Dr. UnStuck Podcast — Get Out of Your Head. Get Into Your Life.

Weatherproofing refers to looking for cracks, chips, or faulty parts of a house that we then plan to fix. This is also something we can do with other people and ourselves. Often we think that fault-finding is about the other person's annoying or challenging behavior, when in reality it says nothing about them and everything about us. We get roped into this habit and begin to see life as not being...

Many of us walk around dodging genuine compliments as if they were horseflies. We often break eye-contact when someone says something truly heart-felt, followed by an abrupt change of topic and polite dismissal of the nice-sayer. We need to make a conscious effort to become comfortable with the uncomfortable in order to allow the good in and to get used to how this feels. As when we do, we attract...

Each inner conflict, emotional need, or craving needs a solution that matches the "problem" or area in need of healing. Just like someone with scurvy would take vitamin C and not vitamin B12 or a calcium supplement, we need to fill our selves up with the soul food that matches the wound or deficit within us. This week we continue our discussion on becoming hardwired for happiness by further explor...

There is a reason that we are drawn to wallow in sadness and hit replay on hurt feelings to relive each and every detail. Our brains are hardwired for negativity bias , meaning that we learn faster from bad things happening than we do from good ones. This is very primal, from way back when we were being chased by Saber-tooth tigers and needing to learn fast lessons of survival. The good news is th...

Gratitude is a key factor in achieving happiness and creating a fulfilling life. We are the authors of our own story, writing our own script. When we practice gratitude daily, our thoughts begin to shift as neurons respond to this consistent and disciplined effort. Neurons that wire together fire together and this new thought pattern of gratitude and positivity can actually be seen on an fMRI brai...

Suffering can intensify when we develop the habit of judging and blaming ourselves for our own thoughts and feelings, and this self criticism can fuel depression like lighter fluid. By practicing mindfulness, we can shift this habit to one that cultivates balance as we learn to pay attention to the present moment in a nonjudgmental, curious, and compassionate way. What we practice we inevitably ge...

This week's episode is a continuation of our discussion on the depressed pattern of thinking, how this can sneak up from behind and grab us . . . pulling us down a worm hole where we lose touch with ourselves and what it was once like to feel happy and excited about life. This episode speaks to teens, young adults, and seasoned adults, while also addressing the additional dark forces of the pandem...

Getting swallowed up by the dark thoughts of depression can be frustrating, frightening, and seemingly endless. To make things worse, we are often judged by the world and ourselves for being unable to handle it, and labeled with being attention-seeking, dramatic, and just plain weak. This stigma can attach itself to us like super-glue to the point that we internalize this toxic internal dialogue,...

The mind and body are intimately connected. In fact, it has often been said that if you want to know what's going on in the mind just ask the body . . . as what we think directly affects how we feel. Many of us are also walking around out there with "brain fog" going on and wondering if we're losing it, unaware that the whole world has actually experienced trauma and that trauma significantly impa...

It's ironic that what is meant to be a form of connection actually disconnects us from ourselves and others. Most things done in moderation are alright; however, social media is not being used this way by most teens and young adults, with an estimated 7 hours per day of screen time (not counting work or school). This is more than a full-time job and has taken its toll on the younger generations as...

Say what? Stress can be a positive thing in my life? The answer is yes, it absolutely can, and making this choice to shift to a new and improved positive stress mindset can be life-changing . . . Join us this week for a short and sweet discussion on what defines a negative and positive stress mindset, as well as some simple steps to take action toward a healthier way of living and accomplishing wh...

When the world closed due to Covid-19, many of us were forced to pivot quickly  . . . with schools and colleges shutting their doors on a dime's notice, unforeseen job furloughs, our living room becoming our new office, and instant overwhelming change on the home front with no space or time to call our own.  Students have struggled with the challenges of online learning from home, a loss...

How we "filter" external information and events has consequences for our lives, especially with how we interpret and process setbacks and failure. When Dr. Seus was just getting started his book was turned down by 27 publishers. Oprah Winfrey, early on in her career, was turned down by a network as they did not think she was "a good fit for television." Children in a low-income public school distr...

Some people think that they are inherently pessimistic and that others won the winning ticket in the "Happiness Lottery." They are unaware of how their explanatory style affects themselves as well as those around them. For pessimists, they filter most incoming information as personal, pervasive, and permanent. Optimistic people are less likely to become depressed, are more resilient, and live...

People often have such a difficult time with letting go of old injury and wrong-doing, not realizing what a gift forgiveness is to the self. Much of the reason is because they believe this justifies the wrong-doer's action when it absolutely does not. They are also often unaware of the detriments of hanging onto grudges, anger, and resentments, not realizing that we only have so much emotional ene...

Too much time on our hands can be fun for some, but for those over-thinkers not so much . . . Especially for young adults who had just begun "talking" with someone prior to the pandemic, there is just too much uncertainty to obsess over. Also, today's Millennial and Gen Z-ers frequently feel the pressure to stay on track with how life "should" unfold which often includes becoming a couple, adding...

We make assumptions everyday, especially in our relationships, leading to lots of unnecessary anger, hurt feelings, resentment, break-ups, and overall drama. Find out why we have a tendency to jump to conclusions, what is going on behind the curtain in the brain, and how to break free from this very, very not-so-good habit.

As the old cliche goes . . . misery loves company . This is incorrect, as misery loves miserable company . . . The same is true with positivity, as good vibes tend to attract more good vibes. This episode continues the discussion on the insatiable "ego-mind" and how making even one seemingly small change can move us further along the path to personal freedom. Learn about the detriments of the "com...

Many of us are walking around stuck and not even aware of it, as we have gradually grown accustomed to living a life of imitation and falsity, often trying to measure up to a world outside ourselves. This discussion on "becoming free" begins with understanding the ego-mind and it's constant yearning for attention,  approval, and appreciation. Anyone who has gotten wrapped up in a relationship...

The importance of mindfulness during a pandemic, or any crisis, is just so important . . . yet, we often tend to do the opposite and get swept right up in the momentum of the threat. We reside in the "what if's" of the future, catastrophizing and rehearsing the solutions to problems that don't exist.  Meanwhile, our valuable life minutes are slipping through our finger tips . . . and we can n...

Part I looked at the neuroscience behind the very primal feelings of anxiety and fear, as well as offering some very practical strategies to manage these feelings. Part II will now expand upon this into the various ways these raw emotions can manifest, as well as what happens when there is a pandemic . . . bringing with it the immediate fear of scarcity for many. We will discuss how scarcity can b...

This episode continues the discussion on the obsessive compulsive thought pattern as it relates to fear, and further describes what is specifically going on with the worry circuit, leading to the realization that anxious, fear-based thinking is a brain-thing and therefore not our fault. From here, very practical strategies are provided to reduce the activity of the threat circuit, offering the fea...

This episode continues the discussion on how the "Monkey Mind" works as well as how to manage it. As anxiety is clearly not going to accommodate us . . . we need to make room for it and let it run it's course. When we learn to welcome anxiety rather than resist it, the door opens wide for us to take control and become the "Boss" of our brain . . . leading us down a new path toward living our best...

We tend to blame our brain a great deal — for the inability to remember when put on the spot, for intrusive thoughts making us feel badly, for being slow when we need it to be fast … — as if it were a tyrannical ruler whom the rest of our body needs to follow no matter what. We refuse to take responsibility for our brain’s health and our own personal happiness. If we did this, we could then experi...

This trailer sparks the beginning of the Mindcraft podcast series that will take a look at what is going on in the anxious mind, specifically the worry circuit of the limbic system that causes the unwanted, intrusive, and racy thoughts often referred to as the "Monkey Mind." Then, there will be several podcasts that provide some very practical strategies to reduce these intrusive thoughts and the...