We spend a lot of time learning how to resolve conflict. But almost nobody talks about when not to.

Sometimes, the smartest thing you can do in a difficult conversation is wait.

In this episode, I break down seven brain states that can compromise our ability to communicate clearly, regulate our reactions, and actually resolve anything. Being tired or hungry can weaken self-control. Chronic stress can leave us hypervigilant and more likely to perceive threats. And when we’re actively escalated, the parts of the brain we rely on for reasoning, perspective, and impulse control become harder to access.

Other factors are less obvious. An unmet need for safety, belonging, or self-worth can put us on the defensive before a conversation even begins. And simply having an audience can quietly shift the goal from resolving the issue to defending ourselves or winning.

I'll also explain the neuroscience behind all seven states, how to recognize when you’re not in the right state for a difficult conversation, and what to do instead.

Because knowing when to address a conflict can be just as important as knowing how.

This episode draws from Jeremy’s new book, Wired for Peace: Using 7 Neuroscience-Based Principles to Resolve Conflicts.

📘 Get Wired for Peace:
https://a.co/d/02XFwbCC

Dealing with conflict on your team or in your workplace? Pollack Peacebuilding Systems helps organizations resolve conflict, strengthen communication, and build healthier workplaces.

Learn more or request a free consultation:
https://pollackpeacebuilding.com

About Jeremy Pollack, Ph.D.
Jeremy is a social-organizational psychologist and the founder of Pollack Peacebuilding Systems. He helps people and organizations better understand what drives conflict—and develop practical ways to handle it more effectively.

🎧 Listen now to learn how building conflict competency can transform tension into trust, alignment, and stronger performance.

Connect with Me
🌐 Website: PollackPeacebuilding.com
🌐 Dr. Pollack’s Courses: peacefulleadersacademy.com/courses/
📧 Email: support@pollackpeacebuilding.com
📱 LinkedIn: Jeremy Pollack
📣 Subscribe & Share:
If this episode resonated, share it with a colleague or leader. Follow Peacebuilding with Dr. Pollack for practical tools that create healthier, more effective workplaces.

Host: Dr. Jeremy Pollack from Pollack Peacebuilding Systems

More from Dr. Pollack:

• Peaceful Leaders Academy
• Conflict Resolution Playbook: Practical Communication Skills for Preventing, Managing, and Resolving Conflict
• FREE e-book: The Ultimate 12-Step Guide to Coworker Mediation: Free Ebook - Pollack Peacebuilding Systems

Connect with Dr. Pollack on social media: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn

It’s late. You’re tired. Every headline makes you feel worse, and somehow you still can’t stop scrolling. Why is bad news so hard to put down?

In this episode, I break down the neuroscience behind doomscrolling and why it has less to do with willpower than we might think. Our brains evolved to pay close attention to potential threats, but today that ancient survival system has access to something it was never designed to handle: an endless stream of alarming information.

We will explore how negativity bias makes threatening information feel especially important, while threat bias keeps our attention locked onto potential danger. Then there’s dopamine, not simply a “pleasure chemical,” but part of the brain’s motivation and pursuit system, which can keep us searching for the next piece of information, especially when we don’t know what we’ll find.

Add in the body’s own stress response, and the cycle can become self-reinforcing. You read something alarming. Your body reacts. Those uncomfortable sensations can make the world feel even more threatening, which gives your brain another reason to keep searching for information.

The problem? Most of what we encounter while doomscrolling isn’t something we can actually do anything about. Our nervous system prepares us to respond to a threat, but there’s often no meaningful action to take.

So how do you break the cycle without feeling like you’re choosing ignorance, or that putting down your phone means you simply don’t care?

I will help you rethink your relationship with bad news, recognize when staying informed has turned into compulsive threat monitoring, and learn how to step away without disengaging from the things that genuinely matter.

This episode draws from Jeremy’s new book, Wired for Peace: Using 7 Neuroscience-Based Principles to Resolve Conflicts.

📘 Get Wired for Peace:
https://a.co/d/02XFwbCC

Dealing with conflict on your team or in your workplace? Pollack Peacebuilding Systems helps organizations resolve conflict, strengthen communication, and build healthier workplaces.

Learn more or request a free consultation:
https://pollackpeacebuilding.com

About Jeremy Pollack, Ph.D.
Jeremy is a social-organizational psychologist and the founder of Pollack Peacebuilding Systems. His work focuses on helping people and organizations understand conflict more deeply and use practical, neuroscience-informed strategies to handle it more effectively.

🎧 Listen now to learn how building conflict competency can transform tension into trust, alignment, and stronger performance.

Connect with Me
🌐 Website: PollackPeacebuilding.com
🌐 Dr. Pollack’s Courses: peacefulleadersacademy.com/courses/
📧 Email: support@pollackpeacebuilding.com
📱 LinkedIn: Jeremy Pollack
📣 Subscribe & Share:
If this episode resonated, share it with a colleague or leader. Follow Peacebuilding with Dr. Pollack for practical tools that create healthier, more effective workplaces.

Host: Dr. Jeremy Pollack from Pollack Peacebuilding Systems

More from Dr. Pollack:

• Peaceful Leaders Academy
• Conflict Resolution Playbook: Practical Communication Skills for Preventing, Managing, and Resolving Conflict
• FREE e-book: The Ultimate 12-Step Guide to Coworker Mediation: Free Ebook - Pollack Peacebuilding Systems

Connect with Dr. Pollack on social media: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn

You know you probably shouldn’t watch. A celebrity melting down. A viral argument. A stranger losing it in a parking lot while someone films. Some part of you knows it’s none of your business, and yet, you watch the whole thing. Maybe you even send it to a friend.

So why are public meltdowns so hard to look away from?

In this episode, Dr. Jeremy Pollack breaks down the neuroscience behind our fascination with other people’s public conflicts. Our brains are wired to detect threats, and negativity bias naturally pulls our attention toward anything that seems dangerous, unpredictable, or socially significant.

For most of human history, paying attention to conflict within the group was useful information. Who’s angry? Who’s dangerous? Who broke the rules? What does this mean for me?

But there’s an important distinction: watching this kind of drama doesn’t necessarily feel good. In fact, it often makes us uncomfortable. The pull isn’t always about pleasure; it’s about information, and that discomfort can actually be part of what keeps our attention locked in.

The problem is that this ancient system evolved to keep track of a relatively small social world. Today, technology can feed it an endless stream of conflict involving strangers whose lives have little or nothing to do with ours, and our brains aren’t particularly good at recognizing the difference.

This episode draws from Jeremy’s new book, Wired for Peace: Using 7 Neuroscience-Based Principles to Resolve Conflicts.

📘 Get Wired for Peace:
https://a.co/d/02XFwbCC

Dealing with conflict on your team or in your workplace? Pollack Peacebuilding Systems helps organizations resolve conflict, strengthen communication, and build healthier workplaces.

Learn more or request a free consultation:
https://pollackpeacebuilding.com

About Jeremy Pollack, Ph.D.
Jeremy is a social-organizational psychologist and the founder of Pollack Peacebuilding Systems. His work focuses on helping people and organizations understand conflict more deeply and use practical, neuroscience-informed strategies to handle it more effectively.

🎧 Listen now to learn how building conflict competency can transform tension into trust, alignment, and stronger performance.

Connect with Me
🌐 Website: PollackPeacebuilding.com
🌐 Dr. Pollack’s Courses: peacefulleadersacademy.com/courses/
📧 Email: support@pollackpeacebuilding.com
📱 LinkedIn: Jeremy Pollack
📣 Subscribe & Share:
If this episode resonated, share it with a colleague or leader. Follow Peacebuilding with Dr. Pollack for practical tools that create healthier, more effective workplaces.

Host: Dr. Jeremy Pollack from Pollack Peacebuilding Systems

More from Dr. Pollack:

• Peaceful Leaders Academy
• Conflict Resolution Playbook: Practical Communication Skills for Preventing, Managing, and Resolving Conflict
• FREE e-book: The Ultimate 12-Step Guide to Coworker Mediation: Free Ebook - Pollack Peacebuilding Systems

Connect with Dr. Pollack on social media: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn