Anxiety Book Club

In this episode, I speak with with Sanjana Sathya, co-founder of Thrizer, a platform for therapists and their clients to help them use out-of-network benefits to pay clinicians who don't take their insurance   https://www.thrizer.com/

Mardou has a new book, and we discuss its contents. Find more about mardou at ifscomics.com or order the book at https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/714479/past-tense-by-sacha-mardou/

I talk with my guest Haley Weaver about her illustrated memoir, Give Me Space But Don't Go Far: My Unlikely Friendship with Anxiety. We talk about anxiety, coping mechanisms, family, sports, moving across country, drinking culture, and how swimming and drawing can be soothing. You can find Haley on instagram or substack .  Also mentioned in the episode: National Alliance on Mental Illness The Opal...

Mental Health Innovation: Unpacking the Business of Mental Health Tech with Steve Duke   In this episode of the Anxiety Book Club, host Josh Malina talks with Steve Duke, founder of the Hemingway Group and author of the weekly substack, the Hemingway Report. They delve into the complexities of scaling mental health innovations, the importance of business strategy for mental health startups, and wh...

Did you know that you have a nerve that runs from your brain stem to nearly all of your organs, that helps you shift from fight to flight, to freeze? Well, my guest this month, Dr. Stephen Porges, originator of the Polyvagal Theory, certainly does. Together we discuss the importance of this nerve in your mental health, or ill-health, and how autonomic nerve system regulation undergirds much of the...

In Episode 51, I speak with Anson Whitmer, co-founder of the men’s mental health app, Mental. We talk about Anson’s graduate research, depression in men, mental health culture, how the mental health app can provide a comfortable space for men, the multitude of things that effect mental health, what bonding looks like in men, the usefulness of cold water, Anson’s personal interest in mental health,...

In this episode of the podcast, I chat with Oren Jay Sofer about his brand new book, Your Heart Was Made For This. Oren is a teacher of buddhist mindfulness and author of the previously featured Say What You Mean, which appeared on the podcast as Episode 23. In this episode, we discuss: Oren’s motivation for writing the book The external expression of the dharma The benefits and skill of renunciat...

In this episode, I am joined by therapist, author, and professor Mary Pipher to discuss her memoir, A Life in Light: Meditations on Impermanence. We discuss her early childhood, participation in activism during the Vietnam War, her tenure as a therapist, her relationship with nature, light and grace, her focus on her family and, more recently, on non-attachment. https://a.co/d/gpozZHG

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Martha Sweezy, IFS therapist, author and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. We discuss her book, Internal Family Systems Therapy for Shame and Guilt . These topics are covered: The multiplicity hypothesis of IFS The difference between some Buddhist traditions and IFS The ontology of IFS  The shame cycle  Soothing parts Shaming parts Outward shaming par...

In this episode, I talk with trauma specialist Dr. Frank Anderson about his book  Transcending Trauma: Healing Complex PTSD with Internal Family Systems . We discuss: - What is complex post traumatic stress disorder? - How widespread some kind of trauma or overwhelming experience is - The usefulness of empathy vs compassion, especially in clinical settings - The importance and non-importance of di...

In this episode, I chat with Sharon Salzberg about her latest book , Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom. We discuss how useful self compassion is, the difference between remorse and guilt, urge surfing, the limits of mindfulness, the practice of looking directly at difficult feelings, why we might not label hardships as gifts, and the difference between equanimity and re...

In this episode, I chat with Amy Edelstein, author and creator of the Inner Strength System -- a program for teaching mindfulness to high school aged students. We discuss her book, The Conscious Classroom, and about the impact of her program (over 20,000 students in Philadelphia), the intricacies of its implementation and the special challenges facing teenagers today.    https://amyedelstein.com/...

In this episode, me and John Astin discover what everything is made of; or we give it a real college try! John works in the field of effortless mindfulness, an approach to present moment awareness that is truly amazing. Enjoy!   John's Website: https://www.johnastin.com/ The book: https://a.co/d/i0jJ7U4   My email: joshuamalina@gmail.com Podcast website: https://anxietybookclub.com/

In this episode of the podcast, guest Dr. Sally Winston and I discuss a component of anxiety she has identified as "Anticipatory Anxiety" -- which can be a bear to root out. Enjoy!   https://www.amazon.com/Overcoming-Anticipatory-Anxiety-Indecisiveness-Catastrophic/dp/1684039223

In this episode, I interview stand up comedian, dad, and psychonaut Stuart Preston about his one man show -- The Stoned Ape Show -- and his booklet, The Grief Trip, about the death of his son and how psychedelics have helped him to heal with loss. We have a frank discussion covering psychedelics -- including mushrooms, peyote and ayahuasca -- as well as suicide, how to talk about it (spoiler: we s...

In this episode, I speak with Chief Clinical Officer Athena Robinson at Woebot Health. Woebot is a therapist in your pocket; a conversational agent; someone to tell your woes to! I've been using Woebot for the last few months, and it honestly has helped me -- to reframe unrealistic thoughts, get grounded, and feel supported. Give it a whirl -- it's free. And I hope you enjoy the episode. https://w...

In Episode 40 of the podcast, I speak with author and therapist Natasha Senra-Pereira about her riveting memoir, Talk Therapy is Not Enough. We chat about her journey of healing, including her work with alternative therapy approaches, including somatic healing, Internal Family Systems, (Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) EMDR, psychedelics and more. It’s a fun book and conversation, an...

In this episode, me and the amazing Sacha Mardou (known as Mardou in her comic books), discuss her contribution to art and mental health via her ifscomics.com, her previous books ( here and here ), and her forthcoming memoir. We discuss her personal path to healing (which also comes by way of anxiety), and how the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model and her description of her sessions via art has...

In this episode, I talk with philosopher Kieran Setiya about his very new book, Life is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way . We discuss hope, pain, illness, moral philosophy, stoicism, grief, FOMO, and much more. Enjoy!   Kieran’s Podcast: https://anchor.fm/kieran-setiya   Kieran’s Website http://www.ksetiya.net/   Kieran’s Twitter https://twitter.com/KieranSetiya?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle...

In a bit of a departure for the podcast, this episode goes local, and explores how community mental health operates at a single organization, San Mar Family and Community Services in Boonsboro, Maryland. San Mar provides a diverse collection of services, including foster care support and outpatient mental health. My guests are CEO Keith Fanjoy and Director Jerica Washington, who explain the ins an...

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-Cycle...

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 conventiona...

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:...