What a time this is for all of us. My thoughts and prayers are with those with COVID-19 and the courageous loved ones and medical staff taking care of them.

In these anxious times we need ways to come back to center, as the stress and uncertainty can lead to being wound up, scattered, out of our bodies and stuck in our minds. So this week I have a simple centering practice for you, called Fourteen Breaths.

This meditation actually comes from a new course I've created called Balance: Mindfulness-Centered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety, Stress, & Worry. This is a paid 4-week course with one lesson per week, but it's available to all regardless of financial means.

Just pay what you can afford. Whatever you pay will help me be able to keep devoting time to making this kind of content. And if you can't pay anything, devoting time and energy to learning effective ways to manage anxiety is a gift you'll be giving not only to yourself but to everyone you interact with.

So please, share this course with someone who could use it, and let them know it's available to all.

Here is the video version of the meditation that's featured in the course:

 

Here's an audio version of the meditation without any intro or outro:

http://sethgillihan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Balance-Guided-Meditation-audio.mp3

To download the mp3 file of this meditation so you can listen to it anytime, double tap (or right click) here and save the file.

In these anxious times we need ways to come back to center, as stress and uncertainty can lead to being wound up, scattered, out of our bodies and stuck in our minds. So this week I have a simple centering practice for you, called Fourteen Breaths.

This meditation actually comes from a new course I've created called Balance: Mindfulness-Centered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety, Stress, & Worry. This is a paid 4-week course with one lesson per week, but it's available to all regardless of financial means. Visit the show notes to learn more.

Get full access to Think Act Be with Seth Gillihan at thinkactbe.substack.com/subscribe

My guest this week is Linda Carroll, author of the recent book, Love Skills: The Keys to Unlocking Lasting, Wholehearted Love (affiliate link). This is an important conversation for any time, and it may be especially important now as so many of us are social distancing on the one hand but are also with our partners 24/7. This can be great, and also presents challenges, and opportunities to work together toward a stronger union.

Linda and I discussed things like how our adult relationships can trigger painful experiences from childhood, and whether happy couples generally resolve all their issues (spoiler alert: they don’t, but they do figure out more effective ways to talk about them). Maybe the most important thing from this episode is the power in recognizing the stories we tell ourselves when we’re upset with our partner, and how questioning those stories puts us in a much stronger position to have a harmonious relationship. 

Get full access to Think Act Be with Seth Gillihan at thinkactbe.substack.com/subscribe

I have two guests this week—psychologists Dr. Paul Napper and Dr. Anthony Rao. We discussed their recent book, The Power of Agency: The 7 Principles to Conquer Obstacles, Make Effective Decisions, and Create a Life on Your Own Terms (affiliate link). Agency’s an important topic that we probably don’t talk about enough.

The three of us explored ways to reclaim greater control over our lives, from engaging more with the physical world to releasing fear and honoring our intuition. We also discussed the benefits of psychodynamic therapy, and how it can complement a cognitive behavioral approach. Other topics we touched on included:

The feelings of overwhelm and loss of control that are troubling so many people

Factors that contribute to rising levels of stress, including social isolation, technology, and less time outside

Why we often feel like we’re not keeping up and taking care of what we need to

The radical changes in how we live over the past 200 years

The drive for constant productivity that often dominates our lives

The enormous amount of information that confronts us every day

The value in letting yourself be bored at times

The loss of time for moments of reflection

The advantages of analog (non-digital) activities

How my guests manage their own use of screens and social media

The influence that messaging and marketing from digital devices can have on us

The pressure young people often feel to do what everyone else is doing

The problem with being immobile for hours at a time, and the energy created by movement

Lisa Barrett’s work on being able to pinpoint how we’re feeling

Why it’s often healing to go outdoors

The Japanese concept of Forest Bathing

Why practices in stillness (e.g., progressive muscle relaxation; sitting meditation) are so helpful

The many ways of practicing mindfulness

Why anxiety seems to be the primary emotion (see this episode with Dr. Todd Pressman where we discussed a similar topic)

The distinction between stress and anxiety

How to distinguish intuition versus fear

Anthony Rao, PhD, is a clinical psychologist who completed his doctorate in psychology at Vanderbilt University. For more than 20 years, Anthony worked in the Department of Psychiatry at Boston Children's Hospital and served as instructor at Harvard Medical School, where he trained psychologists and physicians in the use of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT).

Anthony has been a featured expert on documentaries and has been interviewed for articles in The New Yorker, Boston Globe, Washington Times, Chicago Tribune, and Parents Magazine, among many others. His editorial letters and opinions have appeared in a wide range of publications including Newsweek, Scientific American, The New York Times, and New York Magazine.

Anthony has also lectured extensively at universities, including Tufts University, Emerson College, and Boston University. He regularly presents at conferences and parenting groups, and conducts workshops for professionals around the country who work with children and young adults.

His first book, The Way of Boys: Promoting the Social and Emotional Development of Young Boys (affiliate link), is an expose on the current crisis in American boyhood. It  urges parents, educators, pediatricians, psychologists, and other developmental experts to reevaluate and radically alter how we raise boys – so boys can be their best, respecting their unique development right from the start.

Paul Napper, PsyD, helps business leaders increase their effectiveness through focusing and strengthening their agency as leaders. His professional background includes extensive experience in assessment and the application of psychological principles to improve the performance of peopl...

I have two guests for you this week—psychologists Dr. Paul Napper and Dr. Anthony Rao, authors of the recent book, The Power of Agency: The 7 Principles to Conquer Obstacles, Make Effective Decisions, and Create a Life on Your Own Terms. The three of us explored ways to reclaim greater control over our lives, from engaging more with the physical world to releasing fear and honoring our intuition. We also discussed the benefits of psychodynamic therapy, and how it can complement a cognitive behavioral approach.

Get full access to Think Act Be with Seth Gillihan at thinkactbe.substack.com/subscribe

My guest this week is Denise Wiesner, author of the recent book, Conceiving With Love. We discussed many issues that arise when a couple starts trying to get pregnant, especially when they have difficulty conceiving. It’s easy for passion and intimacy to go out the window when you’re trying to have a baby, and my guest offers many insights and practices to help couples stay close through the process.

Get full access to Think Act Be with Seth Gillihan at thinkactbe.substack.com/subscribe

My guest this week is spine specialist and neurosurgeon Dr. Jack Stern, author of the recent book, Ending Back Pain: 5 Powerful Steps to Diagnose, Understand, and Treat Your Ailing Back (affiliate link). If you or someone you love struggles with back pain at times, which unfortunately is likely to be the case, I think you’ll find this conversation really useful.

I was very interested to hear from Dr. Stern about the psychological and emotional dimension of pain, and how cognitive behavioral therapy can be helpful. We also discussed the value of a multimodal approach to treating back pain, the importance of movement, and when to seek a second opinion.

Get full access to Think Act Be with Seth Gillihan at thinkactbe.substack.com/subscribe

My guest this week is Beth Ruggiero York, author of a memoir called Flying Alone. Beth and I talked about her passion for flying airplanes, the dangers she faced as she climbed the ranks to become a commercial airline pilot, and the challenges she moved through along the way. We also talked about the chronic illness that Beth has dealt with for several decades now. I think you’ll be able to relate to a lot of Beth’s experience, like the difficulty of leaving bad relationships, and the strength she found within herself.

Get full access to Think Act Be with Seth Gillihan at thinkactbe.substack.com/subscribe

I’ve got something different for you this week—a guided meditation. As I mentioned in Episode 78 last time, I’ve been busy finishing the first class in the Think Act Be online school.

Today's meditation is actually taken from the course. It's a brief guided 3-part meditation, which takes about three minutes. This kind of practice can be a really effective way to let go of anxious thoughts or worries and to calm the nervous system, just by coming into contact with your actual experience.

Once you’ve gotten the feel for it, you can practice it whenever you like, without the recording. I hope you find it helpful to ground into your experience.

The name of the paid course that this meditation comes from is Calm: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety, Stress, and Worry, and enrollment is now open. Click on the link above to learn more and to watch a trailer for the course. I'd love to have you join us.

I’ve got something different for you this week—a guided meditation. I’ve been busy finishing the first class in the Think Act Be online school. Today's meditation is actually taken from the course. It's a brief guided 3-part meditation, which takes about three minutes. This kind of practice can be a really effective way to let go of anxious thoughts or worries and to calm the nervous system, just by coming into contact with your actual experience. Once you’ve gotten the feel for it, you can practice it whenever you like, without the recording. I hope you find it helpful to ground into your experience.

Get full access to Think Act Be with Seth Gillihan at thinkactbe.substack.com/subscribe