エピソード

  • Healing from Parentification: When the “Gifted Child” Grows Up

    Healing from Parentification: When the “Gifted Child” Grows Up
    2026/07/20
    Some kids learn early on that the way to be loved is to be useful. They take on the emotional or practical care of their parents in a process known as parentification, and today Dr. Rick and Forrest explore the costs of being a “gifted child.” They discuss the “bargain” these kids make: suppressing their authentic self in order to fulfill a role and earn love. Over time, this bargain can harden into a false self that makes it difficult for the person to connect with their true wants and needs. They then walk through four tracks that allow us to reclaim authenticity: becoming visible to yourself, building a coherent narrative, reconnecting with what you gave up, and renegotiating relationships. Topics include the paired extremes of grandiosity and depression, why so many capable adults go blank when asked what they actually want, and why understanding a pattern isn't the same as changing it. This episode is heavily influenced by psychologist Alice Miller’s classic book The Drama of the Gifted Child. Key Topics: 0:00: Intro: what is parentification? 9:18: Examining your own childhood 13:18: Grandiosity and Depression 18:37: Peer-entification, self-narratives, and adult relationships 23:29: Emotional insight and grief 27:09: Tracks to healing 35:10: Track 1: Becoming more visible to yourself 39:26: Track 2: Building a coherent narrative 45:21: Track 3: Reparenting 50:49: Track 4: Building a new bargain 1:05:26: Recap Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Take our audience survey: https://rickhanson.com/survey/ Sponsors Level up your bedding with Quince. Go to Quince.com/BEINGWELL for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at shopify.com/beingwell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 時間 15 分
  • Understanding Dissociation and DID: What It's Really Like, and How People Recover w/ Dr. Milissa Kaufman and Dr. Lauren Lebois

    Understanding Dissociation and DID: What It's Really Like, and How People Recover w/ Dr. Milissa Kaufman and Dr. Lauren Lebois
    2026/07/13
    Most of what people know about Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) comes from movies and short videos, and those media portrayals often have little to do with what DID is actually like. To get the real picture, today Forrest is joined by Dr. Milissa Kaufman and Dr. Lauren Lebois, experts in dissociative disorders and trauma research. Dr. Kaufman had DID herself, went through treatment, and made a full recovery. They explore the spectrum of dissociation, from everyday experiences to clinical presentations like DID, before talking about how DID develops as a childhood adaptation to trauma, the problem with the term “multiple personality disorder,” and what the brain science tells us. Milissa describes her own “inside people,” the shame and secrecy associated with DID, and the slow shift from "that wasn't me" to "that was me all along." They then cover what treatment looks like, what to actually look for in a therapist, and what recovery means. About our Guests: Dr. Milissa Kaufman is a trauma psychiatrist at McLean Hospital and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Lauren Labois is a cognitive neuroscientist and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. They are co-directors of the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research program at McLean Hospital. Check out the Trauma Continuum at Hill Center: https://traumacontinuum.org/ Key Topics: 0:00: Intro and Dr. Kaufman's personal experience with DID 6:51: The spectrum of dissociation: Depersonalization, Derealization, and Dissociative Identity Disorder 17:12: Dr. Kaufman's experience of DID 22:58: The paradoxes and shame involved with DID 36:46: History of skepticism around DID, and the role of modern neuroscience 43:09: Treatment for DID and trauma-informed treatment 1:00:43: What healing and recovery looks like 1:10:48: Recap Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Take our audience survey: https://rickhanson.com/survey/ Sponsors Go to Zocdoc.com/BEINGWELL to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 時間 27 分
  • From Insight to Action: How to Face the Fear You Keep Avoiding

    From Insight to Action: How to Face the Fear You Keep Avoiding
    2026/07/06
    Dr. Rick and Forrest continue last week’s conversation on avoidance coping, this time focusing on how to move from insight into meaningful action. They explore why self-awareness often isn’t enough to create change, focusing on common impediments like ambivalence, shame, and the difficulty of seeing our patterns in real time. They then unpack the practical science of change: surfacing predictions behind avoidance, testing them through right-sized experiments, and fully internalizing the outcomes. Other topics include scaffolding, state-dependent learning, the HEAL process, and what to do when the dreaded experience actually happens. Key Topics: 0:00: Intro: why awareness isn't enough 4:54: Ambivalence to change 13:50: Other impediments to change22:00: How to want to change 28:42: Creating predictions 32:26: Setting up an effective experiment 43:26: Linking new outcomes to old memories 1:01:51: Recap Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Sponsors Take our audience survey: https://rickhanson.com/survey/ For a limited time, try OneSkin with 15% off using code BEINGWELL at https://oneskin.co/BEINGWELL. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 時間 15 分
  • Breaking the Avoidance Loop: Why You Keep Repeating the Same Patterns

    Breaking the Avoidance Loop: Why You Keep Repeating the Same Patterns
    2026/06/29
    We all have patterns we can see clearly…and still can't seem to stop. Dr. Rick and Forrest explore how avoidance fuels these patterns, and how we can break the avoidance loop by updating our expectations and predictions about the future. They discuss what avoidance coping is, how the brain works as a prediction machine, why that means insight alone usually isn't enough to break a pattern, and what the current science of exposure and expectancy violation says about how change actually happens. This is the first of two episodes dedicated to this topic, the second will focus on how to brave our feared experiences and go from insight to action. Key Topics: 00:00: Intro: avoidance coping and mental predictions 8:07: Five types of avoidance behaviors 17:35: The invisible cage 23:50: Predictive processing 29:49: Identity and high confidence predictions 34:30: How avoidance can perpetuate painful experiences 40:01: Exposure and the Inhibitory Learning Model 52:00: Answering common questions 56:07: Recap Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Sponsors Go to Zocdoc.com/BEINGWELL to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join at RocketMoney.com/BEINGWELL. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 時間 7 分
  • The Secret to Happiness: How to Feel Loved with Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky

    The Secret to Happiness: How to Feel Loved with Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky
    2026/06/22
    Forrest is joined by one of the world's leading happiness researchers, Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky, to discuss the real secret to happiness: feeling loved. Dr. Lyubomirsky explains the key difference between being loved and feeling loved, why self-improvement (usually) isn’t the answer, and how giving love leads to getting love. They then walk through five mindsets that help people both get more love and feel more loved. Other topics include the vulnerability paradox, capitalization and the importance of enthusiasm, using the mindsets to evaluate our relationships, polyamory and non-monogamous love, and AI companions. You can find Sonja's diagnostic quiz at howtofeelloved.com About our Guest: Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky is a Professor of Psychology at UC Riverside, and the author of a number of bestselling books including How to Feel Loved with Dr. Harry Reis. She is one of the most frequently cited well-being researchers in the world. Key Topics: 0:00: Intro: connection as the key to happiness 2:31: The difference between being loved and feeling loved 6:58: What love is 9:09: If only beliefs and the vulnerability paradox 19:36: Mindsets to embrace if you're looking for more love and connection 23:26: The relationship “sea”saw 31:44: Five mindsets to embrace if you want to feel more loved 51:51: AI companionship, polyamory, and MDMA 1:08:03: Recap Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Sponsors Visit Rula.com/BEINGWELL to find affordable, high-quality therapy that’s actually covered by insurance. Level up your bedding with Quince. Go to Quince.com/BEINGWELL for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five -day returns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 時間 15 分
  • How to Repair: The Key to Successful Relationships

    How to Repair: The Key to Successful Relationships
    2026/06/15
    Last week, Dr. Rick and Forrest discussed why healthy conflict is a vital part of strong and intimate relationships. Today, they focus on the how-to of effective repair: what it looks like, why it’s so hard, and how to do it well. Together they walk through four common patterns of conflict, offering guidance on how to interrupt the cycle, turn down the heat, and get back on the same team. They offer tools such as compassionate curiosity, affectionate humor, and taking maximum reasonable responsibility. Finally, they discuss the personal benefits of healthy conflict and repair: when we have a new experience and truly take it in, we can learn that conflict doesn’t have to lead to disconnection, disappointment, or abandonment. Key Topics: 0:00: Intro and what healthy repair looks like 5:26: Red flag: the withdrawal of caring and compassionate curiosity 9:26: Initiating repair 12:24: Scenario 1: The "accidental argument" 21:10: Scenario 2: The chronic broken commitment 40:01: Scenario 3: The missed bid 1:01:38: Scenario 4: The “seeming” change in relationship 1:07:11: Taking in repair 1:16:23: Recap Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Sponsors Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at https://shopify.com/beingwell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 時間 24 分
  • Healthy Conflict: The Most Important Relationship Skill We Don’t Learn

    Healthy Conflict: The Most Important Relationship Skill We Don’t Learn
    2026/06/08
    Most of us are pretty bad at conflict, usually because we weren’t taught how to handle it well. But healthy conflict can be one of the best ways to deepen intimacy and trust. In this episode Dr. Rick and Forrest discuss why conflict is so difficult, the models of conflict we inherit from childhood, healthy repair, what emotional flooding does to the brain and body during a fight, and the research on what actually predicts relationship success. They close with a handful of things that get mistaken for repair but aren't, including submission, thin apologies, and just solving the surface problem. Key Topics: 0:00: Intro 3:19: Repair as the biggest predictor of relationship success 5:29: Models of conflict and where they originate from 16:08: What is healthy repair, and why is it so hard? 24:54: What to do about emotional flooding 30:25: When to let things go, and when to address them 38:36: What repair is and what it's not 46:47: The power of authentic apologies 57:04: Recap Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. SponsorsVisit Rula.com/BEINGWELL to find affordable, high-quality therapy that’s actually covered by insurance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 時間 4 分
  • The Gut-Brain Connection: Anxiety, Depression, and Wellness Fads with Dr. Trisha Pasricha

    The Gut-Brain Connection: Anxiety, Depression, and Wellness Fads with Dr. Trisha Pasricha
    2026/06/01
    Forrest is joined by neurogastroenterologist Dr. Trisha Pasricha for a conversation about the gut-brain connection, including how gut health impacts our mood and mental health. Dr. Pasricha explains how the gut and the brain communicate, how early gut experiences can shape adult anxiety and depression, why GI symptoms are often misunderstood or dismissed, and what the research actually says about probiotics, leaky gut, and detoxification. They also discuss simple, evidence-based ways to improve gut health, dispelling social-media fueled myths along the way. About our guest: Dr. Tricia Pasricha is a physician-scientist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and columnist for the Washington Post. Her new book, You've Been Pooping All Wrong, explains the connection between your gut, your brain, and your mental health. Key Topics: 0:00 Intro: what's neurogastroenterology? 5:48: Believing your patient 9:31: The lifelong impact of childhood gut issues 18:27: The relationship between the gut and the brain 23:20: The tiktokification of gut health information 30:56: Probiotics – do they help? 34:15: The microbiome 43:34: Advice to people with gut issues 46:21: What about cleanses? 55:52: Recap Support the Podcast: We're on Patreon! ⁠If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.⁠ Sponsors Go to ⁠Zocdoc.com/BEINGWELL⁠ to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 時間 5 分