In this episode of the Being Well Podcast, 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
- 00:00: Introduction
- 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
Forrest is now writing on Substack, check out his work there.
