In today’s modern world, we are constantly fed mental shortcuts that can influence our thoughts and ideas. We aren’t required to do a lot of deep thinking into what we’re consuming, because all too often, an algorithm does that for us. Where does the responsibility lie? How reliant are we on mental shortcuts and the absence of deep thought? Are we satisfied with only being shown part of the whole picture? Are we getting full on what Xavier describes as the “junk food mental diet”? 

In this thought-provoking conversation, we investigate how topics such as social incentives, groupthink, and heuristics, can all have an impact on our mental health, behavior and relationships. 

We shift our conversation to explore different strategies and questions we can ask ourselves to counteract our natural cognitive biases.

Xavier Bonilla holds a Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) and has been a licensed clinician doing mental health work for 15 years. He has worked in various inpatient and outpatient settings and has numerous experiences working with individuals that have serious mental illness. He is a former seminarian and is also a podcaster. His podcast, Converging Dialogues, is a podcast designed to have honest and authentic conversations with a diversity of thought and opinions from a wide-range of guests. 

You can follow Xavier on Twitter @xavierbonilla87

Xavier's podcast, Converging Dialogues: https://linktr.ee/convergingdialogues

Xavier’s opinion pieces on centrism, nationalism, and Latinos: https://xavierabonilla.medium.com/

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Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.

Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.

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