High On Healthy

Richard Zwicky speaks with Dr. Amy Bucher, the Chief Behavioral Officer at Lirio. They explore how the psychological mechanisms often utilized by social media to capture attention can instead be applied to improve healthcare outcomes, such as encouraging medication adherence, vaccinations, and cancer screenings.

Dr. Bucher outlines how Lirio leverages behavioral science and multi-agent AI systems to deliver personalized communication (or "nudges") via text messages and emails that address individual barriers to care, such as fear or forgetfulness. 

In this episode of High on Healthy, host Richard Zwicky interviews Dr. Theresa B. Skaar, a social psychologist and mindfulness-based stress reduction instructor, to explore the psychological toll of relentless accomplishment. The conversation focuses on how high achievers often tie their identity entirely to milestones, leading to burnout, imposter syndrome, and a deep disconnect from their true selves.

Dr. Skaar discusses the "power of the pause" and using mindfulness to transition from a performance-evaluated life to one focused on inner experience. To break cycles of perfectionism and prepare for major life shifts like retirement, she advocates for cultivating "organic gratitude" and building a curious, non-judgmental relationship with oneself.

In this episode of High and Healthy, host Richard Zwicky joins licensed professional counselors Beth Valdez and Helene Zupanc—co-authors of Sticky Note Mantras—to explore why high-achievers often struggle to enjoy their successes and feel trapped in a cycle of constant striving.

They delve into the neuroscience behind our "predictive" brains, which are wired for survival rather than fulfillment, leading many to believe satisfaction is always just one more milestone away.

Valdez and Zupanc offer actionable strategies for cultivating psychological flexibility, such as using mindfulness, grounding techniques, and "sticky note mantras" to rewire negative neural pathways and shift from a pattern of achievement-driven anxiety to a life defined by authentic values and present-moment appreciation.

Richard Zwicky interviews Dr. Joshua Pritikin, a quantitative psychologist and talk therapy practitioner, to discuss finding meaning in life through spiritual experiences.

Dr. Pritikin introduces a progressive framework utilizing Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, which allows individuals to understand their inner "subpersonalities" and practice "unblending" from reactive emotions to achieve inner harmony.

He details a modified meditation technique designed to build internal trust and prevent spiritual bypassing by addressing distracting thoughts directly. 

High on Healthy host Richard Zwicky speaks with podcast host and mental health advocate Emily LoMenzo Washcovick about navigating attention, technology, and neurodiversity.

Drawing from her personal experience with a late-in-life ADHD diagnosis and her background working at tech companies like Yelp, LoMenzo Washcovick discusses how modern platforms are intentionally engineered to exploit human attention.

Rather than viewing distraction as a personal failure of discipline, she emphasizes the need to actively manage technology by customizing settings, establishing structured routines, and relying on external accountability to mitigate time blindness.

In this episode of High on Healthy, host Richard Zwicky sits down with retired infantry officer Aaron Baty to explore a profound journey of healing from trauma, PTSD, and the invisible scars of military service.

After years of struggling with conventional treatments, alcohol reliance, and a sense of detachment from his family, Aaron shares how psychedelic-assisted therapy—specifically ibogaine—served as a catalyst for deep introspection and nervous system regulation. 

Dr. Saravanan Thangarajan joins High and Healthy to challenge the reactive nature of current mental healthcare systems, which often wait for catastrophic burnout or crisis before intervening.

He outlines a proactive model where AI analyzes subtle vocal biomarkers—such as tone, pauses, and speech patterns—during routine, everyday conversations to detect early shifts in emotional well-being. Unlike standard wellness apps that rely on self-reporting during a crisis,

Dr. Thangarajan’s approach aims to provide an "early warning" signal for clinical teams. He emphasizes that technology must never replace human judgment or empathy; instead, he advocates for a rigorous governance framework where AI alerts trigger a mandatory, human-led clinical pathway, arguing that prediction without a clear, accountable intervention strategy creates only an "illusion of safety."

In this episode of High and Healthy, host Richard Zwicky and guest Nick Jonsson—psychotherapist and author of Executive Loneliness—deconstruct the misconception that loneliness is simply an absence of people.

Drawing on his own experiences with corporate burnout and addiction recovery, Jonsson argues that the "lonely at the top" phenomenon is actually a crisis of authenticity, driven by a corporate culture that rewards masking weaknesses and relentless self-sufficiency. 

In this interview, licensed therapist and founder of Cannectd Wellness, Shari Kaplan, challenges the polarized "pro- vs. anti-AI" debate in mental health care, advocating instead for a "collaborative tool" approach.

Kaplan explains that rather than replacing the therapist, her AI system functions as a supportive bridge between sessions, helping patients practice self-regulation, breath work, and groundedness exactly when they need it most.

By integrating strict ethical guardrails and prioritizing human connection, Kaplan argues that AI can handle administrative burdens like note-taking and bio-psychosocial synthesis, allowing clinicians to focus on the nuanced, non-verbal, and empathetic healing that defines effective therapy. 

In this episode of High and Healthy, host Richard Zwicky interviews holistic health coach Rebecca de Lia about the profound impact of early childhood experiences on adult relationships, nervous system regulation, and overall well-being.

They challenge the misconception that trauma is limited to extreme abuse, discussing how subtle forms of emotional neglect often shape our attachment styles and subconscious behaviors well into adulthood.