the tara bixby podcast

Hit play to hear why I think so many people are struggling with their mental health today. I talk about when the Jetsons met the Flintstones, why your nervous system is freaking out, and what you can do to help it feel safe.  P.S. Love this minisode? Feel free to share it with a friend who would benefit from hearing it. 🤩

Are you ready to overcome negative thinking, discover deep healing, and find lasting peace? If you’re nodding your head yes, then this episode is for you.  Dr. Seth Gillihan is a practicing psychologist, author, former professor, and podcast host of the Think Act Be podcast. He is the author of multiple books on mindfulness and CBT, with his latest being Mindful Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindful Cognitive Behavioral Therapy offers a fresh, welcome approach for treating mental health issues that speaks to our times, blending mindfulness and spirituality with CBT. In today's episode, we talk about...  - How Dr. Gillihan’s struggles inspired him to write Mindful Cognitive Behavioral Therapy  - What traditional Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks like  - How Dr. Gillihan adds mindfulness to CBT  - What you can do if you struggle with fear-based or intrusive thoughts  - Why pushing thoughts away isn't the goal - What makes harm-related OCD thoughts unusual  - What the think act be model looks like - How thoughts drive our emotions  - The importance of exploring beneath the surface level thought  - Why you should find gratitude in the “suck” - Dr. Gillihan shares his thoughts on toxic positivity  - What you can do if you’re struggling with catastrophic thinking ...and so much more! ✨ If you loved today’s conversation, and you know someone who’d benefit from hearing it, please share it with them.  HANGOUT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/courageously.u/   TODAY'S SHOW NOTES: https://courageouslyu.com/dr-seth-gillihan/

Do you feel lazy when you rest? Do you feel like you always have to be productive? If you can relate, this minisode is for you, my friend!  Hit play, and I'm going to tell you why it's time to change your definition of productivity.  P.S. Love this minisode? Feel free to share it with a friend who would benefit from hearing it. 🤩

Today the courageous Sadie Sutton is hanging out with us on the show to share how she navigated her mental health as a teen.  Sadie is a 19-year-old psychology student at the University of Pennsylvania. After receiving a year and a half of intensive treatment for severe depression and anxiety, and since fully recovering from severe depression and anxiety, she was inspired to share her story with fellow teens going through their own personal growth. Sadie started the She Persisted podcast in 2019. Inside her episodes, she conducts impactful and inspirational interviews with subject matter experts, fellow teenagers, and social media personalities to break down the stigma surrounding mental health and inspire teens to create a life worth living.  In today's episode, we talk about...  - What Sadie’s mental health struggles looked like - What her mental health treatment looked like - How she engaged in self-harm as a means of getting validation and attention - What mindset shifts she had to make to help improve her mental health - What she feels was not helpful in her healing journey - What Dialectical behavior therapy looks like - Why sleep is crucial to improving your mental health - Why she started the She Persisted Podcast - What she’d suggest to a parent whose teen is struggling with their mental health - What tool you can use to help with intense emotions - What she’d say to a teenager struggling ...and so much more!   ✨ If you love today’s conversation, and you know someone who’d benefit from hearing it, please share it.    HANGOUT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/courageously.u/   TODAY'S SHOW NOTES: https://courageouslyu.com/sadie-sutton/

Anxiety and agitation are signs that your nervous system has shifted into a sympathetic state of fight-or-flight, and stress hormones are now flowing in your body.  Sihing is a fantastic way to shift your nervous system out of a sympathetic state and back into a ventral state of calm.  If you're new to nervous system work, you want to be in a ventral state (anxiety and agitation don't live there).  👉🏼 If you loved this minisode, please screenshot it and share it with a friend. The more people who have this tool in their toolbox, the better.  Happy sighing, my friend! 🤩

Today the fabulous Dr. Joanna Moncrieff is hanging out with us to help me create a conversation about all things psychiatric medications. If you’re on meds or are considering getting on meds, this episode is a must-listen. Dr. Moncrieff is a psychiatrist, researcher, professor, and best-selling author. She is a professor of Critical and Social Psychiatry at University College London and works as a consultant psychiatrist in the NHS in London. Dr. Moncrieff researches the rational use and understanding of psychiatric drugs and the history, politics, and philosophy of psychiatry more generally. Her books include The Bitterest Pills, The Myth of the Chemical Cure, and A Straight Talking Introduction to Psychiatric Drugs. She is also co-founder of the Critical Psychiatry Network, which consists of a group of psychiatrists from around the world who are skeptical of the idea that mental disorders are simply brain diseases and of the dominance of the pharmaceutical industry. In today's episode, we talk about...  - What Dr. Moncrieff believes is the problem with drug treatment for mental health problems - How the chemical imbalance theory was turned into a marketing message - The downside to believing in the chemical imbalance theory - How antidepressants change your brain chemistry - The implications of using antidepressants longterm - How improvement after someone starts taking a psych med is due to a placebo effect - How antipsychotics help people who are acutely psychotic - How we should approach psychosis - What you need to know about stopping your mental health medications - Why stopping a benzodiazepine can leave you even more anxious than before you started the med ✨ If you found this episode helpful and you think someone else would find it valuable, spread a little bit of cyber love and share it on your Instagram stories. HANGOUT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/courageously.u/   TODAY'S SHOW NOTES: https://courageouslyu.com/dr-joanna-moncrieff/

Ready to get off the diet roller coaster? Jenna Hollenstein is hanging out with us today to discuss how mindfulness can deepen and sustain your intuitive eating practice.  Jenna is a nutrition therapist, meditation teacher, and author of five books. Her work combines intuitive eating, trauma-sensitive mindfulness, Polyvagal theory, and other embodied modalities. As someone who has struggled with yo-yo dieting and emotional and binge eating, I can't recommend this episode enough.  We talk about...  - What intuitive eating is - What it looks like to intuitively eat - Why it’s important to eat enough food   - What tends to drive binge behaviors - How to reach satisfaction through food - What happens when you restrict food - Why intuitive eating is not a diet - What makes diet culture so sneaky  - Why having a perfect body is not your job - How the thought of restriction can trigger chaotic thinking around food   ✨ If you found this episode helpful and you think someone else would find it valuable, spread a little bit of cyber love and share it on your Instagram stories.   HANGOUT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/courageously.u/   TODAY'S SHOW NOTES: https://courageouslyu.com/jenna-hollenstein/

Stuart Sandeman is hanging out with us inside Episode 132 to talk all things breathwork. Stuart is a globally recognized breathing expert, performance coach, and author. He is the founder of Breathpod, which helps individuals and groups reach their full potential through the power of breathing. We talk about...  - Why controlling your breath is important - The difference between reactive and proactive breath - How to use breath to manipulate your nervous system - How you can use breathwork to trigger a relaxation response - How you’re supposed to breathe when speaking - What the benefits of mouth taping are - Why it’s important to hold your breath during a breathing exercise - How congestion can tell you which nervous system state you’re in He also walks us through a few of his favorite breathing techniques. ✨ If you found this episode helpful and you think someone else would find it valuable, spread a little bit of cyber love and share it on your Instagram stories. HANGOUT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/courageously.u/   TODAY'S SHOW NOTES: https://courageouslyu.com/stuart-sandeman-2/  

Donna Jackson Nakazawa is hanging out with us to discuss how we can help girls thrive in an era of increased anxiety and depression.  Today’s conversation is more important than ever because in case you didn’t know, girls are more prone to depression and anxiety than ever before and Donna’s here to help you understand the science of why this is.  Donna is an award-winning science journalist, author, and internationally-recognized speaker whose work explores the intersection of neuroscience, immunology, and human emotion. Her mission is to translate emerging science in ways that help those with chronic conditions find healing. We're talking about.. - Why girl's mental health is worsening - How chronic stress impacts girl's brains differently than boys - Why it’s important to know the science - How losing the in-between years negatively impacts girl's mental health - How social media impacts adolescent girl's mental health - The role puberty plays in a girl's mental health - Why we’re seeing a sharp rise in self-harming behaviors in young girls - Why you need to develop a safe and stable relationship with your daughter - What you can do to help improve your daughter's mental health - Why you need to be regulated if you hope to help regulate your daughter If you know someone who'd benefit from hearing this conversation, please share it with them. 🥰 Also, if you haven't done so already, be sure to follow the podcast. I'm adding a bunch of bonus minisodes to the feed and I don't want you to miss them.    HANGOUT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/courageously.u/   TODAY'S SHOW NOTES: https://courageouslyu.com/donna-jackson-nakazawa/    

Did you know that on average, people keep as many as thirteen secrets at any given time? Today Michael Slepian is hanging out with us to discuss all things secrets. Michael studies the psychology of secrets and how keeping secrets affect variables that govern social and organizational life. He’s also a professor at Columbia Business School, author of The Secret Life of Secrets, and an elected fellow of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology.  In today's episode, we talk about... - What a secret is - How secrets can become a burden - Why people keep secrets - Why someone might feel compelled to share their secret - Why some people are better secret keepers than others - Whether or not you should keep a secret - Why keeping secrets can feel hard - What you can do if you’re struggling with a secret - When secrecy starts to impact a kid's well-being  ___________________________________________ ✨ If you loved this episode, please share it with a friend. Your shares help grow this small but mighty community.  ✨ Also, if you haven't done so already, be sure to follow the podcast. I'm adding a bunch of bonus minisodes to the feed and I don't want you to miss them.  HANGOUT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/courageously.u/   TODAY'S SHOW NOTES: https://courageouslyu.com/michael-slepian/