How Curiosity Quiets Anxiety with Dr. Judson Brewer

Anxiety can make us feel like we’re trapped in our brain. So how do we open the door and gain freedom? This week in our inaugural episode, Dr. Heather Berlin and Dr. Christof Koch invite Dr. Judson Brewer to discuss the habit loops that increase anxiety, why anxiety contracts our Perception Box, and what steps we can take to change our relationship with anxiety and understand its evolutionary benefit.

Dr. Judson Brewer studies the neural mechanisms of mindfulness. He is the Director of Research and Innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center, where he’s also an Associate Professor at the School of Medicine. Dr. Brewer is a leading expert in the science of self-mastery and breaking habits. His books include Unwinding Anxiety, The Craving Mind, and The Hunger Habit.

Dr. Heather Berlin is a neuroscientist, clinical psychologist, and Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

Dr. Christof Koch is Chief Scientist for the Tiny Blue Dot Foundation and the current Meritorious Investigator and former President of the Allen Institute for Brain Science.

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Visit unlikelycollaborators.com for more information.

Episode Chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction

(02:45) - Dr. Judson Brewer

(05:54) - Habit Loops of Anxiety

(08:16) - Breaking the Worry Cycle

(10:52) - Will Power is a Myth

(14:40) - Trigger, Behavior & Result

(17:06) - Breaking Overeating Habit Loops

(19:48) - The Feeling Body

(22:40) - Opening the Perception Box

(25:09) - Bigger Better Offers

(28:01) - Curiosity, Compassion and Perception

(31:40) - How Anxiety Can Box You In

(35:14) - Learning to Allow Anxiety

(36:05) - We Create Our Perception Boxes

(37:40) - Perception Box Questions