In this episode, I chat with Sharon Salzberg about her latest book, Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom.

We discuss how useful self compassion is, the difference between remorse and guilt, urge surfing, the limits of mindfulness, the practice of looking directly at difficult feelings, why we might not label hardships as gifts, and the difference between equanimity and resignation, among other topics. Enjoy!

In this episode, I chat with Amy Edelstein, author and creator of the Inner Strength System -- a program for teaching mindfulness to high school aged students. We discuss her book, The Conscious Classroom, and about the impact of her program (over 20,000 students in Philadelphia), the intricacies of its implementation and the special challenges facing teenagers today. 

https://amyedelstein.com/

https://innerstrengtheducation.org/

The Conscious Classroom

In this episode, me and John Astin discover what everything is made of; or we give it a real college try! John works in the field of effortless mindfulness, an approach to present moment awareness that is truly amazing. Enjoy!

John's Website: https://www.johnastin.com/

The book: https://a.co/d/i0jJ7U4

My email: [email protected]

Podcast website: https://anxietybookclub.com/

In this episode of the podcast, guest Dr. Sally Winston and I discuss a component of anxiety she has identified as "Anticipatory Anxiety" -- which can be a bear to root out. Enjoy!

https://www.amazon.com/Overcoming-Anticipatory-Anxiety-Indecisiveness-Catastrophic/dp/1684039223

In this episode, I interview stand up comedian, dad, and psychonaut Stuart Preston about his one man show -- The Stoned Ape Show -- and his booklet, The Grief Trip, about the death of his son and how psychedelics have helped him to heal with loss. We have a frank discussion covering psychedelics -- including mushrooms, peyote and ayahuasca -- as well as suicide, how to talk about it (spoiler: we should), shame, privacy and other mental health concerns.

Find Stuart here: https://stonedapecomedy.com/

In this episode, I speak with Chief Clinical Officer Athena Robinson at Woebot Health. Woebot is a therapist in your pocket; a conversational agent; someone to tell your woes to! I've been using Woebot for the last few months, and it honestly has helped me -- to reframe unrealistic thoughts, get grounded, and feel supported. Give it a whirl -- it's free. And I hope you enjoy the episode.

In Episode 40 of the podcast, I speak with author and therapist Natasha Senra-Pereira about her riveting memoir, Talk Therapy is Not Enough. We chat about her journey of healing, including her work with alternative therapy approaches, including somatic healing, Internal Family Systems, (Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) EMDR, psychedelics and more. It’s a fun book and conversation, and I hope you’ll enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed chatting with Natasha.

https://privatetherapytoronto.ca/

https://www.amazon.com/Talk-Therapy-Isnt-Enough-Psychotherapists/dp/1951692217

https://www.talktherapyisntenough.com/

In this episode, me and the amazing Sacha Mardou (known as Mardou in her comic books), discuss her contribution to art and mental health via her ifscomics.com, her previous books (here and here), and her forthcoming memoir. We discuss her personal path to healing (which also comes by way of anxiety), and how the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model and her description of her sessions via art has led to some serious healing. I really enjoyed this chat, and I hope you do to!

Also mentioned:

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/585991565326793

In this episode, I talk with philosopher Kieran Setiya about his very new book, Life is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way. We discuss hope, pain, illness, moral philosophy, stoicism, grief, FOMO, and much more. Enjoy!

Kieran’s Podcast:

https://anchor.fm/kieran-setiya

Kieran’s Website

http://www.ksetiya.net/

Kieran’s Twitter

https://twitter.com/KieranSetiya?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

In a bit of a departure for the podcast, this episode goes local, and explores how community mental health operates at a single organization, San Mar Family and Community Services in Boonsboro, Maryland. San Mar provides a diverse collection of services, including foster care support and outpatient mental health. My guests are CEO Keith Fanjoy and Director Jerica Washington, who explain the ins and outs of this special organization, including the philosophy of "Wraparound" services that inform much of its approach to community well being. Enjoy!

- https://sanmarhope.org/

- https://besterhope.org/

- https://jebcenter.com/

- Program Overview