
Dr. Kathleen Smith on Bowen Theory and Understanding Anxiety
12/22/21 • 37 min
Dr. Kathleen Smith is the author of Everything Isn’t Terrible: Conquer Your Insecurities, Interrupt Your Anxiety, and Finally Calm Down.
I first discovered Dr. Smith's work through her must-read newsletter—she's an expert in Bowen Family Systems Theory, which looks at anxiety through the lens of our relationships. We don’t exist in isolation—we're constantly reacting to others around us, in our families and relationships, at work, and on social media.
This was a fun conversation, so thanks again to Dr. Smith. You can learn more about her work at kathleensmith.net.
Special thanks to Ashley Smith for additional production support.
Dr. Kathleen Smith is the author of Everything Isn’t Terrible: Conquer Your Insecurities, Interrupt Your Anxiety, and Finally Calm Down.
I first discovered Dr. Smith's work through her must-read newsletter—she's an expert in Bowen Family Systems Theory, which looks at anxiety through the lens of our relationships. We don’t exist in isolation—we're constantly reacting to others around us, in our families and relationships, at work, and on social media.
This was a fun conversation, so thanks again to Dr. Smith. You can learn more about her work at kathleensmith.net.
Special thanks to Ashley Smith for additional production support.
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Eric Michael Garcia on What It Means to Be #ActuallyAutistic
Eric Michael Garcia is an autistic journalist whose new book is We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation.
Garcia is the senior Washington correspondent for The Independent, following editorial roles at the Washington Post and The Hill. He’s also been a correspondent for National Journal, MarketWatch, and Roll Call, and has written for The Daily Beast, The New Republic, and Salon.com.
As a child, he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, which is now diagnosed under the broader ASD (autism spectrum disorder). We talked about the history of the autism diagnosis, how it has evolved, how the language around it has changed, and how autistic people are using social media (like the #ActuallyAutistic hashtag on Twitter) to speak out in a media ecosystem that historically marginalized or ignored them.
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Michael Hobbes (@RottenInDenmark) is a journalist and co-creator of the hit podcasts Maintenance Phase—which he co-hosts with Aubrey Gordon—and You’re Wrong About, which he co-hosted with Sarah Marshall before leaving last year.
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Special thanks to Ashley Smith (@Cosmic_Bigfoot) for production support.
EIL: Everything I've Learned - Dr. Kathleen Smith on Bowen Theory and Understanding Anxiety
Transcript
Kathleen Smith: If sitcoms taught us anything, is that you could be highly allergic to your family and still be close to them. So...
Mark Armstrong: Hi, everybody, this is Everything I’ve Learned, a podcast about lessons, mistakes, and other turning points. I’m Mark Armstrong. As always, you can support the show by going to eil.show/join. You can also leave a review and a comment at Apple Podcasts.
During the holidays, a couple of yea
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