Young and Profiting with Hala Taha - YAPLive: Mental Health Masterclass with Dr. Daniel Amen, Dr. Robin Smith, Amy Morin and Jonas Koffler | Cut Version

Episode Date: March 4, 2022

Mental health is a topic that has been taboo for decades. The stigma and shame around mental health mean many people don’t get the help and support they need and end up suffering and struggling in s...ilence.  There has been a reported increase in panic disorders, anxiety, stress, and more, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health is the pandemic that isn’t being talked about. We can no longer afford to stigmatize mental health or ignore this crisis. It is time the conversation about mental health comes to the forefront.  In this episode, Hala is joined by mental health leaders Dr. Daniel Amen, Dr. Robin Smith, Dr. Owen Muir, Amy Morin, Jonas Koffler, and more, to talk about the state of mental health in the world, why normalizing mental health struggles is important, grieving and the process of healing, the potential of psychedelics in the future of psychiatry, and what daily habits we can start to today to improve our mental discipline and ultimately lead happier, healthier lives.   Dr. Daniel Amen is one of America’s leading psychiatrists and brain health experts. Dr Amen is board certified in General Psychiatry and Child Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Robin Smith is a licensed psychologist, media personality, keynote speaker, and author. She spent years as the on-air therapist for The Oprah Winfrey Show. Today, Dr Robin hosts the Dr. Robin show on SiriusXM’s Urban View Channel 126, where she leads conversations with thought-leaders on rising toward truth, justice, and joy.  Amy Morin is a psychotherapist, the editor-in-chief at Verywell Mind, the host of the Verywell Mind Podcast, a licensed clinical social worker, and a psychology lecturer at Northeastern University. She’s also an international bestselling author. She has written four books, 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, 13 Things Mentally Strong Parents Don’t Do, 13 Things Mentally Strong Women Don’t Do, and 13 Things Strong Kids Do. Jonas Koffler is a New York Times bestselling author and entrepreneur. Jonas has co-founded or been part of the founding team at several ventures, including digital health companies like Lada Labs and Radical Wellness Inc, He is also the founder of Koffler Pictures, a branded entertainment at storytelling boutique. Sponsorships:: Issuu - Sign up for a premium account and get 50% off! Go to ISSUU.com/podcast and use promo code YAP Athletic Greens - Visit athleticgreens.com/YAP and get FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. Jordan Harbinger - Check out jordanharbinger.com/start for some episode recommendations ThirdLove - Upgrade to everyday pieces that love your body as much as you do. Get 20% off your first order at thirdlove.com/yap  ShipStation - Go to sandlandsleep.com and use the promo code YAP15 Resources Mentioned:  Uncut Episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/yaplive-conquering-invisible-enemies-mental-health/id1368888880?i=1000522606249 Dr Amen’s 30 Day Happiness Challenge: https://www.amenuniversity.com/happy  Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, by Dr Daniel Amen: https://www.amazon.com/Change-Your-Brain-Revised-Expanded/dp/110190464X  HUSTLE: The Power to Charge Your Life with Money, Meaning and Momentum, Co-Written by Jonas Koffler: https://www.amazon.com/Hustle-Power-Charge-Meaning-Momentum/dp/1623367166  Books by Amy Morin: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00LNL5Q18  Books By Dr. Robin: https://www.amazon.com/Robin-L.-Smith/e/B001JS3R84  If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health challenges, contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255  Connect with Young and Profiting: YAP’s Instagram: www.instagram.com/youngandprofiting   Hala’s Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/htaha/   Hala’s Instagram: www.instagram.com/yapwithhala   Website: www.youngandprofiting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 This episode of YAP is sponsored in part by Shopify. Shopify simplifies selling online and in-person so you can focus on successfully growing your business. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at Shopify.com-profiting. You can crush your fingers and all your toes during a data center migration. You can knock on wood, pluck a dozen four leaf clovers or look to your lucky stars for a successful office expansion.
Starting point is 00:00:24 You could hold your breath, shut your eyes, and say all the well wishes to help avoid cyber attacks. But none of that truly helps you. Because next level moments need the next level network. With the security, reliability, and expertise to take your business further. AT&T Business. The network you can rely on. I've heard over and over again now that the mental health crisis we are experiencing
Starting point is 00:00:49 will be the next pandemic. If you feel anxious, isolated, or depressed, know that you're not alone. Mental health isn't something we talk openly about. It's stigmatized and uncomfortable to discuss, and too many of us suffer in silence. Our mental health influences the quality of our day-to-day lives, how we cope with loss and grief, manage stress, and so much more. It's time we start paying as much attention to our brains as we do our bodies. In today's episode, I'm joined by a panel of experts in the field of brain health and psychiatry.
Starting point is 00:01:26 We discuss the mental health crisis and how we can help ourselves and others fight for healthier brains so we can live more fulfilling lives. This conversation features Dr. Daniel Aiman, Dr. Robin Smith, Amy Marin, and Jonas Coughler. These mental health experts are incredibly well-known in the field and are best-selling authors. Dr. Daniel Aiman is one of America's leading psychiatrists and brain health experts. Dr. Robin Smith is known for her role as the on-air therapist for the Oprah Winfrey show. And Aiman Marin is a psychotherapist and the editor-in-chief at Very Well Mind. And lastly, Jonas Koffler is an entrepreneur and writer whose ventures include digital
Starting point is 00:02:06 health and mental wellness startups, Lata Labs, and Radical Wellness Incorporated. These panelists have a ton of ideas on destigmatizing the conversation of mental health, how we can bring mental health to the forefront, and what the future of mental health care may be. I'm super excited to share this conversation and this is a highlight episode from a previous clubhouse live that was presented by Talkspace back in May of 2021. I'll put all the relevant links including the panelists books in the show notes. Remember the battle to destigmatize mental health starts with us.
Starting point is 00:02:40 Thanks for joining us on this important conversation and without further ado. Enjoy my amazing conversation with Dr. Daniel Aiman, Dr. Robin Smith, Amy Morin, and Jonas Koffler. Over the past year, I've talked about mental health a lot on my podcast, given the current situations. And a lot of my guests have mentioned that mental illness is the next pandemic that we need to tackle after coronavirus. So can somebody on the panel give some stats and shed some color in terms of the breath of the problem when it comes to mental health around the world?
Starting point is 00:03:12 So if anybody wants to kick the, oh, Dr. Robin is here. So Dr. Robin, I'm gonna kick it to you. I know you just joined, but I know you have an opinion on this topic. So how would you describe the state of mental health in the world and then anybody else who wants to contribute to this flash of mic and I'll kick it over to you afterwards. So Dr. Robin, take it away.
Starting point is 00:03:29 Yes, thanks, Halum. You know, really glad to be here with you and in this room, your room. And it's more ancient than COVID-19. I mean COVID-19 came, it feels like out of nowhere and we know it harmed many people and lives and I know it personally touched your life as well, Hala, but mental illness and really struggling with emotional distress is ancient. It is something that has been going on since the beginning of time. And it's also something that has been under-reported. It has been hidden because of shame and blame. And so this is a new era. When you say that mental illness is the next pandemic. It's just actually the
Starting point is 00:04:28 pandemic that we have refused to take seriously. I couldn't agree more. I'm going to quickly just rattle off some mental health stats and then we'll kick it over to some of the other panelists. So 450 million people currently suffer from mental illness, according to the World Health Organization. One in four Americans currently suffer at least one mental illness, and that concurs with the rest of the world based on my research. Amy, I know that you conducted a study at very well. If you want to go over the results of your mental health study, that'd be great. Yeah, at very well-mined, we did some research.
Starting point is 00:05:03 We reached out to about 4,000 people in the United States to sort of get the pulse of how people are dealing with the pandemic and aftermath, and now that the restrictions are starting to lift. And what we found is that it's really the younger generation that is struggling the most. It's Gen Z, who is up to about age 24. And that's the population that seems to be experiencing
Starting point is 00:05:26 the most symptoms of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts. And it seems to be that their biggest sources of stress right now are financial concerns, concerns about work. So we're looking at people who are just getting done with high school, just getting done with college, they're entering into the world and they're struggling right now. And during the pandemic,
Starting point is 00:05:48 there's been so much focus on, say, their grandparents and their physical health of the older generations, but I think it's so important right now to pay attention to the mental health of the younger generations and to think more about how affected they have been by this and how this whole year is a huge proportion of their lives in comparison to say somebody who's 50, when you're 24 and you weren't able
Starting point is 00:06:12 to do anything for an entire year, that's a big deal. And we're seeing the aftermath of that. And I think we're going to see it for quite a while. In fact, we found that within the last few weeks, almost 30% of Americans say that they've felt down, depressed, or hopeless. 28% said that they feel bad about themselves and 21% reported thoughts of cell harm or thoughts of suicide.
Starting point is 00:06:34 And again, it was highest for Gen Z. Really, really interesting stuff. My next question is for Dr. Daniel A. Men. And I want to understand how you define mental illness and what are some of the most common mental illnesses people suffer from? Well, as I said before, I'm not a fan of the term mental illness. I think it shames people.
Starting point is 00:06:57 It's stigmatizing. And it's wrong. There are brain health issues that steal people's minds. Have a book I wrote about this called the end of mental illness. People just get it when I talk about it this way that everybody wants a better brain. Nobody wants to be called mental. So being called mental is not a good thing. It's a bad thing. It shames people. Being called a brain is a good thing. It's a bad thing. It shames people. Being called to brain is a good thing. Everybody wants to sort of be being called to brain. Now, if you look at, so whether the most common brain health mental health issues people have, number one, anxiety disorders. Before the pandemic,
Starting point is 00:07:39 30% of the population endorsed that they would have one of the anxiety disorders, like generalized anxiety, panic disorder, OCD, PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder. So the group of anxiety disorders are the most common. But for the pandemic, a lot of people were suffering that number likely doubled. The second one is depression in all of its forms, but I say depression is sort of like fever, right? Doctors used to give you the diagnosis of fever. Nobody does that anymore because fever does
Starting point is 00:08:17 and tell you what's causing it or what to do for it. I think depression is exactly the same way, but it affects a lot of people. Third are people struggle with ADHD, tension deficit hyperactivity disorder, also called ADD, and then addictions are common in some of the sleep issues. Often, we revolve around mental health, brain health issues, and then things like bipolar disorder, which I think is one of the current fads, inspiratory. It's like everybody sort of gets a diagnosis of bipolar too. Did that answer your question? Yes, 100% it more than dead and duly noted on brain health and mental health instead of calling it mental illness.
Starting point is 00:09:05 I just wanted to say something as I'm listening to all of this. Dr. Robin here, I think it's important as we are talking about the brain and the mind to remember that there are many people in this room right now and they may not know all of the technical terms that some of us are aware of, but what they do know is they know suffering and they know joy. And I think it's really important to really talk about normalizing, not pathologizing. So to normalize struggle, to normalize suffering, to normalize the ways in which we are all trying to make meaning out of very challenging and difficult situations and circumstances and relationships. think that when we have an appointment with someone and maybe it's, you know, for the dentist and they might say to someone, oh, I need to, you know, get off this call. I have to get to the dentist, you know, getting my teeth cleaned or I'm going to, you know, get my eyes examined. We don't feel that same kind of comfort because we've not had good role modeling and not good
Starting point is 00:10:28 examples around what it means. And that's why what Dr. Aiman is talking about is really so very, very important to understand the difference. And you know from, you know, talking with me that I don't use the word mental illness because I think it not only does it misslead people and shame people it also is such a hopeless term and it can make people feel helpless as well but if we have more examples of people who say I have to go right now because I have, you know, my partner and I have couples therapy or my children and I have therapy, that it's so important that we teach by what we are actually doing ourselves as healers.
Starting point is 00:11:23 One of the things that is so important about the brain, we think of brainwashing as being negative, you know, that someone has brainwashed you. We don't think about how important it can be and helpful to find ways of washing the brain from toxic and destructive and limiting beliefs about the self and about others. And so this invitation tonight, as I see it, for all of us healers and those who are in the room, is to feel encouraged tonight, to feel inspired. It is hard work, but I always tell people that it is also very hard, painful work to remain defeated and suffering. It's just that we are more familiar with that than we are at being liberated. And so I just am inviting each of us to feel the hope in what everyone is talking about tonight for your individual life and circumstance.
Starting point is 00:12:34 And so I'm grateful that we gathered tonight and hope that each of us in the room is applying this to how it impacts us individually, the people in our homes, and then of course collectively as a tribe and village in the world. Amazing, inspirational information for everybody tuning in. You always are inspiring and motivating, and thank you so much for that. We'll be right back after a quick break from our sponsors. Young and profiters, do you have a brilliant business idea but you don't know how to move forward with it? Going into debt for a four-year degree isn't the only path to success.
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Starting point is 00:15:42 He used to be pretty sluggish and sleeping all the time, but I've definitely noticed a major improvement since I started feeding him nom nom. And the best part, they offer a money back guarantee. If your dog's tail isn't wagging within 30 days, they'll refund your first order. No fillers, no nonsense, just nom nom. Go right now for 50% off your no risk two week trial at trinom.com.sash app. That's trinom and om.com.sash app for 50% off trinom.com slash app. I want to pivot back to COVID. So COVID for a lot of you guys on the panel do know me
Starting point is 00:16:21 pretty well. And a lot of you guys we haven't met before. You might be coming on my show in the future, but we really haven't gotten a chance to talk. And if you do know me, you probably know that my father passed away from COVID last May. And I got actually his anniversary of his passing was this past Saturday, a one year anniversary. And I caught COVID because I was taking care of him and my whole family got sick. And we are one of the first families I feel like that I knew at least and all my friends knew and in New Jersey who got impacted.
Starting point is 00:16:50 I feel like I was like one of the first families that got impacted. So it was a really scary time. And I'm not alone. There's so many people who have suffered from grief. Three million lost souls all over the world. And to make matters worse, not only losing someone, but then not being able to visit them in the hospital for me was really traumatic.
Starting point is 00:17:08 And I just want to talk about grief. And I know that Amy, Dr. Robin, I'm sure other of you guys on the panel talk about grief and how to overcome trauma. I'd like to pivot to Amy. I know you talk about this quite a lot. Can you explain the difference between healthy grief and unhealthy self pity and kind of what you recommend that we do for those of us who are suffering from grief due to COVID and due to any any reasons that we would suffer grief. Absolutely. So my experience with grief is not just as a therapist, but it's also personal. I lost my mom when I was 23 and then when I was 26, my 26 year old husband died of a heart attack. And shortly after that, I lost my father-in-law and realized quickly that knowing about grief
Starting point is 00:17:51 is one thing, but going through the emotions and the pain is just having the head knowledge doesn't always do it. Grief is the process by which we heal and you have to go through the pain. And there's no timeline for grief that so often people will think you should feel better in six months or there's the magical one year mark but that's not the case and that grief often comes in waves. You might be fine one minute and the next minute you're in the grocery store looking at something that reminds you of your loved one and you might suddenly burst into tears and and that's okay. It doesn't mean that you haven't healed or that you aren't grieving into tears. And that's okay. It doesn't mean that
Starting point is 00:18:25 you haven't healed or that you aren't grieving the right way. There's no right or wrong way to grieve. And for us to just be aware of that and to know that it's okay to ask for help, it's important to talk to people and really pay attention to our emotions. There's so much power in just naming how you're feeling and to not judge yourself for those emotions. So whether you feel guilty, you feel incredible pain and sadness or you feel intense anxiety, just taking some time and honoring and noticing those feelings goes a long way towards helping us feel better and then knowing that it's okay to feel those things but also you don't want to stay stuck in a place of pain and And that it's important to have healthy coping strategies, which could be anything from
Starting point is 00:19:08 knitting to exercising to painting, just knowing what kinds of things help me express, experience, and cope with these difficult feelings that I have. Yeah, 100% and Dr. Robin, you are known as being the trauma surgeon of the heart and soul. So I'd love your thoughts on all the grief that's going on and what we can do to overcome it Yeah, thanks, Holly. So one of the things when I think about trauma and what I know about grief and loss and trauma is that A part of what makes it even more difficult are the rules and let's call the regulations that other people or we ourselves try to abide by.
Starting point is 00:19:53 So we have a timeline or our job has a timeline or we read somebody's book that talked about you know a timeline and how they went back to work or they started dating or after six months or, you know, a year and a half and so you figure, okay, if I'm, you know, if I'm okay, then I can do that as well. And so one of the things that is so important as it relates to COVID, but just grief and loss in general is that there really are not any rules other than what your own heart dictates in terms of what it needs and a lot of that requires slowing down. I mean slowing down even right here right now in this room and asking yourself this very bold and brave question, which is what does my ache need? Rumi, the great writer and thinker and philosopher, has a quote that I love and I think it fits so well here
Starting point is 00:20:58 that the wound, W-O-U-N-D. The wound is the place where light enters. And so often, we are covering our wounds up and we're ashamed of our wounds and we're trying to get our wounds into gear. People will, if you hear, when I do my Cubhouse events every Sunday morning at 10 a.m. in the East, people often will call and if they begin to cry, they'll say, I'm sorry. I don't say, what are you sorry for? And isn't it interesting that when our tears show up, and I believe our tears are our teacher,
Starting point is 00:21:38 that we apologize for our humanity. So a piece of what this moment is offering is that we really lean, and I mean lean all the way in to what it means to be fully human, and that is to have losses. And, you know, as we've heard each person share that sometimes it's the birthday or the anniversary, but sometimes it's not connected to anything in particular except for that your heart aches. Or how about the times where someone feels joy and then they feel guilty? Like, am I allowed to smile? Am I allowed to ever laugh again after, you know, the death and the loss of someone who suffered and died alone in COVID? When we think about what happened to, you know, so many people in COVID and how I know you've shared about this, people who had to say
Starting point is 00:22:39 goodbye to their loved ones over a device, over FaceTime, and where physicians were serving as priests and rabbis, simply because family members could not, were not allowed into the hospitals. But I want to caution all of us, and those who are suffering tonight with grief and loss and trauma, you may have thought that your best friend is gonna always be there and trauma. You know, you may have thought that, you know, your best friend is gonna always be there and understand.
Starting point is 00:23:09 And every time you talk to him, or every time you talk to her, you leave feeling disappointed, like they didn't get it. You know, they didn't get it, or my sister's not getting it. And so what I really want to encourage you to do is pay attention to that part of you that feels that somebody is missing your grief and sorrow because it's sacred.
Starting point is 00:23:36 And you don't want to share it with anyone who isn't able or willing or doesn't have the capacity to hold it and hold you in ways that really are constructive and nurturing and soft and tender in such a tough time. So don't grandfather anyone into being close to you unless they have earned the right to walk with you and next to you unless they have earned the right to walk with you and next to you. That was beautiful, Dr. Robin.
Starting point is 00:24:10 Thank you so much for your thoughts. I'm gonna pivot to Dr. Daniel Amin. So we're in a back channel and Dr. Daniel Amin just mentioned that he actually lost his father on May 5th. So 10 days before mine and he had a virtual funeral. So I'd love to hear your thoughts on this and also about mental discipline. If you can define that for everyone and tell us why it's so important. That's really mental discipline that helped me get through his loss. I had a hard relationship with my dad. When I told him I wanted to be a psychiatrist in 1979,
Starting point is 00:24:43 he asked me why I didn't want to be a real doctor. Why I wanted to be a psychiatrist in 1979. He asked me why I didn't want to be a real doctor. Why I wanted to be a nut doctor and hang out with nuts all day long. So he's a Middle Eastern father who was hard. And the last five years of his life, though, he was my best friend. He had a health challenge, never listened to me. And when he listened to me, he lost 40 pounds, helped his heart heal, and we became super close. So his death was very hard for me. But what I talked to my patients about
Starting point is 00:25:20 is mental discipline needs to be the same as physical discipline, that if you want a healthy body, you have to make thousands of decisions over and over and over again. You cannot be 50 pounds overweight on Monday. Have a salad for lunch and expect to be trimmed on Friday. Right? That's insane. You need habits that you put in your life every day that help you. And in a new book I'll call, your brain is always listening. I talk about something called positivity bias training. So many of my patients who struggle with anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, who have high A-squars, and it would be good for us to talk about the A-test, which is a first-childhood experiences,
Starting point is 00:26:19 because people who score it scored on a scale of 0 to 10. And people who score over 4 die earlier than people who are under 4. They have an increased risk for 7 of the top 10 leading causes of death. And my wife has a score of 8. My niece is who we adopted, both have 9s. And so that trains your nervous system to be hyper-vigilant and to always watch for bad things to happen. But my wife and my nieces, who live with me, are all doing awesome because we work on mental discipline. So I start every day with today is going to be a great day.
Starting point is 00:27:05 Soon as my feet hit the floor. And if I forget it's on the top of my to-do-less, that way my unconscious mind will start finding what I'm looking forward to today hanging out with my friends and doing this tonight, rather than just what the brain naturally does is look for what's a threat, what's wrong, especially if you grew up in trauma. As I go through my day, I go, is this good for my brain or bad for it, which is actually the mother tiny habit. It's the most important tiny habit you can do. Because if you love your brain, you start making better decisions for it.
Starting point is 00:27:49 And before I go to bed at night, I always put myself to sleep with a prayer. And then I go, what went well today? And I've been doing this for years. And the day my dad died was an awful day. I was actually in my bathroom getting ready to take him to the pulmonologist because he just wasn't getting better from COVID, and he'd been two months since he had it. And then I got a call from my mom, you know, it's like a nightmare that he stopped breathing, whether she do, she's on the phone. I'm calling 911 driving to the, I mean, it was a mess.
Starting point is 00:28:28 And so when I went to bed that night, because it is my habit, I set a prayer and then I went, what went well to that. And then the supervising part of me, you know, I always have this great technique I learned from my friend Stephen Hayes, give your mind a name. So you can psychologically distance from it. Well, my mind is named after my pet raccoon when I was 16. Her name was Hermie. Well, Hermie starts like yelling at me like you're a bad son because you're gonna go really on the worst day
Starting point is 00:29:06 of your life in 38 years, you're gonna go what went well today. Right, so the critical part of my mind is getting after me. And then I just remembered the hundreds of texts I got from my friends, because when you're from a big Lebanese family, everybody knows something good or bad happens literally within three minutes. There was just such an outpour and a love for my dad and for me. Then my brain went to
Starting point is 00:29:36 before the mortuary took him away, I sat with him and just held his hand. And it was just so soft. And then I went to sleep because mental wellness is a practice. It's not something. And we actually have, right now we have a 30-day happiness challenge. So people can sign up for it. It's free 30dayHopPinusChallenge.com. And what we do is just these little tiny habits to put in your life,
Starting point is 00:30:09 optimize your brain, your mind, your relationships, and your soul, which is ultimately why do you care living each day with purpose. And we need to talk about this just like people talk about losing weight or getting cardiovascularly fit. And it's a new direction, right? I'm not treating your depression, I'm optimizing your brain, I'm optimizing your mind, I'm optimizing your relationships, and ultimately your deepest sense of naming and purpose. So I hope that's helpful. I love actionable advice on young and profiting podcasts.
Starting point is 00:30:57 So learning from your personal experience and how you dealt with your father's deaths through mental discipline is so interesting to learn about. Let's hold that thought and take a quick break with our sponsors. You hear that sound, young and profitors? You should know that sound by now, but in case you don't, that's the sound
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Starting point is 00:32:35 that my masterclass was going to be a success right off the bat and enabled focus. And focus is everything when it comes to entrepreneurship. With Shopify single dashboard, I can manage my orders and my payments from anywhere in the world. And like I said, it's one of my favorite things to do every day is check my Shopify dashboard. It is a rush of dopamine to see all those blinking lights around the world showing me where everybody is logging on on the site. I love it. I highly recommend it. Shopify is a platform that I use every single day and it can take your business to the next level. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at Shopify.com-profiting. Again, go to Shopify.com-profiting all lowercase to take your business to the next level today. Again, that Shopify.com-profiting, Shopify.com-profiting, all lowercase.
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Starting point is 00:35:02 about what it takes to create rapid exponential growth. Unlock your potential, unleash your success, and start living your dream life today. Tune into the Kelly Road Show available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. So, the next topic I want to talk about is a little controversial, and it's on the topic of medication and psychedelics, because I think there's a couple schools of thoughts when it comes to this. Dr. Caroline, I know that you have a strong stance on this topic and I also know that Dr. Carlene and Dr. Owen are proponents of psychedelics. So why don't we
Starting point is 00:35:36 start with Dr. Owen? We didn't really hear much from you. What is your stance on psychedelics and however you psyched psychedelics in this? And what are your thoughts on that? You know, it's not, I think just psychedelics we're talking about, it's effective interventions in psychiatry for 30 years. And this is quoting my friend Dan Carlin, who's now the Chief Medical Officer at Mind Med. When he was working at Pfizer, they worshipped the altar of 50% better. Right. And so the standard by which all of our SSRIs and other antidepressants, for example, are judged, is a 50% reduction in symptoms.
Starting point is 00:36:12 Now, I have very few patients who come to me and say, I'd like to feel halfway better. But most of them want to be in remission. They don't want to be suffering tremendously, which people are coming to me are on average. And so when we're thinking about psychedelic medicines, we're not talking about getting high and going to a fish concert. That's a different intention.
Starting point is 00:36:33 We're talking about evidence-based treatments, and the studies that have been coming out are remarkable. So for example, maps came out with a study just last week on MDMA assisted psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, which by the way, the Cochrane review of all the prior available treatments only has Vemla vaccine as an effect of treatment for. That is accepting, of course, for psychotherapy, like Niddy does with EMDR and other modalities. But not everyone can tolerate those therapies. The dropout rates are very high.
Starting point is 00:37:06 We had an effect size of above .9. That's better than any medication for any condition in all of psychiatry with the exception of stimulants in ADHD. So we're talking about an order of magnitude difference in how potent these interventions can be. And so I think the only controversy in my mind is like, how are we going to deploy these at scale? And how are we going to get them paid for? So people have access to them and not just the wealthy, people who desperately need these treatments. Because as Niddy can talk about,
Starting point is 00:37:38 adverse childhood experiences are extremely common, especially among kids who I was seeing when I worked at Bellevue, and in the state hospital system. And there are the kinds of people who are going to need interventions that work, and I think that's what psychedelics I hope will prove to be. Interesting. Dr. Daniel Aiman, do you have any alternate thoughts on this, or Niddy, do you want to chime in? Well, I'm hopeful, but, you, but people were super hopeful about cocaine.
Starting point is 00:38:09 And before I use cocaine, then they were super hopeful about opioids. And I'm hopeful. And I want to see more research. I have actually done some before and after studies with IBA game, which is a psychedelic. And for some people, it was really helpful. For other people, it wasn't. And it seemed to really drop the function in their brain. So lots of people are getting on the bandwagon.
Starting point is 00:38:38 I just want to see more research on large groups of people. But, you know, whatever we use, I'm a huge fan of plant medicine. I own a supplement company. I love saffron. I'm saffron head-to-head against pro-zac paxols, so locked. Effects are a mepramine which shown to be equally effective. The Dr. Owen pointed it out right, equally effective may not be that effective. What we're not talking about, one of us mentioned it earlier, is why aren't we doing like the really simple things first, like diet and exercise? I mean, exercise had the head against prozac and zooloth was found to be equally effective. Exercise,
Starting point is 00:39:26 visual, um, great nutrients. Let's start there. Learning teaching people on scale, not to believe that we're stupid thing. They think, I call it kill in the ants, the automatic, negative thoughts. And once you've done those things, once you've really worked to optimize your brain, your mind, your relationships, your purpose, and you're still suffering than medication and perhaps TMS can be really helpful.
Starting point is 00:40:02 My huge fan of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. And my experience with psychedelics and my patients, it's not as effective as I would like. I mean, I have great success stories with ketamine. But it seems like about 20% of people I've sent for ketamine get a lasting positive response. So I think we should all be scientists and what that means is we should all be curious.
Starting point is 00:40:34 Being scientific doesn't mean diminishing other people and dismissing other things. Being scientific just means I'm curious. Show me the evidence and let me test it for myself. Thank you so much, Dr. Daniel. That was super great insights. It looks like Jonas has something to add. Jonas, I'll kick it over to you. Great, thanks. Hello. I want to build on what Daniel was speaking to and Owen as well. And Ydi, Look, I think the evidence overwhelmingly is positive and I think it's good to be cautiously optimistic. I also think it's very clear that directionally
Starting point is 00:41:11 we are on the verge of a new frontier in terms of revolutionary approaches to integrating plant-based healing modalities. And clearly part of that is going to be by leveraging psychedelics. There's no question about it. The research is there, but we definitely need to figure out how to scale it and how to scale safely. But I also want to say this, that the healing journey is, we can look at the data and that's objective, but it's also very subjective.
Starting point is 00:41:39 And the pieces that we're talking about here are really mapping to an integrative approach to a lifestyle that is based on health and wellness and well-being. And it is optimizing how we orient to the possibilities that are low cost and accessible to everyone. So talk therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, that is certainly one path. Nutritional well-being and making better choices about what
Starting point is 00:42:03 we put into our body such that we can function at a higher level, is critically important. Exercise, you know, the big, my big premise, one of the things I'm focused on in my new book, is this idea that, you know, we have to do things that actually move us, and the movement itself will drive us toward health, physically, mentally, emotionally, in terms of resilience and so forth. But all of these things, or it's a mental, physically, mentally, emotionally, in terms of resilience and so forth. But all of these things, or it's a mental, emotional, physical, relational, nutritional, spiritual, they all tie into our integrative whole as a human.
Starting point is 00:42:34 And so I think for those who are, again, listening in and in despair, please know that, you have to look at your life as a whole spectrum, and you are, by no means, your identity is tied to the affliction that you're dealing with whether it's anxiety or depression or poor diet. You know, so please be mindful that and know that you can change and that the opportunity for you to change is it can be very, very simple and it could start with just getting a good night's sleep. Whether it's practicing habits and mental discipline like Dr. Daniel Aiman, changing the
Starting point is 00:43:08 language around mental and brain health, or simply reminding yourself that there's no right way to overcome trauma and grief, there's a lot you can start doing today to help your brain stay healthy and even help those around you on their mental health journey. Remember, gestigmatizing mental health starts with leading, by example. And if you want to listen to the full uncut YAP Live, it was released on May 21st and is called YAP Live Conquering Invisible Enemies. Let us know how you're implementing
Starting point is 00:43:36 these techniques in your life. You can find me on Instagram or Twitter at YAP with Hala or LinkedIn, just search my name, it's Hala Taha. DM me and tell me what you thought about this episode or drop us a five-star review on your favorite podcast platform. Let's keep the conversation going. We'll catch you next time. This is Hala, signing off. Are you looking for ways to be happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative? I'm Gretchen Rubin, the number one best-selling author of the Happiness Project. And every week we share ideas and practical solutions on the Happier with Gretchen Rubin Podcast. My co-host and Happiness Guinea Pig is my sister Elizabeth Kraft.
Starting point is 00:44:14 That's me, Elizabeth Kraft, a TV writer and producer in Hollywood. Join us as we explore fresh insights from cutting-edge science, ancient wisdom, pop culture, and our own experiences about cultivating happiness and good habits. Every week we offer a try this at home tip you can use to boost your happiness without spending a lot of time, energy, or money. Suggestions such as follow the one-minute rule. Choose a one-word theme for the year or design your summer. We also feature segments like know yourself better where we discuss questions like are you
Starting point is 00:44:44 an over buyer or an under buyer? Morning person or night person, abundance lever or simplicity lever? And every episode includes a happiness hack, a quick, easy shortcut to more happy. Listen and follow the podcast, Happier with Gretchen Rubin. I don't know about you, it takes a lot to shock me these days. But to see our judicial system resemble a third world banana republic, to see trusted American companies embrace insane and destructive woke ideologies is frankly depressing. We must fight back and that starts with changing the way that we spend our money. For years, big mobile companies have been dumping millions into leftist causes,
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