From the Blog
Writings on Well-Being Dr. Rick Hanson
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Avoid The Rush
Be mindful of rushing. See how other people assume deadlines that aren’t actually real, or feel pressured about things that aren’t that important.
Being Well Podcast: The Self-Abandonment Loop: Shame, Self-Criticism, and How to Break Free
Dr. Rick and Forrest discuss how shame and the inner critic fuel self-abandonment and what breaks the cycle.
Talk + Meditation: Wise and Courageous Compassion for Others – and Yourself
How to let go, speak truth, and practice fierce compassion for others and yourself without losing your heart or your strength.
Let It R.A.I.N.
R.A.I.N. is an acronym developed by Michelle McDonald but adapted a bit by me, to summarize a powerful way to expand self-awareness.
Being Well Podcast: Trauma in Relationships: What Actually Helps with Elizabeth Ferreira
Forrest is joined by associate therapist and his fiancée Elizabeth Ferreira for an honest, personal conversation about what it’s actually like to be in a relationship when one partner is living with trauma, complex PTSD, or another ongoing mental health challenge.
Talk + Meditation: The Personal Benefits of Empathy for “Them”
Discover how empathy for others can reduce stress, soften reactivity, and help you feel calmer, wiser, and more at peace.
Stay Well
To stay well, make sure you’re getting enough sleep, eating correctly, doing exercise regularly, avoiding health hazards, and having regular checkups.
Being Well Podcast: Family Systems Theory: The Invisible Force That Runs Your Relationships
Dr. Rick and Forrest explain why through one of the most influential frameworks in psychology: Family Systems Theory (FST).
Talk + Meditation: Exploring Radical Helplessness, Radical Trust, and Radical Acceptance
What happens when we stop fighting the vulnerability of being human? What if we practiced living with radical helplessness, radical trust, and radical acceptance?
Welcome Joy
What’s the spark and what’s the fuel? Welcome joy. Positive emotions – such as feelings of gratitude, love, and confidence – strengthen the immune system, protect the heart against loss and trauma, build relationships, increase resilience
Being Well Podcast: Embracing Productive Discomfort with Michael Easter
Forrest is joined by journalist and author Michael Easter to discuss how we can make our lives better by making them (the right kind of) harder.
Talk + Meditation: Mettā as a Somatic Response to Trauma, Oppression, and Hatred
How loving-kindness becomes a bodily state that interrupts fear, softens reactivity, and helps kindness become your baseline.
Leave the Red Zone
In a busy life, each day gives you dozens of opportunities to leave the Red zone and move toward Green. Each time you do this, you gradually strengthen the neural substrates of Green, one synapse at a time.
Being Well Podcast: The Freeze-Shame Loop, Therapy Speak, and “Everyone Has ADHD”: February Mailbag
Dr. Rick and Forrest answer listener questions about the freeze state, ADHD, and power imbalances in relationships.
Talk + Meditation: A Novel Way to Explore the Eightfold Path
How impermanence, mindfulness, and the Eightfold Path help transform suffering into wisdom and compassionate action.
Transform Ill Will
Goodwill and ill will are about intention: the will is for good or ill. Ill will creates negative, vicious cycles. But that means that good will can create positive cycles. Plus good will cultivates wholesome qualities in you.
Being Well Podcast: Codependency and Healthy Dependency with Nedra Glover Tawwab
Therapist and bestselling author Nedra Glover Tawwab joins Forrest to discuss the unintended consequences of the boundaries movement.
Talk + Meditation: Accepting Your Vulnerabilities – Including from Early Childhood
Learn how accepting vulnerability can help you lower defenses, heal old wounds, and discover a deeper sense of peace and inner strength.
Love Freely
Love is in our nature, woven into our DNA. Love is a natural wellspring inside us all. It doesn’t need to be pushed or pumped. It needs to be released.
Being Well Podcast: Reducing Reactivity, Fear, and Anger with Sharon Salzberg
Legendary meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg joins Rick and Forrest to discuss how we can work skillfully with anger, fear, and reactivity without becoming doormats or numbing ourselves out through the lens of her new children’s book Kind Karl.
Talk + Meditation: Welcoming the “Messengers” of Aging, Illness, Death – and Awakening
Aging, illness, and death are unavoidable. Learn how equanimity and love help you meet them—and live well, meanwhile.