Cognitive Distortions What is the underlying cause of cognitive distortions? Facts or Opinions? What Are Cognitive Distortions and How Can You Change These Thinking Patterns? Cognitive Distortions: When Your Brain Lies to You Brain Science #7: What are you thinking? Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!

You are not what you’ve been dealt. You might have heard in your life that you’ve inherited bad genes or even good genes, and from that you conclude that you’re doomed or blessed. In some cases there’s a margin of truth to that. However, the role of genes, Epigentics, and Neuroplasticity tell a different story. It’s a story of hope and opportunity for change. Join the discussionChangelog++ members support our work, get closer to the metal, and make the ads disappear. Join today!Featuring:Mireille Reece, PsyD – LinkedInAdam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, XShow Notes: Dr Sarah McKay - an Oxford University-educated neuroscientist What are DNA and Genes? What are Proteins? Basics of neural transmission What is Epigenetics? BDNF gene - brain-derived neurotrophic factor What is neuroplasticity and how does it work? Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!

How much do you focus on your sense of touch? Have you ever considered how or why this sense is so critical to our lives and how we manage ourselves? In this episode, Mireille and Adam discuss the neurophysiological underpinnings of our sense of touch and how our brains process these sensory experiences. According to David Linden, Ph.D., Professor of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, “The sense of touch is intrinsically emotional.” Not only is touch relevant to our emotional experience, but it is a foundational aspect of the development of our nervous system and it impacts how we manage stress and respond to pain. It isn’t surprising then to consider that touch is also extremely relevant to our relationships as we are apt to feel more connected to those with whom we engage in touch. Join the discussionChangelog++ members support our work, get closer to the metal, and make the ads disappear. Join today!Featuring:Mireille Reece, PsyD – LinkedInAdam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, XShow Notes: The Power of Touch Harlow’s Classic Studies Revealed the Importance of Maternal Contact Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart, and Mind (book) The Neuroscience of Touch and Pain Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!

Researchers have examined the power of story and discovered the way in which stories provide a framework that has the capacity to transcend language for universal understanding. According to Joe Lazauskas, “Stories illuminate the city of our mind…stories make us remember and they make us care.” In this episode we dive deep into the power of story to explore the ways in which stories play a role in our emotions and in our relationships with others. Join the discussionChangelog++ members support our work, get closer to the metal, and make the ads disappear. Join today!Featuring:Mireille Reece, PsyD – LinkedInAdam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, XShow Notes:Stories are designed to take you on a journey; a journey you’re more likely to remember and relate with as you are apt to examine ways in which you can see yourself in the story. While our biases can interfere with our understanding of others, stories have the power to circumvent the challenges these pose and allows the opportunity for changes in our attitudes and henceforth our responses. When we’re able to see ourselves in others’ stories, we make others more relatable, and therefore easier to live with and work alongside. Listen to Adam’s backstory Me Before You (2016) (this is the movie Adam couldn’t remember) The Neuroscience of Storytelling (CCO Podcast) How Stories Change the Brain Something universal occurs in the brain when it processes stories, regardless of language How Narratives Can Improve Intergroup Attitudes The mind’s mirror - A new type of neuron–called a mirror neuron–could help explain how we learn through mimicry and why we empathize with others. What’s So Special about Mirror Neurons? Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!

High expectations for performance in both life and work are common, but what do you do when you get stuck and you’re not able to achieve the results you desire? In this episode, Mireille and Adam talk through the different aspects of perfectionism and ways in which is can be adaptive and helpful and other ways in which it poses additional challenges. What happens when we avoid the possibility of failure as opposed to simply having high standards for our performance? How can we begin to focus on healthy striving as opposed to reaching for perfection? Join the discussionChangelog++ members support our work, get closer to the metal, and make the ads disappear. Join today!Featuring:Mireille Reece, PsyD – LinkedInAdam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, XShow Notes: What is perfectionism? 4 destructive traits of perfectionism, from Dr. Brené Brown Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS) Perfectionism, Health, and Well-Being (book) Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!

In this episode, Mireille and Adam talk through the challenge of problem solving. It’s all to common to utilize the “try harder” approach when things aren’t working out the way you’d like. While that kind of effort is valuable, this approach is often wrought with further frustration, wasted time and less than desirable results. This episode offers you an alternative perspective and ways that you can practice getting unstuck and utilize more of the resources of your unconscious mind. Join the discussionChangelog++ members support our work, get closer to the metal, and make the ads disappear. Join today!Featuring:Mireille Reece, PsyD – LinkedInAdam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, XShow Notes: A neuroscience approach to innovative thinking and problem solving - this covers the research and study from Corinne Canter and Dr Trisha Stratford Freud and the Unconscious Mind Brainwave Basics The Pomodoro Technique created by Francesco Cirillo Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!

In this episode, Mireille and Adam discuss the importance of building resiliency and how we can build skills to navigate unexpected and unwanted adversities. Fundamentally, we are designed to adapt out of a place of survival. Given that, we have to learn how to manage our fear while building awareness of the perceptions we have so that we can learn how to be both flexible and calm. Not surprising, we also talk about the way in which our relationships with others help us buffer the challenges better so that we are able to remain calmer and henceforth, see the opportunities within the obstacles. Join the discussionChangelog++ members support our work, get closer to the metal, and make the ads disappear. Join today!Featuring:Mireille Reece, PsyD – LinkedInAdam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, XShow Notes: Building your resilience on American Psychological Association 10 Traits of Emotionally Resilient People 25 Ways to Boost Resilience How resilient are you? (Resiliency quiz) CORRECTION!! The phrase in Batman Begins is “Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” You can watch it here and again here. Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!

It’s been said that happy people are thankful, but maybe it’s the other way around. Thankful people are happy. In this episode we discuss the value of and the way that practicing gratitude can improve your overall outlook and mental health. Mireille and Adam talk through some of the underlying neuropsychological aspects of this habit including the key brain structures and neurotransmitters that are affected by practicing this routinely. This is one show that will pay–over and over again–that is, if you’re willing to put the knowledge into practice. Just how “happy” do you want to feel? Join the discussionChangelog++ members support our work, get closer to the metal, and make the ads disappear. Join today!Featuring:Mireille Reece, PsyD – LinkedInAdam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, XShow Notes: Counting Blessings Versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life Positive thinking opens your eyes to more opportunities Gratitude and your brain The Neural Basis of Human Social Values: Evidence from Functional MRI The Science of Gratitude The Cultivation of Pure Altruism via Gratitude: A Functional MRI Study of Change with Gratitude Practice The Grateful Brain - The neuroscience of giving thanks Try gratitude journaling Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!

The quality of your thinking depends on your mental framework. To become a better thinker you need to have an understanding of this mental framework and how you view the world. But, what exactly is a mental framework? How have we all been programmed throughout our lives? In what ways have you been programed that you like, don’t like, or want to change? Join us as we explore and examine the key components of developing a mental framework. Join the discussionChangelog++ members support our work, get closer to the metal, and make the ads disappear. Join today!Featuring:Mireille Reece, PsyD – LinkedInAdam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, XShow Notes: Classical conditioning That Discomfort You’re Feeling Is Grief The Danger of Absolute Thinking Is Absolutely Clear Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!

Given all of the recent changes and adjustments many individuals have made to working remotely, Mireille and Adam discuss some of the relevant aspects of working from home. How do you develop habits that work for you to be the most productive? Which factors make a difference to be successful in navigating challenges that emerge and how can you develop ways of staying socially connected while being physically distant? Join the discussionChangelog++ members support our work, get closer to the metal, and make the ads disappear. Join today!Featuring:Mireille Reece, PsyD – LinkedInAdam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, XShow Notes: search?q=Remote Does Money Really Affect Motivation? A Review of the Research What Most Remote Companies Don’t Tell You About Remote Work - Isolation, anxiety, and depression in the remote workplace and what we’re doing about it Forget Work-Life Balance. Work-Life Blending Is the Key to Happiness - Work-life balance isn’t real, but you can have a thriving career and time for yourself Drive by Daniel Pink Physical Distancing The Doctor Who Helped Defeat Smallpox Explains What’s Coming Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!