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Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson

By: Rick Hanson Ph.D. Forrest Hanson
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About this listen

 Forrest Hanson is joined by clinical psychologist Dr. Rick Hanson and a world-class group of experts to explore the practical science of lasting well-being. Conversations focus on the key insights from psychology, science, and contemplative practice that you need to build reliable inner strengths, overcome your challenges, and get the most out of life. New episodes every Monday.All rights reserved Hygiene & Healthy Living Personal Development Personal Success Psychology Psychology & Mental Health
Episodes
  • Psychoanalysis: Therapy’s Controversial Origins

    Psychoanalysis: Therapy’s Controversial Origins
    Jul 28 2025
    Dr. Rick and Forrest explore the ideas, context, and legacy of psychoanalysis, the often-controversial origin point for modern therapy. They discuss psychoanalysis’ early history and key concepts like the unconscious mind, repression, inner conflict, and transference. Alongside those major contributions, they wrestle with what hasn’t aged so well: the reductionism, murky ethics, and deep entanglements with colonialism and the Victorian worldview. This episode is both a tribute to and a critique of psychoanalysis as a rich, flawed, and deeply influential starting point for modern therapy. Key Topics: 0:00: Introduction: Why do this episode? 3:40: Appreciating historical and cultural context in therapy 7:15: What is psychoanalysis? 10:35: Freud’s key insight, and the five “big ideas” of psychoanalysis 18:00: The structure of the mind 24:00: Repression, catharsis, and “experiencing out” 27:35: Transference, countertransference, and defenses 29:10: Freud’s psychosexual theory and its legacy 32:55: What psychoanalysis looks like in practice today 41:05: Historical origins: Freud, hysteria, and the “talking cure” 46:45: Freud’s philosophical influences and colonial context 52:00: The moral and political implications of psychoanalytic theory 58:10: Freud’s personal contradictions and complicated legacy 1:07:50: Recap Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, [follow this link](https://www.patreon.com/beingwellpodcast) Sponsors Try Daily30+, the 30+ plant prebiotic supplement from ZOE. Go to zoe.com/daily30 today, and you’ll get a free bright yellow ZOE tin and a magnetic scoop. Join hundreds of thousands of people who are taking charge of their health. Learn more and join Function at functionhealth.com/BEINGWELL. For a limited time, get Headspace FREE for 60 days. Go to Headspace.com/BEINGWELL60. Listen now to the Life Kit podcast from NPR. Go to Zocdoc.com/BEING to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. 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 hr and 35 mins
  • Is Self-Help Making You Miserable?

    Is Self-Help Making You Miserable?
    Jul 21 2025
    Forrest and Dr. Rick discuss what's really wrong with the self-help industry, going beyond the obvious pseudoscience and snake oil to examine deeper structural issues. They explore the industry's mixed-bag focus on individual responsibility, the risks of turning healing into a never-ending project, performative personal growth, narcissism, social media and capitalism, and honest striving vs. hustle culture. They also talk about their personal experiences navigating our relationship to the industry. Throughout, Rick and Forrest emphasize finding the middle path: balancing agency with awareness, growth with acceptance, and sincerity with skepticism. Key Topics: 0:00: Introduction 4:32: Healthy striving vs. obsessive self-improvement 8:27: The role of motivation: growth, shame, and self-worth 12:13: Problems with placing all responsibility on the individual 20:46: Performative self-help and spiritual status-seeking 26:13: Excessive self-preoccupation and narcissistic drift 34:34: Buddhist insights on “selfing” and the illusion of identity 44:43: Self-help as hustle culture 50:57: The generational shift from grindset to bed rotting 54:09: The self-help industrial complex and its incentives 58:56: Commodifying the self and seeking validation 1:04:18: Creating ethical, transparent content 1:08:12: Recap Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Sponsors Try Daily30+, the 30+ plant prebiotic supplement from ZOE. Go to zoe.com/daily30 today, and you’ll get a free bright yellow ZOE tin and a magnetic scoop. Join hundreds of thousands of people who are taking charge of their health. Learn more and join Function at functionhealth.com/BEINGWELL. For a limited time, get Headspace FREE for 60 days. Go to Headspace.com/BEINGWELL60. Listen now to the Life Kit podcast from NPR. Go to Zocdoc.com/BEING to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. 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 hr and 30 mins
  • The Freeze Response, Gifted Kid Syndrome, and BPD: July Mailbag

    The Freeze Response, Gifted Kid Syndrome, and BPD: July Mailbag
    Jul 14 2025
    Dr. Rick and Forrest answer listener questions about perfectionism, performance anxiety, trauma, and relationships. They explore how early praise for being “gifted” can create a fear of failure and contribute to “failure to launch,” and share ways to shift from focusing on an idealized future to appreciating your actual self right now. They discuss learned helplessness, the freeze response, and practical ways to build agency and vitality to counter feelings of powerlessness. Other topics include the differences between borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder, overcoming performance anxiety, and how to decide which friendships are worth investing in. Key Topics: 02:30: Gifted kid syndrome and fear of failure 08:00: Moving from potential to presence 15:50: Performance anxiety and perfectionism 18:50: Redefining success through process goals 22:30: Learned helplessness and the freeze response 29:30: Reclaiming agency and vitality 38:00: Failure to launch in adulthood 45:00: BPD vs. Bipolar disorder 55:00: Rethinking modern friendship advice 1:03:34: Recap Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. Sponsors Try Daily30+, the 30+ plant prebiotic supplement from ZOE. Go to zoe.com/daily30 today, and you’ll get a free bright yellow ZOE tin and a magnetic scoop. Join hundreds of thousands of people who are taking charge of their health. Learn more and join Function at functionhealth.com/BEINGWELL. For a limited time, get Headspace FREE for 60 days. Go to Headspace.com/BEINGWELL60. Listen now to the Life Kit podcast from NPR. Go to Zocdoc.com/BEING to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. 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 hr and 20 mins
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