On today’s episode of Being Well, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, the author of The Body Keeps the Score, joins Rick and Forrest to explore how trauma keeps us stuck, and how we can use imagination, self-expression, and creativity to break away from those old patterns. Along the way they talk about using somatic and non-cognitive interventions, internalized abuse, the value of a developmental perspective, using psychedelics for complex trauma, some of the problems with modern psychiatry, and how we can cultivate an equitable, flexible, and compassionate approach to treatment.About Our Guest: Bessel van der Kolk is a professor of Psychiatry at the Boston University School of Medicine and president of the Trauma Research Foundation in Brookline, Massachusetts. He’s also the bestselling author of The Body Keeps the Score, which is one of the most influential modern books in the field. Key Topics:0:00: Introduction1:15: Imagination and aspirational thinking in healing trauma4:55: Creativity and cultural context6:10: Where a sense of agency begins8:40: Why people internalize abuse16:30: The many practices for redefining past traumas  22:10: The state of psychedelic research and the importance of patient care29:15: The need for new approaches to diagnosis and treatment34:00: Issues with the DSM-5 and the need to integrate interpersonal processes38:50: What counts as trauma? Collective trauma?42:25: The need for cooperative strategies confronting trauma in pro-social movements45:15: What helps people resource themselves to create change?51:45: RecapNew Course From Rick! Learn the lessons of a lifetime in the new and improved Foundations of Wellbeing 2.0 program. This yearlong, online program teaches you how to grow the 12 key inner strengths that lead to lasting wellbeing during difficult times. Our New Year's sale is running now, and you can use the code BeingWell25 to get an additional 25% off the purchase price.Sponsors:Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.Connect with the show: Subscribe on iTunes Follow Forrest on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Follow Forrest on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Visit Forrest's website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Being Well, Rick and Forrest answer questions from listeners. They explore what they’re still working on in their relationship, how we can disengage from obsessive thoughts and old patterns, Rick’s thoughts on psychedelics and how they can be used with discernment, their views on whether human nature is innately cooperative or competitive, and much more.If you’d like to ask a question to be answered on the show, send us an email at contact@beingwellpodcast.com or support us on Patreon.Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.Key Topics:0:00: Introduction1:10: What do Rick and Forrest still find challenging in their relationship?8:40: What to do with obsessive thoughts17:00: What to do when old patterns creep up26:35: Rick’s thoughts on taking psychedelics with intention outside of therapy35:05: Respect for indigenous tradition around psychedelic plant use37:00: Interpretation, discernment, and drugs as telescopes42:45: Compassionate justice vs. holding and controlling47:50: How do we get the ideas we have about the world?53:25: RecapSponsors:Green Chef makes eating well easy with plans to fit every lifestyle. Order organic, environmentally conscious meal kits at GreenChef.com/beingwell135 and use code beingwell135 to get $135 off across five boxes - and your first box ships free!Access over 30 at-home lab tests from Everlywell, and head to everlywell.com/beingwell for twenty percent off your next test.Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.MDbio is a plant-based medicine company with natural products that address sleep, anxiety, pain, and immunity. Get your FREE 10-count sample pack by going to mdbiowellness.com and entering the promo code BEINGWELL at checkout!Connect with the show: Subscribe on iTunes Follow Forrest on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Follow Forrest on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Visit Forrest's website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Democratic rising star Jason Kander discusses his journey recovering from PTSD, the impact of serving in Afghanistan, imposter syndrome, and the importance of supporting veterans' mental health. Highlights include overcoming anxiety, hypervigilance, therapy techniques for PTSD, and advocating for mental health services for homeless veterans.

On the previous episode of Being Well, we talked about how to identify our wants and needs...but identifying our needs is just the first step. After that comes the tricky business of coming to terms with those needs, and communicating them effectively to other people.In this episode, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explore best practices for claiming and expressing our needs. This includes how to navigate shame and inhibition, make effective agreements, be considerate of the person on the receiving end of our wants, and become more skillful at negotiation and repair. Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.Key Topics:0:00: Introduction2:05: Getting real about meeting our needs.7:10: Suppressing needs due to self-worth challenges8:35: Patience, making your offering, and tipping points11:45: Inhibition, and negotiating our needs with other people15:50: Non-Violent Communication and “Wise Speech” models26:30: The need for multiple cycles of communication28:20: Expecting defeat, and two big moments of pain32:10: Keeping agreements37:45: Confidence in the ability to repair39:35: Considering the person on the receiving end of your communication43:00: Generosity45:15: Questions to ask when feeling uncertain about how to express a need49:30: Death by a thousand cuts, and facing discomfort52:10: Asking others, “What else do you want from me?”54:30: Recap Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.Sponsors:Listen to Season 2 of Turning Points from Boston Globe Media wherever you get your podcasts!Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.MDbio is a plant-based medicine company with natural products that address sleep, anxiety, pain, and immunity. Get your FREE 10-count sample pack by going to mdbiowellness.com and entering the promo code BEINGWELL at checkout!Connect with the show: Subscribe on iTunes Follow Forrest on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Follow Forrest on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Visit Forrest's website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone has needs, but many people find it difficult to identify what authentically matters to them. Even when we can identify them, shame or fear often stops us from expressing those needs to others or taking the practical steps that would help us achieve them.Meeting our needs is a major source of well-being, and people who can identify their needs are more likely to get them met. On today’s episode of Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson focus on how to look inside, and figure out what you really need. They discuss different frameworks for categorizing our needs, what to do when we are confused by our desires, and how to get in touch with what you really want.Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.Key Topics:0:00: Introduction2:05: Common features among people who struggle to name their desires7:05: Three basic steps to relate to wants and needs8:00: Different frameworks for categorizing wants and needs21:00: What helped Rick get in touch with his own wants and needs?28:00: An experiential exercise35:10: Why addressing your needs and wants is not just naval gazing38:40: Forrest’s suggestions based on his own experience45:25: What to do when what we want is probably not best for us51:40: Creating a personal manifesto54:30: RecapNew Course From Rick! Learn the lessons of a lifetime in the new and improved Foundations of Wellbeing 2.0 program. This yearlong, online program teaches you how to grow the 12 key inner strengths that lead to lasting wellbeing during difficult times. Our New Year's sale is running now, and you can use the code BeingWell25 to get an additional 25% off the purchase price.Sponsors:Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.Connect with the show: Subscribe on iTunes Follow Forrest on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Follow Forrest on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Visit Forrest's website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Renowned physician Dr. Gabor Maté joins Rick and Forrest to explore the many problems for our bodies and minds that arise out of our modern culture, and what we can do to meet our needs, heal ourselves, and become more whole. They discuss our increasing separation from one another, issues with aspects of the medical model, the true nature of addiction, the developmental needs of children, the myth of “normal,” and recovering from traumatic experiences.About Our Guest: Dr. Gabor Maté is one of the world’s leading experts on trauma, addiction, and childhood development. His work has had an enormous impact on how we understand the interactions between our internal world and the world around us, and he is the bestselling author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, Scattered Minds, and his newest book The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture.Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.Key Topics:0:00: Introduction1:55: What Gabor means by a toxic culture4:25: Interpersonal biology - our physiology is modulated by our relationships7:10: What components are needed for a healthy culture?11:55: Examples of toxic culture’s impact on people’s behavior15:20: Addiction21:00: How and when to distinguish degrees of trauma27:05: Where and when to express healthy anger33:10: How turning against the self manifests as illness 36:45: What supports people in returning to their authentic nature?40:00: Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, and creating a sacred context41:45: Grief, integration, and letting go44:55: Gabor’s relationship with his children48:25: Five kinds of compassion, disillusionment, and truth51:20: Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary?53:25: RecapNew Online Course From Dr. Rick: Learn the tools you need to build strong, healthy, fulfilling relationships of all kinds in Rick's new Strong Heart Relationship Series. The program begins on February 18th, and all the teaching is recorded so you can watch on your own schedule. Visit RickHanson.net/strongheart to learn more and get 20% with coupon code BeingWell20.Sponsors:Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.Connect with the show: Subscribe on iTunes Follow Forrest on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Follow Forrest on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Visit Forrest's website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all have narcissistic traits. Having some sense of our own specialness isn’t just normal, it’s actually psychologically healthy. The problems start when people go beyond normal levels, and become addicted to feeling special. On this episode, Forrest is joined by Dr. Craig Malkin to explore narcissism and narcissistic traits. They talk about the different forms narcissism takes, the difference between narcissistic traits and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), red flags, dealing with narcissists, treatment options, and finding the “right amount” of feeling special.About our Guest: Dr. Malkin is a Lecturer in Psychology for Harvard Medical School, a licensed psychologist with several decades of clinical experience, and the author of Rethinking Narcissism: The Secret to Recognizing and Coping with Narcissists. He also has a great YouTube channel. Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.Key Topics:0:00: Introduction1:35: Narcissism as a pervasive universal trait4:10: What differentiates healthy narcissism vs. disordered narcissism?5:45: “Triple E” - exploitation, entitlement, empathy impairments6:45: Incapable of empathy, or unmotivated?9:10: What distinguishes having narcissistic traits from having NPD?13:05: Extraverted, covert, and communal narcissism23:10: Healthy and unhealthy narcissistic traits often go together25:20: Insecure attachment28:30: Emotional hot potato32:10: Social and cultural power dynamics 36:25: What does healing narcissism look like?42:55: What modalities do you use in therapy?45:20: Difficult relationships, communal activation, empathy prompts50:35: Extinction bursts and using anxiety responses in therapy53:25: How do you repair with your partner? 57:05: RecapGrief and Loss Workshop: We all face losses in life, from separation and disappointment to shocking, even traumatic events. Join me August 13 and 14 for 7 hours of LIVE, online teaching focused on learning simple, powerful practices that help us come to terms with loss, heal, and find happiness again. Use coupon code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off the registration price.Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.Sponsors:Bombas designed their socks, shirts, and underwear to be the clothes you can’t wait to put on every day. Visit bombas.com/beingwell and use code beingwell for 20% off. Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.Connect with the show: Subscribe on iTunes Follow Forrest on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Follow Forrest on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Visit Forrest's website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author and coach Mollie West Duffy discusses accepting and managing big emotions like anger, vulnerability, and anxiety. They debunk myths about dealing with tough feelings, emphasize self-compassion, emotional granularity, and relaxation techniques to navigate through difficult emotions effectively.

Receiving a diagnosis can be emotionally challenging, and leave a person with a lot of understandable questions: What does this mean? What do I do now? How do I relate to this?On this episode Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explore what a diagnosis is, how the diagnostic process works, the limitations of diagnosing someone, dealing with the emotions that come up, and how we can better think about and relate to receiving a diagnosis. Throughout the conversation they focus on how we can come to understand ourselves better, and be liberated by that understanding rather than burdened by it.ADHD is used a number of times during this conversation as an example, so if you have an ADHD diagnosis this episode could be particularly interesting.Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.Key Topics:0:00: Introduction2:55: What is a diagnosis, and what is the process used to give a diagnosis?6:50: What is the purpose of diagnosing someone?8:50: Situating what defines pathology within our evolutionary and cultural context11:40: Origins of mental health conditions, social environment, and privilege14:40: How diagnosis done, and differentiating between different diagnoses25:05: More discussion on environmental and cultural effects31:10: Three subtypes of ADHD33:00: The emotional complexity of receiving a diagnosis42:30: What helps people in working through the emotions that come up?46:35: Paying attention to your emotional experience as much as solving your problem.49:35: Mental health awareness, resources, and support from others51:00: Rick’s response when someone is given a diagnosis58:50: RecapSupport the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.Sponsors:MDbio is a plant-based medicine company with natural products that address sleep, anxiety, pain, and immunity. Get your FREE 10-count sample pack by going to mdbiowellness.com and entering the promo code BEINGWELL at checkout!Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.Ready to shake up your protein Ritual? Being Well listeners get 10% off during your first 3 months at ritual.com/WELL.Connect with the show: Subscribe on iTunes Follow Forrest on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Follow Forrest on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Visit Forrest's website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s been an explosion of interest in psychedelics over the last 10 years, and phrases like “psychedelic-assisted therapy” have gone from the relative fringes of the mental health conversation to bursting into the mainstream. Alongside a great deal of hype is a growing body of research revealing the potential of substances like psilocybin and MDMA as novel treatments for depression, addiction, and PTSD. On today’s episode of Being Well, Forrest is joined by Dr. Albert Garcia-Romeu from the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research. They explore the history and current state of psychedelic research, their subjective effects, the necessity of the “trip,” how psychedelics work in the brain, why researchers are so interested in these substances, and what a psychedelic-assisted therapy session looks like.About Our Guest: Dr. Garcia-Romeu is a member of the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences faculty at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His research examines the effects of psychedelics in humans, with a focus on psilocybin as an aid in the treatment of addiction.Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.Key Topics:0:00: Introduction1:55: Dr. Garcia-Romeu’s background3:00: What substances have been the focus of research?8:10: The history of psychedelics11:15: Usefulness and subjective effects of classical psychedelics (LSD/Psilocybin)17:35: Ego loss or “ego-death” and the role of spirituality in mental health21:40: What is happening neurologically with Psilocybin? 27:55: Psychedelics may be the best current treatment option for some conditions35:05: How close is the research to proving efficacy?38:05: The relative safety of psychedelics41:00: What does a psychedelic-assisted therapy session look like?47:00: Self-guidance in a session49:50: Duration of treatment, financial and legal access54:00: Using psychedelics for personal growth, spiritual practice, and even recreation58:00: Where is the field going?59:25: RecapSupport the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.Sponsors:Bombas designed their socks, shirts, and underwear to be the clothes you can’t wait to put on every day. Visit bombas.com/beingwell and use code beingwell for 20% off. Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.Ready to shake up your protein Ritual? Being Well listeners get 10% off during your first 3 months at ritual.com/WELL.Connect with the show: Subscribe on iTunes Follow Forrest on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Follow Forrest on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Visit Forrest's website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices