Dr. Anna Lembke

And it's been this is a real area I'm working on because my kids occupy a lot of my mental real estate.

And their well-being.

I do use it as a drug to make myself feel better.

And when they're doing well and I get little information from them that they're doing well, I feel good.

And when they're not doing well, I ruminate and I worry and I feel bad.

But here's how this is so, you know...

counterproductive and potentially harmful for me and my kids is that my kids then get trapped in this thing where we can't actually tell mom that things are not going well because we have to be doing well for her to be okay.

And it's very subtle.

But this creeps up on you.

We're the same age.

Yes, yes.

I think you're right.

Would you share that story?

Yes, absolutely.

So, okay, where to go into this?

So, in my early 40s, you know, life was basically running along pretty well.

And it's not like I was trying to escape into anything.

I mean, I had some, you know, marital conflict around whether or not we were going to...

you know, try to have more children or stop there.

And I've always been a reader, so I always enjoyed reading as, you know, a pleasure, an escape as well.