Mon, 8 September 2014
Eric explores rumination and how damaging it can be to our mental health.
Rough Transcript:
A few weeks ago I was at one of the local meditation centers and people were doing walking meditation. There was a guy walking incredibly slow and everyone was backing up behind him because no one but a disabled snail can move at that pace. So people weren’t doing walking meditation they were standing and looking at this guy with a grouchy look on their faces. So I decided to stop him and explain that no one else could enjoy the meditation experience and it would be helpful if he could go just a bit faster. A few minutes later we sat back down for sitting meditation and my mind began racing. Should I not have said anything? Was I rude? Was this guy angry? So I decided that when we got up I would go over to him and explain myself and make sure we were good. Problem solved….except not for my mind. On and on it went re-playing the scene and thinking about the upcoming conversation. This is commonly know as rumination or brooding. Rumination is the compulsively focused attention on the symptoms of one's distress, and on its possible causes and consequences, as opposed to its solutions. Rumination is generally considered differently than self-reflection. Self-reflelction tends to offer new insights wheras rumination is just playing the same negative thoughts and feelings over and over.
The challenge with rumination (or brooding) is that it feels like we are doing something about the issue or problem by continuing to think about it and ponder it. However rumination is extremely destructive and has been strongly linked to deep depression and anxiety. In fact a The UK's biggest ever online test into stress, undertaken by the BBC's Lab UK and the University of Liverpool, has revealed that rumination is the biggest predictor of the most common mental health problems in the country. The tricky thing is that worry and rumination can seem essential part of coping effectively. The idea of letting go of rumination and worry can be frightening. The ironic thing is that rumination tends to increase anxiety and effectiveness in problem solving goes down as anxiety increases. In addition a mind that ruminates becomes more likely to continue to do it. We have talked on the show about how we create pathways in our brain that become every easier to fall into the more reengage them. This is not a fanciful idea or silly positive thinking. Neurosccience has something called Hebbs Law. The phrase, “neurons that fire together wire together” The meaning of Hebb’s axiom is that each experience we encounter, including our feelings, thoughts, sensations, and muscle actions becomes embedded in the network of brain cells, that produce that experience. Each time you repeat a particular thought or action, you strengthen the connection between a set of brain cells or neurons. Think of it like taking a walk in the woods. Your thoughts are like hikers. The first hiker has to blaze her own trail. But over subsequent trips a trail gets worn in to the ground and more and more hikers will take that trail. The more hikers that take the trail the clearer it becomes and the more likely that future hikers will take it. It takes much more energy to go off the trail. Our brains work the same way, there is a need to conserve energy. Our brains use about 25% of the body’s total energy so the brain is going to default to the neural circuits that take less energy. So it’s important to determine whether we are ruminating or problem solving. If the thinking does not lead to a course of action within a reasonable period it is probably rumination. Back to my story above, the first few minutes while I thought about the situation and came up with a plan of action was useful self- reflection and problem solving. Everything after that was useless rumination. in our interview with Dan Harris he talks about the difference between useless rumination and what he calls constructive anguish . The question he asks himself is “Is this useful?” If it doesn’t lead to meaningful effective action then it is useless rumination. If we are ruminating the most important thing is to come to a hard stop. As soon as the ruminative thought begins – that one that doesn’t lead to new insights but is the same path – you immediately have to distract yourself with something that requires concentration. The key at this point is to stop the cycle. We have to stop the brain cold, we need to stay off the path. So anything that distracts us and requires concentration will work. Play a game, solve a puzzle, anything is better than the rumination. So a quick summary, brooding is the process of playing negative thoughts and emotions over and over. It is also extremely destructive. It is a key indicator of depression, anxiety, high blood pressure and heat disease. We need to interrupt the brooding as soon as it begins. The best way to do this is to immediately switch the brain to something that requires concentration. Some of our most popular interviews that you might also enjoy: |
Tue, 2 September 2014
This week we talk to Mishka ShubalyOur guest today is author Mishka Shubalay. After receiving an MFA from Columbia University, Mishka promptly quit writing to play music. He lived out of a Toyota minivan for a year, touring nonstop, and has shared the stage with artists like The Strokes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Decemberists. His Kindle Singles for Amazon have all been bestsellers. He writes true stories about drink, drugs, disasters, desire, deception and their aftermath. The Long Run is Mishka’s mini-memoir and details his transformation from alcoholic drug abuser to sober ultrarunner. His latest Kindle single is called Of Mice and Me and details him finding an orphaned baby mouse and the life lessons it brought to him. Also at the end of the interview we have a pre-release of a song from Mishka’s forthcoming record. In This Interview Mishka and I Discuss...
Mishka Shubaly LinksMisha Shubaly Amazon Author page
Some of our most popular interviews that you might also enjoy:Todd Henry- author of Die Empty
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Sun, 31 August 2014
Eric starts to respond to a negative review and uses as it a way to explore the negativity bias and steps to work with it.
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Direct download: An_Open_Letter_to_the_Jackass_Who_Left_Me_a_Negative_Review.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:38pm EDT |
Tue, 26 August 2014
Jonathan Fields describes himself as a father, a husband, a maker and a man who cares deeply about, loves and admires those closest to him and is humbled and grateful for the opportunity to create, to connect and to serve. He is the creator of The Good Life Project which is an audio and video podcast that was one of the inspirations for our show. He is also the author of Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance and Career Renegade. He is also the creator of the upcoming Good Life Project Summer Camp which I will be attending. In This Interview Jonathan and I Discuss...
Jonathan Fields LinksThe Good Life Project Homepage Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance
Some of our most popular interviews that you might also enjoy:Todd Henry- author of Die Empty
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Tue, 19 August 2014
This week we talk to Timber HawkeyeTimber Hawkeye is the author of the very popular book Buddhist Boot Camp. He offers a non-sectarian approach to being at peace with the world. His book was created from a series of blog posts and emails that friends encouraged him to publish. The book is a straightforward, plain spoken discussion of ways to live a better life. In This Interview Timber and I Discuss...
Timber Hawkeye Links
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Sat, 16 August 2014
Watsky: In celebration of Watsky's new album and our 300,000 listen we decided to re-release our very first episode. It remains our most downloaded episode and one of my favorites. Enjoy. |
Tue, 12 August 2014
This week we talk to Julien Smith.Julien Smith is the CEO of Breather, an on-demand space company, as well as the New York Times bestselling author of three books. Two of these, Trust Agents and The Impact Equation, were written with Chris Brogan (a previous guest). The third, The Flinch, has consistently remained one of the top read Kindle books since it was published in 2011. Julien has been an author, a CEO, a professional voice actor, a radio broadcaster, and a consultant and speaker at some of the largest corporations in the world, including Google, Microsoft, American Express, Heineken International, and more. His work has also appeared in Cosmopolitan, GQ, CNN, and a host of other publications. His online work has been read by millions, literally.
In This Interview Julien and I Discuss...
Julien Smith Links
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Tue, 5 August 2014
Srini Pillay M.D. Founder and CEO of NeuroBusiness GroupSrini Pillay, M.D. is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Invited Faculty at Harvard Business School. He is also the Founder and CEO of NeuroBusiness Group. He graduated with the highest number of awards during his residency training at Harvard. He is also a Certified Master Coach. His specific expertise is on helping companies reach their goals by coaching strategy acceleration, change management, innovation, sales optimization, stress management and many other corporate goals. He has 17 years of experience in brain imaging and has an international reputation as a human behavior expert with special emphasis on stress and anxiety. His latest book is: Life Unlocked: 7 Revolutionary Lessons to Overcome Fear.
In This Interview Srini and I Discuss...
Srini Pillay LinksSrini articles in the Harvard Business Review Life Unlocked: 7 Revolutionary Lessons to Overcome Fear Your Brain and Business: The Neuroscience of Great Leaders Some of our most popular interviews that you might also enjoy: |
Tue, 29 July 2014
Paul Gilmartin, host of the Mental Illness Happy Hour.Paul is a funny guy who hosts one of the most best podcasts on the market today. We have a great chat with Paul and we play a game at the end; borrowed from his show where he, Chris and I take turns exchanging things we are afraid of and things we love. It is certainly the most we have ever gotten from Chris on the air. The Mental Illness Happy Hour is an interview show known for it's candor, depth and intensity. In addition to the interviews Paul reads surveys about their lives filled out by his listeners that are in turn enlightening, horrifying and heartrending. However, the show is ultimately very hopeful. The combination of Paul's' humor, and the hope that is generated when people know they are not alone, gives the show an optimism that transcends the difficult subject matter. From 1995 to 2011 Paul Gilmartin co-hosted TBS’ Dinner and a Movie, and has been a stand-up comedian since 1987. His credits include Comedy Central Presents: Paul Gilmartin, numerous Bob and Tom albums, comedy festivals and the Late Show with Craig Ferguson. He is also a frequent guest on the Adam Carolla podcast, performing political satire as right-wing Congressman Richard Martin.
In This Interview Paul and I Discuss...
Paul Gilmartin LinksMental Illness Happy Hour homepage
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Sun, 20 July 2014
This week on The One You Feed we have Krista Tippett from On Being.
In This Interview Krista and I Discuss...
Krista Tippett Links
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