Anxiety Book Club

In this episode, I discuss a variety of practice that seeks to take the "meditator" out of meditation. Loch Kelly, author and meditation teacher, introduces us to a kind of meditation that helps us awaken immediately and without strenuous effort. Enjoy our conversation, and find out more about Loch at his website, or through his book.

In this episode, I speak with author and science journalist James Kingsland about his newest book, "Am I Dreaming?: The Science of Altered States, from Psychedelics to Virtual Reality, and Beyond". We discuss how our brains behave under the influences of these alternative realities, and what the scientific community has found about their therapeutic benefits.    Am I Dreaming? Plastic Brain Blog

In Episode 34, we welcome Dr. Judson Brewer back to the podcast to understand anxiety and worry as a habit, and how to unravel them. Dr. Jud uses neuroscience to identify the ways that mindfulness can help us unlearn unskillful behaviors like worrying, and let curiosity disenchant our minds with the experience of ruminative habit loops   https://www.amazon.com/Unwinding-Anxiety-Science-Shows-Cycles/dp/0593330447

Join me in conversation with Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor, associate professor of psychology at University of Arizona, and expert in the neuroscience of grief and loss. We discuss what happens to our brains when we lose those close to us, and how to explain grieving behavior, including what makes it so challenging. We also dispel some myths about the grieving process and add nuance to the conventional wisdom around what to expect during the "normal" grieving process.  The Grieving Brain

Join me for another fun and informative conversation with Dr. Patricia Zurita Ona to talk about her latest book, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for High Achieving Behaviors. We talk about ACT, mentorship, anger, shame, when emotions fuse with identity, fear of failure, the scope of perfectionism, how perfectionists see their self worth, how perfectionism can be socially acceptable   Book link: https://www.amazon.com/Acceptance-Commitment-Perfectionism-High-Achieving-Behaviors/dp/0367369222 Other books mentioned:  https://www.amazon.com/When-Anger-Hurts-Quieting-Within/dp/1572243449

Buckle your seatbelts! In this incredible interview with Dr. Richard Schwartz, creator of the now popular therapeutic method Internal Family Systems (IFS), we talk about the world he has discovered inside his and his patients' minds, whether to understand these descriptions as useful metaphors for deep work or as bona fide depictions of the characters that live in our minds! To boot, Dr. Schwartz helps me find an exile of my own. This episode is unlike anyone ever recorded on the podcast before -- I hope you enjoy!    IFS Institute The Book: No Bad Parts

People talk a lot about compassion these days. But how do you cultivate it? And why would you want to? On this episode, I sit down with Sara Owens Woodard, PhD, psychologist, consultant and teacher of Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT). CCT is a Stanford developed, 8 week course on how to cultivate more compassionate in your own life -- toward yourself, your loved ones, and even the guy on the street. Enjoy!   https://www.compassioninstitute.com/ https://saraowenswoodard.com/

Please enjoy my conversation with best selling author and memoirist Christie Tate as we discuss her book, Group: How One Therapist and Circle of Strangers Saved My Life. We discuss shame, secrecy, therapy, sex, and more. Books and other links from our conversation: Christie's Book Her reccomendations:  Chronology of Water Heavy Love and Trouble Christie's Instagram

In Episode 28, me and Dr. Z (aka Patricia Zurita Ona) discuss all things anxiety, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), the limits of positive psychology, how to get unstuck with a nifty grounding exercise, and her own origins and relationship to anxious thoughts. Also, we recorded a video! https://contextualscience.org/ https://www.thisisdoctorz.com/ https://twitter.com/DrZ_behaviorist  https://amzn.to/32G7Skj  

In Episode 27 of the Anxiety Book Club, we chat once again with the very wise, and very fun to talk to -- Eowyn Ahlstrom -- mindfulness instructor and author of a recently published book of poetry, Mindscapes: Practice Poems. We discuss her poetry, the histrionics of the mind, the mental peace that can be cultivated through dedicated practice, the paradoxes encountered while sharing our lives with others, compassion, kindness, and so much more. I hope you enjoy the episode, and if you want to read all of Eowyn’s poems, you can find the book for sale on her website here, or in Kindle version here.