Think Act Be Podcast

My guest this week is Dr. Christopher Kerr. Chris is a hospice physician and author of the recent book, Death Is But a Dream: Finding Hope and Meaning at Life's End (affiliate link) . This was an important topic, but I hadn’t realized the implications for the current situation we find ourselves in with the coronavirus pandemic. One of the things that’s so many of us are deeply troubled by is that...

My guest this week is Dr. Joel Minden, a psychologist who specializes in the treatment of anxiety. We focused on the ideas from his excellent new book, Show Your Anxiety Who's Boss (affiliate link ) . Joel's emphasis is on finding effective long-term strategies that can change our relationship with anxiety in a big way, rather than on trying to find tricks to use in the moment to just get through...

My guest this week in Dr. David Richo, who was on the podcast before back in 2018 when we talked about mindfulness in relationships . This time we were focusing on his new book, Triggers: How to Stop Reacting and Start Healing (affiliate link) . It’s a great guide for how to use your emotional reactions when you’re triggered as the starting point for identifying and resolving the underlying issues...

My guest this week is Dr. Rob Leeman, who specializes in research on alcohol use among adults. Rob has been a good friend of mine for the past two decades, since we met in graduate school in 2001. He’s a real expert on alcohol and addiction, and he shared from his wealth of knowledge in this discussion. There are a lot of important takeaways here—things like the effects of alcohol on anxiety and s...

My guest this week is psychologist Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, author of the brand new book, Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization (affiliate link). We spent a good bit of time thinking together about how the ideas from his terrific book apply to ongoing coronavirus crisis and the social distancing that’s affecting our lives in so many ways. (One effect is that our family members are home...

In these anxious times we need ways to come back to center, as stress and uncertainty can lead to being wound up, scattered, out of our bodies and stuck in our minds. So this week I have a simple centering practice for you, called Fourteen Breaths. This meditation actually comes from a new course I've created called Balance: Mindfulness-Centered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety, Stress, &...

My guest this week is Linda Carroll, author of the recent book, Love Skills: The Keys to Unlocking Lasting, Wholehearted Love (affiliate link) . This is an important conversation for any time, and it may be especially important now as so many of us are social distancing on the one hand but are also with our partners 24/7. This can be great, and also presents challenges, and opportunities to work t...

I have two guests for you this week—psychologists Dr. Paul Napper and Dr. Anthony Rao, authors of the recent book, The Power of Agency: The 7 Principles to Conquer Obstacles, Make Effective Decisions, and Create a Life on Your Own Terms . The three of us explored ways to reclaim greater control over our lives, from engaging more with the physical world to releasing fear and honoring our intuition....

My guest this week is Denise Wiesner, author of the recent book, Conceiving With Love . We discussed many issues that arise when a couple starts trying to get pregnant, especially when they have difficulty conceiving. It’s easy for passion and intimacy to go out the window when you’re trying to have a baby, and my guest offers many insights and practices to help couples stay close through the proc...

My guest this week is spine specialist and neurosurgeon Dr. Jack Stern, author of the recent book, Ending Back Pain: 5 Powerful Steps to Diagnose, Understand, and Treat Your Ailing Back (affiliate link) . If you or someone you love struggles with back pain at times, which unfortunately is likely to be the case, I think you’ll find this conversation really useful. I was very interested to hear from...

My guest this week is Beth Ruggiero York, author of a memoir called Flying Alone . Beth and I talked about her passion for flying airplanes, the dangers she faced as she climbed the ranks to become a commercial airline pilot, and the challenges she moved through along the way. We also talked about the chronic illness that Beth has dealt with for several decades now. I think you’ll be able to relat...

I’ve got something different for you this week—a guided meditation. I’ve been busy finishing the first class in the Think Act Be online school . Today's meditation is actually taken from the course. It's a brief guided 3-part meditation, which takes about three minutes. This kind of practice can be a really effective way to let go of anxious thoughts or worries and to calm the nervous system, just...

My guest this week is Laura McKowen, author of the memoir, We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life . This was great discussion not just about the pervasiveness of alcohol in our culture and the challenge of leaving behind alcohol addiction, but about the urge we all have to escape in some way. As someone who gave up alcohol myself about three years ago, I can say from experience...

My guest this week is psychiatrist Dr. Stuart Eisendrath, who specializes in mindfulness-based treatment of depression. We discussed his new book, When Antidepressants Aren’t Enough: Harnessing the Power of Mindfulness to Alleviate Depression (affiliate link) , in which he describes the need for more effective depression treatments. Unfortunately millions of people find that medication alone fails...

My guest this week is Robyn Spizman, author of a recent book called Loving Out Loud: The Power of a Kind Word . We focused on ways to share more love and connection with the people in our lives. For the most it’s just a matter of paying attention for opportunities. As Robyn describes, she had some real challenges going on in her life, but she seems determined to find love and joy right in the midd...

My guest this week is Kristi Hugstad, author of Beneath the Surface: A Teen’s Guide to Reaching Out When You or Your Friend Is in Crisis . Kristi was moved to write this book as part of her efforts to address the stigma of mental illness, especially among young people, after her husband died by suicide. In this episode we talked about the rising rates of depression among teens and some of the poss...

My guest this week is Captain Tom Bunn, a former airline pilot who is now a psychotherapist. Tom specializes in treating panic, which he got into through helping people with a fear of flying. Now he’s written a book, Panic Free: The 10-Day Program to End Panic, Anxiety, and Claustrophobia (affiliate link ), which describes a way to use human connection to stop the panic response. This was a really...

My guest this week is poet and professor Dr. Ross Gay. I loved Ross’s recent book, The Book of Delights , which we talked a lot about in this episode. I think you’ll be able to hear how much I enjoyed talking with Ross and hearing his insights into joy, sorrow, loss, love—toward the end I was really moved by his description of self-love, and why it’s often so difficult. Hopefully this conversation...

My guest this week is Aaron Walker, author of  View From the Top . Aaron is a lifelong businessman, having started fourteen companies, as well as a life coach. In this episode we talk about what it means to be successful and to live a life of significance, the ultimate emptiness of money without an overarching purpose, how to move through fear, challenges, and setbacks—including some dramatic exam...

My guests this week are author Margo Rabb and horticulturist Chris Fehlhaber. It’s the first time I've had two guests on the podcast, and my first face-to-face interview. I learned of Margo’s work through a beautifully moving piece she wrote for the New York Times called “ Garden of Solace .” The garden she refers to is Chanticleer, which is about 15 minutes from where I live and one of our favori...

My guest this week is Dr. Jill Carnahan, a physician who specializes in functional medicine. This approach focuses on identifying the root cause of illnesses, rather than just using medication to treat symptoms. Dr. Jill has not only a tremendous amount of knowledge about how our bodies and minds heal, but firsthand experience from her own serious health challenges. Much of our conversation focuse...

My guest this week is poet Ada Limón. We discussed several of the recurrent themes in Ada's two most recent collections of poetry:  Bright Dead Things  and  The Carrying— grief, loss, love, joy, and the inextricable link in this life between beauty and sadness. We also explored the inherent enjoyment in being present, and effective ways of managing life's stress and uncertainty.  Get full access t...

My guest this week is psychologist Dr. Todd Pressman, whom I had the pleasure of getting to know after reviewing and enthusiastically endorsing his excellent book, Deconstructing Anxiety . Todd has a profound understanding of fear and its many manifestations. He offers a systematic approach for recognizing your core fear—the root that underlies all the ways fear shows up in your life. And just as...

My guest this week is professor and author Dr. Jonathan Haidt. We focused on Jon’s recent book, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure , co-written with Greg Lukianoff. It aims to track down the cause of two parallel trends among Generation Z:  the rise in anxiety, depression, and suicide, and the increasing sensitivity among st...

My guest this week is psychiatrist Dr. James Gordon, author of a book called The Transformation: Discovering Wholeness and Healing After Trauma . I can almost guarantee that Dr. Gordon will change how you think about trauma and how we recover from it. It changed my understanding of how we approach trauma treatment, even though I’ve specialized in this area for over a decade. Dr. Gordon shared his...