173. Your guide to panic attacks

When you’re unable or unwilling to say “no” to pressures in your life, your body may do it for you by creating illness. Many chronic illnesses have been linked to stress caused by our lifestyles, our conditioning as children, and our psychological coping mechanisms.

When the Body Says No is Dr. Gabor Maté’s exploration of the connection between stress and disease. Rather than just occasional external stress events, which are normal, Maté says that humans in modern society tend to experience chronic stress, which has a devastating effect on our bodies. He argues that much of our chronic stress is subconscious, so we may not even recognize it as stress.

This guide examines the research and theories Maté presents, as well as his prescriptions for healing and avoiding stress-related disease. We’ll expand on Maté’s ideas by looking at additional research and exploring what other experts have to say on the stress-disease connection.

We’re often taught that stress is harmful and best avoided, but The Upside of Stress aims to prove otherwise. Kelly McGonigal argues that stress isn’t the enemy it’s typically made out to be—rather, it’s an ally we should embrace. By changing your mindset on stress, McGonigal claims you can transform it into a resource that leads to enhanced health, greater success, and a more meaningful life.

McGonigal is a health psychologist and professor at Stanford University. She teaches that when it comes to transforming stress, key mindset shifts—like viewing stress as normal and focusing on helping others in order to help yourself—make all the difference.

In this guide, we’ll see what ancient philosophers and modern stress experts have to say about the influence of your mindset on stress. We’ll also look deeper into the studies that support McGonigal’s argument and reconcile her research with updates in psychological literature. Finally, we’ll discuss practical ways to apply McGonigal’s ideas in your daily life.

Anxiety is sneaky. It lives in our thoughts and habits, and it can show up as a stomachache or a 3 a.m. Netflix binge. But according to Dr. Judson Brewer, you can recognize and counteract anxiety using mindfulness—the practice of paying close attention to the present moment without analyzing or judging it.

In Unwinding Anxiety, Brewer explains how anxiety becomes a habit and how it spawns additional habits that only make things worse. Brewer draws on his background as a psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and mindfulness researcher to show why mindfulness succeeds where traditional methods like willpower, substitution, and avoidance fail.

In this guide, we’ll walk through Brewer’s three-step method for treating anxiety while expanding on the techniques he mentions and offering some additional psychological insights from experts such as Daniel Goleman and Brené Brown.

If you've ever suffered from anxiety, you know how disruptive it can be to your peace of mind, relationships, and day-to-day activities.

In this Master Guide, we’ll examine what causes anxiety and how it affects your physical health, impairs rational thinking, and fuels unhealthy habits. We’ll also provide practical advice for preventing and overcoming anxiety. Our guide compiles research and methods from a range of experts, including psychologist Daniel Goleman, emotional well-being specialist Nick Trenton, neuroscientist Judson Brewer, self-help guru Tony Robbins, and biologist Robert Sapolsky.

You’ll come away understanding what causes your anxiety, why it’s often difficult to break free from it, and what practical steps you can take to:

• Curb anxious tendencies.
• Preempt anxiety-inducing triggers.
• Prevent anxious thoughts and emotions from escalating.
• Analyze and challenge anxious thoughts.
• Learn from anxious experiences.

Brené Brown believes that the key to fulfillment is pursuing wholeheartedness—a way of life that fosters self-worth and emphasizes being brave, caring for yourself and others, and cultivating meaningful relationships. Living wholeheartedly requires you to embrace and express your authentic self. However, doing so makes you vulnerable—you may face painful experiences like rejection, loss, and heartbreak. If left unaddressed, these experiences cause emotional setbacks that can keep you from living wholeheartedly. In Rising Strong, Brown explains that to rebuild wholeheartedness after setbacks, you must recover emotionally.

In this guide, we’ll start by explaining why it’s important to take control of your recovery. Then, we’ll explore the three stages of Brown’s recovery process—confronting your strong feelings, exploring why they occurred, and identifying how you can change your thoughts and behaviors to cultivate resilience and rebuild wholeheartedness. In our commentary, we’ll add context to Brown’s research and advice, referencing books like Hans Rosling’s Factfulness and Emily and Amelia Nagoski’s Burnout.

Have you ever spent a long time worrying about a problem only to end up feeling stressed and no closer to a solution? In Stop Overthinking, Nick Trenton explains that you were probably overthinking the problem: reflecting on it so much that it made you feel bad. He argues that by adopting stress management skills and replacing your negative thought habits with a positive mental framework, you can stay grounded in the present moment and live a productive life driven by action and control rather than endless worrying.

In this guide, we’ll discuss what overthinking is and how it’s connected to stress and anxiety. Then, we’ll explore ways you can manage stress before, during, and after it happens with various research-based techniques. Finally, we’ll show how you can reshape your negative thinking habits into positive ones. Along the way, we’ll compare Trenton’s strategies with those of other coaches and thinkers such as Tony Robbins (Awaken the Giant) and Judson Brewer (Unwinding Anxiety), and offer additional actionable insights to overcome your negative thought patterns.