Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson

60:56

How to Accept Yourself (Without Giving Up on Change)

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/10/05

Self-acceptance gets recommended constantly, but are we really supposed to accept the parts of ourselves we don't like? Won’t that stop us from changing? Dr. Rick and Forrest discuss what self-acceptance is, what it isn't, and why it’s the starting point for real change. They share the four stages of competence (and why conscious incompetence is where learning stalls), the two escape hatches people take from it, why harsh self-criticism is a form of avoidance, and Rick's three circles model of the

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71:13

Treating Shame with Self-Compassion with Dr. Chris...

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/09/28

Shame is one of the hardest emotions to work with, in part because it blocks what we need most when we’re feeling shame: self-compassion. Dr. Chris Germer, co-developer of the Mindful Self-Compassion program, joins Forrest to discuss how we can get around that trap. They talk about where shame comes from, how to recognize it when it’s hiding behind other emotions, and practical tools that help us experience less shame.About our Guest: Chris Germer is a clinical psychologist, lecturer at Harvard

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93:20

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: What the Critics Get...

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/09/21

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the world's most researched, recommended, and criticized form of therapy. Clinical psychologist Dr. Ellen Hendriksen joins Forrest to talk about what CBT is, its history, its strengths and weaknesses, and why it's gotten such a bad rap. They walk through the common criticisms: that it's spreadsheet therapy, that it's a form of self-gaslighting, and that it has an, er, "complex" relationship with insurance companies. They then apply the best of the CBT toolkit to

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108:44

Understanding Pain with Dr. Rachel Zofness

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/09/14

Pain psychologist Dr. Rachel Zoffness joins Forrest and Dr. Rick to explore what pain is, why it can persist long after an injury has healed, and what actually helps. Rachel explains why the brain, rather than the body part that hurts, is what constructs pain, the difference between acute and chronic pain, and the distinction between hurt (what you feel) and harm (what's damaged). They get into the biopsychosocial model, the "pain dial" that stress, sleep, mood, and social connection can turn up or

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72:52

People Pleasing vs. Fawning: Why We Do It and How to...

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/09/11

Dr. Rick and Forrest talk about what separates people-pleasing from the fawn response, and why those differences affect what actually helps. They trace the surprising history behind both ideas, explain each’s relationship with trauma, and answer common questions along the way. They discuss why old friendships pull you back into old patterns, when appeasement is actually the right call, how to assert your needs when people expect you to concede, and how to figure out what you want after a lifetime of

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77:10

Depleted Mother Syndrome: Why Moms Burn Out, and How...

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/08/31

Forrest is joined by his parents, psychologist Dr. Rick Hanson and nutritionist Jan Hanson, to discuss "Depleted Mother Syndrome:” the exhaustion, brain fog, and low mood so many mothers experience. They talk about how Jan hit bottom in the years after Forrest and his sister were born, why the hardest stretch often comes two or more years after birth, the problem with dismissing these experiences as "just motherhood,” and how people can recover.Key Topics: 00:00: Intro & welcome Jan! 2:39:

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85:24

How to Feel Your Feelings with Simone Saunders

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/08/24

We’ve all been told to “feel our feelings,” but what does that actually mean, and how do you do it? Forrest talks with trauma therapist Simone Saunders about how to go from knowing your patterns to being able to do something about them when things get intense. They discuss what your nervous system does when it decides you're not safe, why the tools you've collected go offline in exactly the moments you need them, and how a sense of agency changes that equation. Simone walks through her three-step

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70:09

The Psychology of Manipulation: How to Become...

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/08/17

Dr. Rick and Forrest explore how to become more resistant to manipulation, discussing terms like gaslighting, DARVO, and love bombing. They talk about why cynicism doesn’t make you immune to manipulation, and how excessive skepticism and trust can go together. They share the “handles” manipulators exploit, break down common forms of reality distortion, emotional manipulation, and situational engineering, and discuss what actually helps.Key Topics: 0:00: What is manipulation? 6:25: Are cynical

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61:00

What’s The Problem With Therapy Speak? August Mailbag

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/08/10

Terms like boundaries, gaslighting, triggers, trauma, and attachment are everywhere now. Dr. Rick and Forrest answer a listener question about the consequences - good and bad - of clinical language escaping the therapy room. They then answer three more questions: an introverted listener wonders about the pressure to be social, a couple wants to know how to loosen their strict scorekeeping around household tasks, and a 27-year-old wonders whether becoming a therapist means wasting the degree they

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75:00

Burnout: A Practical Guide for Normal People

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/08/03

Dr. Rick and Forrest explore burnout: what it is, why it’s so common, and what people can do about it. They begin by framing burnout as largely a structural problem that individuals are forced to manage. They unpack the six major drivers of burnout, why some people are especially vulnerable, and how chronic stress affects the mind and body. They then turn to practical ways to recover more effectively, including psychologically detaching from work, finding more effective forms of relaxation,

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88:28

The Grieving Body: How to Heal After Loss with Dr....

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/07/27

We all understand the emotional impact of grief, but its effects on the body are often overlooked. Forrest is joined by clinical psychologist and researcher Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor to explore the physiology of grief. Dr. O’Connor explains how our brains and bodies organize themselves around the people we love, creating “maps” of their presence and relying on them for physical and emotional regulation. They discuss the health risks associated with bereavement, how to care for the healing body,

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75:28

Healing from Parentification: When the “Gifted Child”...

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/07/20

Some kids learn early on that the way to be loved is to be useful. They take on the emotional or practical care of their parents in a process known as parentification, and today Dr. Rick and Forrest explore the costs of being a “gifted child.”They discuss the “bargain” these kids make: suppressing their authentic self in order to fulfill a role and earn love. Over time, this bargain can harden into a false self that makes it difficult for the person to connect with their true wants and needs

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86:55

Understanding Dissociation and DID: What It's Really...

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/07/13

Most of what people know about Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) comes from movies and short videos, and those media portrayals often have little to do with what DID is actually like. To get the real picture, today Forrest is joined by Dr. Milissa Kaufman and Dr. Lauren Lebois, experts in dissociative disorders and trauma research. Dr. Kaufman had DID herself, went through treatment, and made a full recovery. They explore the spectrum of dissociation, from everyday experiences to clinical

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75:06

From Insight to Action: How to Face the Fear You Keep...

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/07/06

Dr. Rick and Forrest continue last week’s conversation on avoidance coping, this time focusing on how to move from insight into meaningful action. They explore why self-awareness often isn’t enough to create change, focusing on common impediments like ambivalence, shame, and the difficulty of seeing our patterns in real time. They then unpack the practical science of change: surfacing predictions behind avoidance, testing them through right-sized experiments, and fully internalizing the outcomes

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67:13

Breaking the Avoidance Loop: Why You Keep Repeating...

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/06/29

We all have patterns we can see clearly…and still can't seem to stop. Dr. Rick and Forrest explore how avoidance fuels these patterns, and how we can break the avoidance loop by updating our expectations and predictions about the future. They discuss what avoidance coping is, how the brain works as a prediction machine, why that means insight alone usually isn't enough to break a pattern, and what the current science of exposure and expectancy violation says about how change actually

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74:45

The Secret to Happiness: How to Feel Loved with Dr....

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/06/22

Forrest is joined by one of the world's leading happiness researchers, Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky, to discuss the real secret to happiness: feeling loved. Dr. Lyubomirsky explains the key difference between being loved and feeling loved, why self-improvement (usually) isn’t the answer, and how giving love leads to getting love. They then walk through five mindsets that help people both get more love and feel more loved. Other topics include the vulnerability paradox, capitalization and the importance of

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84:12

How to Repair: The Key to Successful Relationships

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/06/15

Last week, Dr. Rick and Forrest discussed why healthy conflict is a vital part of strong and intimate relationships. Today, they focus on the how-to of effective repair: what it looks like, why it’s so hard, and how to do it well. Together they walk through four common patterns of conflict, offering guidance on how to interrupt the cycle, turn down the heat, and get back on the same team. They offer tools such as compassionate curiosity, affectionate humor, and taking maximum reasonable

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64:20

Healthy Conflict: The Most Important Relationship...

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/06/08

Most of us are pretty bad at conflict, usually because we weren’t taught how to handle it well. But healthy conflict can be one of the best ways to deepen intimacy and trust. In this episode Dr. Rick and Forrest discuss why conflict is so difficult, the models of conflict we inherit from childhood, healthy repair, what emotional flooding does to the brain and body during a fight, and the research on what actually predicts relationship success. They close with a handful of things that get mistaken

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64:54

The Gut-Brain Connection: Anxiety, Depression, and...

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/06/01

Forrest is joined by neurogastroenterologist Dr. Trisha Pasricha for a conversation about the gut-brain connection, including how gut health impacts our mood and mental health. Dr. Pasricha explains how the gut and the brain communicate, how early gut experiences can shape adult anxiety and depression, why GI symptoms are often misunderstood or dismissed, and what the research actually says about probiotics, leaky gut, and detoxification. They also discuss simple, evidence-based ways to improve gut

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62:32

Right Effort: When to Push and When to Let Go with...

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson ·

2026/05/25

Forrest is joined by author, meditator, and friend Diego Perez, also known as Yung Pueblo, for a conversation about right effort, the balance between pushing through and letting go, and the death of nuance in the age of social media. They start with Diego’s experience on his recent 60-day silent meditation retreat, and what that kind of practice teaches about craving, attachment, and getting unstuck from old roles. Diego frames right effort as the middle path between forcing your life and going

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