Dr. Jud Brewer: The Neuroscience of Self-Mastery: Exploring Anxiety, Addiction, and Mindfulness | Ep 141

“Anxiety can be a habit, and if it can be learned as a habit, we can unlearn it.” -Dr. Jud Brewer

In this episode, we dive deep into the intricate relationship between anxiety, addiction, and the neuroscience of self-mastery with renowned psychiatrist and neuroscientist, Dr. Jud Brewer. Join us as we explore how anxiety can become a learned habitual loop and the powerful role of curiosity in breaking this cycle. Dr. Brewer shares insights from his extensive research, revealing how our brains respond to anxiety and addiction, and how we can harness mindfulness and observation to transform our experiences.

About our guest:

Dr. Judson Brewer is a psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and New York Times best-selling author recognized as one of the world's leading experts on habit change and the science of self-mastery. He is Director of Research and Innovation at Brown University's Mindfulness Center, where his lab uses fMRI and EEG to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying mindfulness, addiction, and anxiety—research that has fundamentally reshaped how scientists and clinicians understand behavior change.

Dr. Jud has spent over two decades developing and testing evidence-based programs for smoking cessation, emotional eating, and anxiety—translating rigorous science into tools that are both clinically effective and accessible to general audiences. He has trained U.S. Olympic athletes, coaches, and foreign government ministers, and his work has been featured on 60 Minutes, The New York Times, Time, and beyond. His TED talk on habit change has accumulated over 20 million views.

He is the author of three books—The Craving Mind, Unwinding Anxiety, and The Hunger Habit—and writes the Substack newsletter Inside the Curious Mind. He co-founded MindSciences and MindShift Recovery, a nonprofit integrating digital therapeutics with peer support for addiction treatment. His latest initiative, Going Beyond Anxiety (goingbeyondanxiety.com), is a next-generation program that combines cutting-edge neuroscience with experiential learning to transform how people relate to anxiety at its root.

📲Find out more about Dr. Jud

Website: https://www.drjud.com/

https://www.goingbeyondanxiety.com/

Substack: https://judbrewer.substack.com/

Instagram: @dr.jud https://www.instagram.com/dr.jud/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjud/

📲Find out more about Dr Espen

Website: https://drespen.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drespenwoldjensen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_espen/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr_espen

💡Episode Highlights:

00:00:00 - Episode Trailer

00:04:00 - Understanding Anxiety as a Habit

00:06:49 - Escape Mechanisms and Emotional Eating

00:08:33 - The Role of Emotions in Behavior

00:12:07 - Observer Effect in Mindfulness

00:17:49 - Anxiety and Addiction: Shared Pathways

00:20:20 - Neuroscience Meets Ancient Wisdom

00:23:39 - Finding Pleasure Plateaus

00:30:36 - Curiosity as a Superpower

00:37:13 - Collective Anxiety in Uncertain Times

00:40:28 - The Impact of Misinformation

00:42:28 - Training for Uncertainty

00:46:48 - Faith and Spirituality in Healing

00:57:41 - Dr. Jud’s Message To The World