374: Dr. Jud Brewer - The Craving Mind, Finding Joy In Meditation, Overcoming Addictions

Dr. Jud Brewer "Dr. Jud" (@judbrewer) is a thought leader in the field of habit change and the "science of self-mastery". He's a psychiatrist and internationally known expert in mindfulness training for addictions. Dr. Jud is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center and an associate professor at Brown University.

He has developed and tested novel mindfulness programs for habit change, including both in-person and app-based treatments for smoking, emotional eating, and anxiety.

Dr. Jud is the author of The Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love – Why We Get Hooked and How We Can Break Bad Habits.

In this episode, we discuss:

• As humans, we learn the same as sea slugs
• The connection between stress and IBS
• Learning breath awareness meditation
• What happens to our brains when we meditate?
• What is the default mode network (DMN)?
• The definition of addiction
• Social media can be just as addictive as drugs
• The abstinence violation effect
• Does willpower exist?
• How to change reward value behavior
• Using mindfulness as the bigger better offer (BBO)
• Curiosity feels better than a craving
• Changing the habit loop
• The art of Loving-Kindness Meditation
• The role of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)
• Letting go with psychedelic therapy
• Dr. Jud's experience at a silent meditation retreat
• Finding joy in meditation
• Moments of mindfulness throughout the day
• Using mindfulness to break a bad habit
• Staying curious

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Related links:

Dr. Jud Brewer - The Craving Mind (book)

Dr. Jud Brewer's website

Follow Dr. Jud Brewer on Facebook and Twitter

Jon Kabat Zinn – Full Catastrophe Living (book)

Breathe by Dr. Jud (app)

Unwinding Anxiety (app)

Eat Right Now (app)

Craving To Quit! (app)

QuitGuide (app)

Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity (article)

Quitting starts in the brain (article)

Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin (article)

Roland R. Griffiths, Ph.D

Mihaly Csikszentmihaly - Flow (book)

Headspace (app)

Oak - Meditation & Breathing (app)

Jewel - Never Broken (book)

Related episodes:

319: Eric Zimmer – Overcoming Addiction, Maintaining Community, Broadening Your Perspective

286: Cal Newport – Digital Minimalism • Create Time For Solitude • Stop Socializing On Social Media

259: Dr. Gabor Maté – Trauma, Addiction, & The Use Of Psychedelics

238: Tara Mackey – WILD Habits • Natural Ways To Calm Your Anxiety • Approaching Gratitude Differently

105: Sharon Salzberg – Real Happiness: The Power Of Meditation

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