Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson

I want to express the profound gratitude I feel toward everyone who is serving others during this time of the Coronavirus pandemic. In particular, healthcare providers, first responders, and the whole ecosystem of helpers who have come together to support us all. I've received a number of truly humbling requests to offer a guided practice aimed at supporting the inner strengths those providers need so desperately these days. This meditation focuses on cultivating a feeling of both acceptance and calm strength. I hope you find it helpful. From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need.  We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Connect with the show: Follow us on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Subscribe on iTunes New Book: If you're interested in Dr. Hanson's work, you'll love his new book Neurodharma. It explores the new science and ancient wisdom for being as wise and strong, happy and loving, as any person can ever be. It comes out May 5th, follow the link to pre-order.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17 Apr 202018min

How can we continue to support others when our own well has run dry? Today we're exploring practices for managing and overcoming both direct traumatic stress and compassion fatigue, or "secondary traumatic stress."  New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Key Topics: 3:00: The anxiety, outrage, and overwhelm of this moment. 7:00: Finding refuge.  12:00: Refuge and purpose in the collective experience.  15:00: Surrendering to the moment as it is. 17:00: Opening to the experience and letting it go.  22:00: Giving yourself permission to feel.  26:00: "Want to" and "have to." 28:00: A message of gratitude.  From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need.  Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price! Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Connect with the show: Follow us on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Subscribe on iTunes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

13 Apr 202032min

Over the last month many people have been stuck at home - occasionally with people they'd rather not be around. Maintaining a healthy relationship can be a struggle under the best of times, let alone during times of stress. On this episode we explore how individuals and families can deal with the interpersonal stress that comes from being stuck together, and the sadness and loss that comes from being separated from things we love. New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Key Topics: 3:00: The costs of sustained stress 4:40: Unique pressures placed on relationships during this time.  8:00: Specific tools for maintaining a healthy relationship 15:00: How we’ve been supported by our circumstances until now. 17:15: Redefining ourselves during this time. 24:00: Seeing your own good purposes.  26:00: Experiencing common humanity. From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need.  Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price! Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Connect with the show: Follow us on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Subscribe on iTunes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Apr 202037min

It's often easier to be a good friend to others than to ourselves. Today we're exploring how to balance constructive and harmful self-criticism, move away from our "act," embrace change, manage feelings of worthlessness, and ultimately be a good friend to ourselves. New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Key Topics: 3:15: A few ways to be kind to yourself. 8:15: Finding your key resources. 12:50: Useful vs. harmful self-criticism.  15:00: Putting your past in perspective.  20:15: Moving away from the “act.” 23:00: Finding optimal distance. 28:00: Ways to tune into your own goodness. 34:00: What to do when you don’t feel like a good person. 43:00: Narcissism vs. authentic feelings of goodness.  46:00: Relating to the self as something that can change.  50:00: Ego ideal From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need.  Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price! Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Connect with the show: Follow us on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Subscribe on iTunes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Mars 202054min

How can we use mindfulness practically during our everyday lives, and how can "presence" be a particularly valuable tool for women? About Our Guest: Caroline Welch is the CEO and co-founder of the Mindsight Institute. Mindsight, a term coined by Dr. Dan Siegel, is our human capacity to perceive the mind of the self and others. It’s essentially a kind of focused attention that help us observe the working of our own mind, and helps get us off of the autopilot of ingrained behaviors and habitual responses. Caroline's new book, The Gift of Presence: A Mindfulness Guide for Women, offers a scientifically inspired approach to a simple question: Is there a way for women to live with more calm amid the chaos?  From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need.  Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price! Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Key Topics: 4:00: Aspects of mindfulness that may be particularly important for women. 10:00: Pivoting, and why mindfulness can be a valuable aid to making good choices.  15:30: Do men and women experience presence differently?  18:30: The importance of representation.  21:45: Stories from the book that particularly stuck with Caroline.  24:15: Multitasking and being “in the moment.” 27:00: Pace, and the right to slow down. 29:00: Regrets of the dying.  32:00: A message to your younger self.  Connect with the show: Visit us on the web Follow us on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Subscribe on iTunes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23 Mars 202035min

We haven’t generally done episodes related to current events, but these events are challenging to ignore. The coronavirus pandemic has already placed a heavy toll on society – over a hundred thousand people have already been sick, thousands are dead, businesses, schools, and recreational events have closed, and there's been substantial economic turmoil. Today we’re exploring how to cope with the natural fears that arise during challenging times, the difference between useful and harmful anxiety, and how we can grow the inner strengths we need to thrive when things get tough. New Sponsor: Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Key Topics: 4:50: Rick’s approach to this moment. 6:00: Claiming your agency. 10:40: Useful anxiety vs. harmful anxiety. 13:45: What makes something uniquely scary. 18:15: Finding, sometimes not particularly useful, ways to express agency. 22:30: How to start determining which form of anxiety you’re experiencing. 25:00: Three ways to work with excessive negative rumination. 28:30: Tools for managing needless anxiety. 33:00: Recognizing privilege while working through survivor’s guilt.  36:30: Anger and the sadness underneath it. From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need.  Hardwire lasting change into your mind and heart in just a few minutes a day  with Dr. Rick Hanson's new program: Just One Minute. Use the code BEINGWELL at checkout for 10% off the purchase price! Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Connect with the show: Follow us on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Subscribe on iTunes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Mars 202047min

Dr. Peter Levine, a legendary expert on the subject of healing trauma, joins Dr. Rick Hanson and Forrest to discuss the power trauma holds over the body, how we can truly connect with others, and simple practices for calming fear and unwinding from trauma.  Dr. Levine has worked in the field of stress and trauma for over 40 years and is the creator of Somatic Experiencing. He is also the author of the best-selling, classic book on trauma Waking the Tiger. He’s authored and co-authored several other fantastic books including Healing Trauma, In an Unspoken Voice, and Trauma and Memory. Connect with the show: Follow us on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Subscribe on iTunes From Dr. Hanson: The Foundations of Well-Being brings together the lessons of a lifetime of practice into one year-long online program. Podcast listeners can use the code BEINGWELL25 at checkout for an additional 25% off! Please don't hesitate to apply for a scholarship if you're in need.  We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Timestamps: 03:06: The power of trauma on the body. 13:36: The role of the practitioner during therapy. 19:32: Learning empathetic attunement.  25:39: What can people who carry trauma, but aren’t seeing anyone for it, do on their own to release it? 34:45: "Big-T" vs. "little-t" trauma Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9 Mars 202045min

Dr. Bruce Perry joins Dr. Hanson and Forrest to discuss the incredible impact of childhood experiences, the fuzzy distinction between trauma and stress, and what we can do to heal from those experiences.  As with all of our episodes dealing with trauma and traumatic experiences, please approach this material with care for yourself in mind. There are specific descriptions during the episode of neglect and abuse, including that perpetrated upon children. Sponsor Message: We're now on Patreon, and we've made this week's expanded show notes available for free!  About Our Guest: Dr. Perry is one of the world’s leading experts on childhood trauma, and his clinical research and practice focuses on examining the long-term effects of trauma in children, adolescents, and adults.  He is the Senior Fellow of The ChildTrauma Academy, and a Professor at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago and the School of Allied Health at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Perry is also the author, with Maia Szalavitz, of The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog, a bestselling book based on his work with maltreated children, and Born For Love: Why Empathy is Essential and Endangered. Key Topics: 02:20: Why do early experiences have such a long-term impact? 06:10: What makes something traumatic rather than being merely stressful? 11:00: Summary of the material so far. 15:50: The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics. 24:50: Respecting someone's developmental phase. 29:00: Practical examples of treatment for childhood traumas. 36:50: Self-help approaches to healing old trauma. 42:00: A message to your younger self. Sponsors: Reset and rebalance with Recess, a sparkling water infused with hemp extract and adaptogens. Take 15% off your first order by using code BEINGWELL at checkout. Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!  Connect with the show: Visit us on the web Follow us on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Subscribe on iTunes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Mars 202047min