The episode explores the difference between healthy and unhealthy fear, examining how fear serves protective functions while also understanding when fear responses become counterproductive and interfere with daily functioning and well-being.
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. ~Viktor Frankl. For a long time, my first response to difficulty was a single, aching question: 'Why me?' It surfaced whenever life took an unexpected turn—when plans collapsed, when effort didn't materialize, when circumstances felt unfair and overwhelming.
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk writes in 'The Body Keeps the Score' that trauma doesn't just live in our minds - it reshapes how our bodies respond to emotion. Sometimes, when we experience significant loss, our nervous system essentially decides that feeling is too dangerous and shuts down the whole operation.
The number of suicides per 100,000 young people ages 10 to 24 declined by nearly 12 percent, from 11 to 9.7, between 2021 and 2024. The decrease was driven largely by reductions among young men, whose suicide levels fell by nearly 15 percent, while suicides among young women declined by about 2 percent.
The truth is that I am mentally unwell. Despite this, I have pushed myself to continue with touring. As a result my mental health has only further declined. After discussions with my team, we have decided to cancel the remaining shows and take an indefinite hiatus from live music.
With sweaty palms and trembling knees, I asked him to grant me a one-month medical leave because my depression had become unbearable. I struggled to find the words. 'It's hard to explain,' I eventually said. 'I just don't have any energy. To do anything. I'm drained all the time, physically. And nothing feels good to me. I hate myself. I only get out of bed to come to work.'
I spent years climbing the corporate ladder. I believed success would bring me satisfaction. Instead, I became so exhausted that I couldn't enjoy family time, hobbies, or even quiet moments at home. I was always frustrated, crying, and snapping at the people around me.
Monet, a special-ed high school teacher, clarified that the kids aren't the problem. It's the rest of it: the endless paperwork, shifting lesson plans, and constant assessments. Inside the rage room, Monet was tentative at first, but then entered a flow state, conjuring up something that was bothering her before taking each swing.
What we can expect to see with the AI jobs onslaught is an amplification of the anxieties that typically come with a loss of income. This is obvious enough: without money to pay for rent, groceries, heat, healthcare, or any of the other necessities of life, people don't exactly thrive. One of the hidden impacts of all this is a heightened risk of psychological illness.
People who had never married 'generally fared as well as, if not better than, married persons.' They also found that people who had no children were no different from parents in the quality of their life in their last month.
It supports our hypothesis that the use of AI chatbots can have significant negative consequences for people with mental illness. His work builds on his 2023 study which found chatbots may cause a 'cognitive dissonance [that] may fuel delusions in those with increased propensity towards psychosis.'
The shoulds are a type of cognitive distortion (unhelpful thinking habit) that can lead to judgment. You may judge others, for example, 'They shouldn't act that way,' and yourself. In this post, we will focus on the shoulds you direct at yourself, though the strategies may be helpful for all cognitive distortions.
