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Mental Health

Nature and the Nervous System: Howie Jacobson on PYP 535

Take a walk in the woods with Howie and catch up on what he’s been reading and thinking about.

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Can Marriage be More Than a Lifetime of Compromises? Ana Gabriel Mann & John David Mann on PYP 516

What’s the purpose of marriage? Is it to get happiness for yourself? Give happiness to your partner? Or something bigger and grander that encompasses yet transcends both?

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Don’t Over-optimize Your Life: Glenn Murphy on PYP 512

Self-improvement is fine and good, but there’s a danger in over-optimizing our minutes and missing our lives.

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Psychedelics as Medicine: Lynn Marie Morski on PYP 499

Many plants and synthetic substances that can profoundly improve our mental and physical health are currently illegal. Lynn Marie Morski is working to change that, by educating healthcare professionals and connecting activists with communities in need of healing.

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Rediscovering Movement That Brings You Joy: Rafe Kelley on PYP 451

Why are humans so unhappy and unhealthy? Why are we destroying the earth? Today’s guest says it’s because we’ve forgotten how to move like humans.

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Getting Fit in the “Church Basement” of a Facebook Group: Dan Carraciolo on PYP 450

Dan Carraciolo has engineered a remarkable self-transformation from unhappy, overweight diabetic to ebullient athlete. On today’s show, we talk about how he achieved it – and the obstacles he’s had to overcome.

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Broccoli alone won’t get you to 100: Marta Zaraska on PYP 418

For the last 7 years, I’ve worked to improve human health and wellbeing by focusing on better nutrition, vigorous physical activity, sleep hygiene, and stress management.

Turns out I may have been missing the most important determinants of health – the social ones.

Marta Zaraska has written a book that is fun, fascinating, scientifically sound, and socially revolutionary. In Growing Young, she argues that eating well and exercising are all well and good, but spending time with friends, cultivating a positive attitude, and helping others are far more powerful (and enjoyable!) determinants of health.

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The Key to Human Resilience with Scott Carney: PYP 413

Most of my work as a health coach involves helping people respond differently to stimuli.

That is, develop the ability to make different choices when confronted with tempting foods, tempting environments, tempting people, and tempting sensations, emotions, and thoughts.

Think about it – NOT having that ability basically means you’re a robot, a machine. If you can’t control your responses, you have no freedom.

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Staying off the Trauma Train with Shay Seaborne: PYP 409

Shay Seaborne is a trauma survivor, educator, and activist dedicated to demystifying trauma and helping people heal from – and with – Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD).

In our far-ranging conversation, we covered the origins of trauma, the mistaken societal beliefs that reinforce trauma and get in the way of healing, and ways of empowering trauma survivors to reconnect with their bodies.

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The Joy of Movement with Kelly McGonigal: PYP 364

Kelly McGonigal is one of my favorite science/personal-development/psychology teachers and writers. And in a testament to her versatility and breadth of interests, her print books are in three different sections of my library: habits and behavioral science (The Willpower Instinct);  stress (The Upside of Stress); and exercise/movement (The Joy of Movement, her latest work.) Her audio course, The Science of Self-Compassion, is both a scientific tour de force and a big-hearted hug from a caring friend. 

She manages a rare writerly and scholarly trick: to adhere to the evidence while letting her own humanity flow through every page. 

Which is just to say, I had to deal with major Fanboy vibes when I connected with her via Skype. 

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