On this episode of Being Well, Forrest and I discuss the problem with attachment, what differentiates healthy and unhealthy forms of attachment, and what we can do to relax our attachments over time.

You might have heard the line “attachment is the root of suffering”. It comes from the Buddha, but you don’t have to be a Buddhist to recognize that becoming overly attached to a particular outcome, person, or view of yourself can lead to a lot of suffering. At the same time, there are clearly things that are sensible to be attached to–like our loved ones, a basic moral compass, and fundamentals like food and shelter. So what’s the problem with attachment?

Key Topics:

• 0:00: Introduction
• 2:10: Learning from Buddhism without trying to be a Buddhist
• 8:45: Two kinds of suffering
• 12:00: Distinguishing healthy desire and unhealthy desire
• 19:40: Markers of problematic attachments
• 24:10: Self-concept and an example from Forrest of relaxation of attachment 
• 30:25: Balancing Right View and nonattachment
• 42:25: Pain and release
• 50:55: What’s useful for you?
• 55:45: Recap