Social Anxiety, Self-Advocacy, and Too Much Self-Help: September Mailbag

Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson

Dr. Rick and Forrest dive into the mailbag, and answer questions from listeners focused on working with anxiety in ourselves and our relationships. They start with a question that’s essential to the podcast as a whole: is it possible to be too preoccupied with personal growth? Rick talks about how to manage the desire for approval, offering strategies to foster self-acceptance and healthier self-validation, before Forrest shares his own journey with finding the right amount of try-hard. They then discuss how to create more collaborative decisions in relationships. Additional topics include self-motivation and peak performance, working with diverse needs, and diagnostic “scope creep.”

You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

1:05: Am I too preoccupied with self-help and personal growth?

11:20: How do I address my unquenchable thirst for approval?

27:15: How can I tell if I’m actually doing my best?

36:40: How do I advocate for more collaborative decision making with my partner?

54:15: How does the brain’s natural pursuit of novelty balance with its desire for safety?

1:03:30: Recap

I am now writing on Substack, check out my work there.

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