Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson - Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Forrest Hanson

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 31: Motivation Without Attachment Aug 13, 2018

Show notes

On this episode, Dr. Rick Hanson and Forrest begin the strength of Motivation with an episode that explores how we can pursue our goals with passion and purpose, without becoming painfully attached to them.

If you'd like to start making real, positive changes to your brain and your life, but you don't have a lot of extra time, then you may want to check out Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price.

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The material in this podcast comes in large part from our book Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness. If you like the podcast, you'll love the book!

Timestamps:

1:20: Why are liking and wanting different?

4:45: What causes us to tip from liking into wanting?

8:25: If liking is good and wanting is bad, why is it so easy to tip into wanting?

12:30: Forrest’s experience with video games.

16:45: Addiction and moments of lucidity.

19:10: Identifying wanting through drivenness.

21:00: Things that pull us into wanting.

24:30: How can we stay in liking?

29:00: The danger of auto-wanting.

30:45: Delusional desire.

32:45: Recap

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Ep. 30: 7 Ways Past Anger Aug 06, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Rick Hanson and Forrest conclude the strength of Calm with an episode dedicated to exploring seven ways we can work with anger skillfully.

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The material in this podcast comes in large part from our book Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness. If you like the podcast, you'll love the book!

Timestamps:

0:35: Understanding the costs of anger

3:05: Never speaking or acting from anger

6:15: Reducing the priming for our anger

7:00: Reacting in proportion

10:00: Avoiding the habit of irritability

14:20: The tendency of fault-finding

16:30: The pitfalls of various kinds of talent

18:10: The story of the two monks

21:30: Know our near-enemies

24:30: The biology of slowing down

29:50: Walking away from excessive righteousness

33:00: Moral outrage in society

37:20: Recap

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Ep. 29: Injustice and Anger Jul 30, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Rick Hanson and Forrest talk about managing one of our most difficult emotions: anger. Specifically, they focus on how we can distinguish between skillful and unskillful anger, particularly relating to issues of social justice.

Sponsor Message: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Connect with the show:

The material in this podcast comes in large part from our book Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness. If you like the podcast, you'll love the book!

Timestamps:

1:15: The physical costs of anger.

3:40: The interpersonal costs of anger.

5:15: How can we remove the costs of anger without turning into a doormat?

11:00: Finding the line between skillful and unskillful anger.

18:00: Using anger to find our deeper wants and needs.

19:45: What tends to lie under anger?

24:45: Tribal anger and social justice

29:50: The importance of saying “I’m sorry.”

31:50: Tribal leaders and the value of mobilizing anger.

33:55: Outraged vs. enraged

35:45: Recap

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Ep. 28: How to Feel Safe Jul 23, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Rick Hanson and Forrest discuss how we can fight back against fear and learn to feel safer. They explore ways to reduce anxiety, identify resources, and deal with the real challenges of life.

Sponsor Message: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Connect with the show:

The material in this podcast comes in large part from our book Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness. If you like the podcast, you'll love the book!

Timestamps:

0:30: What causes fear?

2:30: Feeling reasonable safety.

7:15: Anxiety in the body.

9:00: Identifying the resources we have to fight threats.

12:30: How can we feel safer during REAL threats?

14:25: The importance of growing resting-state resources.

16:25: Three ways to deal with immediate threats.

20:00: Ways to approach the fear of truly dreadful things.

24:55: Reducing steady-state anxiety.

27:50: Dealing with anticipatory dread.

34:00: Recap

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Ep. 27: Avoiding Needless Fear Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Rick Hanson and Forrest discuss how to manage and reduce a particular kind of fear: paper tiger paranoia. This fear is characterized by needless anxiety that comes from the brain’s creation of imaginary threats.

Sponsor Message: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Connect with the show:

The material in this podcast comes in large part from our book Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness. If you like the podcast, you'll love the book!

Timestamps:

1:00: What does “paper tiger paranoia” mean?

3:25: How do “tigers” appear in the modern day?

4:45: Why paper tigers crowd out real ones.

6:20: Hidden costs of paper tiger paranoia.

8:20: The insidiousness of fear.

11:00: Recognizing sources of needless anxiety.

17:45: Fighting back against fear.

20:30: Fear, agency, and acceptance.

23:30: Recap

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Ep. 26: Use Calm to Fight Stress Jul 09, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Hanson and Forrest begin a new series of episodes exploring the strength of Calm. Particularly, they focus on how we can learn to activate the calming wing of the nervous system to fight back against stress.

Sponsor Message: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Connect with the show:

The material in this podcast comes in large part from our book Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness. If you like the podcast, you'll love the book!

Timestamps:

1:30: Why is calm an important inner strength?

3:20: The dangers of being hijacked by fear.

7:05: The biological basis of calm.

11:05: Modern culture and the sympathetic nervous system.

12:30: Understanding your needs.

15:15: Developing a wide range of response.

17:20: The ease of being driven from the green zone.

19:20: Ways to calm down.

23:00: State calm vs. trait calm.

28:00: The importance of tranquility.

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Ep. 25: How to Feel "Like a Good Person" Jul 02, 2018

Show notes

It's often surprisingly hard to feel like a good person...even if we are one! Dr. Hanson and Forrest wrap up the strength of Confidence by exploring how we can authentically feel like a good person from the top-down and the bottom-up.

Sponsor Message: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Connect with the show:

The material in this podcast comes in large part from our book Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness. If you like the podcast, you'll love the book!

Timestamps:

0:30: What is “feeling like a good person?”

3:00: Why is it hard to feel like a good person?

6:00: Comparing part of our lives to all of another’s.

7:00: Why is it good to feel like a good person?

11:00: Ways to grow the feeling of being a good person.

17:00: Top-down vs. bottom-up

20:00: Recap

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Ep. 24: Managing Your Inner Critic Jun 25, 2018

Show notes

There are two “characters” we all have inside our minds: an inner critic and an inner nurturer. Dr. Hanson and Forrest focus on how we can manage our inner critic while building up a strong inner nurturer.

Sponsor Message: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Connect with the show:

The material in this podcast comes in large part from our book Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness. If you like the podcast, you'll love the book!

Timestamps:

0:40: What is an inner critic and an inner nurturer?

2:15: Do we have these voices in balance?

4:30: 3 things we can do to limit the influence of the inner critic.

7:55: Balancing too much and too little criticism.

10:00: What value can we take from the inner critic?

11:50: The experience of a child.

14:15: Building up your inner nurturer.

17:20: What the inner nurturer feels like.

19:00: How we feel inside vs. how we act towards others.

20:30: How to stop the inner critic before it gets going.

24:00: Recap

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BONUS: Paul Gilbert on Confidence Jun 18, 2018

Show notes

On today’s episode of the Being Well Podcast, Dr. Hanson interviews Dr. Paul Gilbert, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Darby and the founder of compassion focused therapy. They explore how we can grow a healthy sense of self-worth, be honest without being critical, and stop undermining our own confidence.

The content of today's episode was taken from Dr. Hanson's online course, The Foundations of Well-Being.

Sponsor Message: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

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Ep. 23: Stop Punishing Yourself Jun 13, 2018

Show notes

Our negative reactions to the painful experiences of life that are often more harmful than those experiences themselves. Dr. Hanson and Forrest explore how we can avoid these “second darts."

Sponsor Message: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.

Connect with the show:

The material in this podcast comes in large part from our book Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness. If you like the podcast, you'll love the book!

Timestamps:

0:40: What are the first and second darts?

2:50: An example of first and second darts.

5:15: Finding where you have influence.

7:15: Avoiding adding second darts.

12:30: Not fueling second darts.

15:00: Changing the channel on second darts.

15:50: Managing second darts in relationships.

18:55: Sticking to first darts when communicating.