Jon Fredrickson, MSW: The Lies We Tell Ourselves

07/12/21 • 79 min

Thoughts on Record: Podcast of the Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Previous Episode

Dr. Jud Brewer: Unwinding Anxiety - A Novel Model for Understanding & Treating Anxiety

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Anxiety is a normal and necessary component of the human experience; however, under some circumstances normal psychological processes related to anxiety can unwittingly become entrenched in "habit loops" that can keep an individual stuck. New York Times best-selling author, neuroscientist, addiction psychiatrist, and thought leader in the field of habit change, Dr. Jud Brewer, joins us for a fascinating discussion of his novel model of anxiety as described in his new book "Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind”. This discussion includes a consideration of:

the evolutionary value of emotions and Dr. Brewer's perspective on when and how normally adaptive anxiety can evolve into a self-defeating habit
the mechanism by which anxiety and associated cognitive processes & behaviours can unwittingly turn into bad habits
a consideration of whether rates of anxiety are actually rising and features of our modern lifestyle that could be contributing to such a trend
the value and utility in tolerating uncertainty
an in-depth review of Dr. Brewer's model for understanding and treating anxiety including conceptualizing anxiety as a habit loop as well as leveraging awareness to allow individuals to become attuned to the actual vs. predicted awards of engaging in anxiety habit loops
the addiction-like dynamics surrounding the cognitive & behavioural experience of anxiety (e.g., “wanting” vs. “liking”)
why willpower, substitution, stimulus control & environmental manipulation are strategies that are oversold with respect to their ability to affect change
the importance of finding the "bigger, better offer" to derail anxious habit loops & why Dr. Brewer feels mindfulness, curiosity & kindness are critical in this respect
a brief consideration of how his model dovetails with traditional CBT

Dr. Jud Brewer is a New York Times best-selling author, neuroscientist, addiction psychiatrist, and thought leader in the field of habit change. He is the Director of Research and Innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center, where he also serves as an associate professor. He is the executive medical director at Sharecare Inc. and a research affiliate at MIT. Dr. Brewer has developed and tested novel mindfulness programs for habit change, including treatments for smoking, emotional eating, and anxiety. His new book is called “Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind”

https://drjud.com/
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Next Episode

Ralph Blumenthal: The Believer: Alien Encounters, Hard Science & the Passion of John Mack

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Once considered a fringe topic, aliens and the possibility of alien encounters are now the subject of considerable mainstream media attention. Pulitzer Prize winning journalist & author, Ralph Blumenthal, joins host Dr. Pete Kelly, C.Psych for a discussion of his new book The Believer: Alien Encounters, Hard Science, and the Passion of John Mack. In this discussion they cover:

how Ralph became interested in the area of UAPs/UFOs, alien abductions & Dr. John Mack’s investigation of these phenomena
a brief outline of the news coverage Ralph has done in this area including recent groundbreaking articles that he has written for the New York Times
a brief portrait of Mack and his journey into investigating alien abduction
consideration of alien abductions from a psychological/psychiatric lens (i.e., possible differential diagnoses such as parasomnia, psychosis, delusional disorder & substance use)
Mack's investigation into whether experiencers had a psychological/personality profile more predisposed to fantasies, suggestibility & beliefs in the paranormal
Mack's conceptualization of the abduction phenomenon with respect to a physical vs. psychological experience
elements common to reported alien abductions, reported prevalence rate, possible culturally bound-features of reported experiences & universal features of reported abduction experiences
Ralph's impression if whether in isolation or in aggregate Mack had anything in his personal context that dovetails with or explains his interest in these encounters
Ralph's reflection on whether there were any major mistakes that Mack made that set his investigations back
the hypothetical link between the UAP/UFO phenomenon and consciousness with a consideration of ongoing psychedelic research
societal psychological reaction to increased reporting of UAP/UFO phenomenon in the mainstream media

Host note: a big thank you to my very good friend, Michael Leblanc, for his excellent thoughts, suggestions & insights around questions and areas of focus for this episode.
Ralph Blumenthal, a Distinguished Lecturer at Baruch College of the City University of New York, was an award-winning reporter for The New York Times from 1964 to 2009, and has written seven books on organized crime and cultural history. He led the Times metro team that won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of the 1993 truck-bombing of the World Trade Center. In 2001, Blumenthal was named a Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to research the progressive career and penal reforms of Warden Lewis E. Lawes, “the man who made Sing Sing sing.” The book on Warden Lawes, Miracle at Sing Sing, was published by St. Martin’s in June, 2004. During the coronavirus pandemic he has contributed articles to The Times and other publications, worked from home on his Baruch Archives blog, “An Adventure in Democracy”, and given virtual talks on his new book, “The Believer: Alien Encounters, Hard Science, and the Passion of John Mack.” Blumenthal earned a Guggenheim Fellowship (2001), a Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism Alumni Award (2001), and the Nieman Foundation’s Worth Bingham Prize for distinguished investigative reporting on USAir crashes. (1994.) He was inducted into the C.C.N.Y. Communications Alumni Hall of Fame in May 2010. Since 2010 he has taught journalism in the summer program of Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H., and in 2010 was named a Distinguished Lecturer at Baruch College where he taught journalism and currently oversees historic collections in the Newman Library Archives.
https://www.ralphblumenthal.com/