Dr. Martha Beck

Okay, in your chest. So allow that and say to it, I'm going to give you space. I'm here. I'm going to be here with you. I know she's scaring you, but I've got you. It's okay. She's not going to hurt us. I can go in the other room with you if you need and sit with it and say, let me know, what are you feeling? Tell me everything.

You get to feel exactly the way you feel, and I'm here to listen to anything you want to tell me, and I will not hurt you, and I will not try to stifle you or make you go away. So how does that change anything?

You get to feel exactly the way you feel, and I'm here to listen to anything you want to tell me, and I will not hurt you, and I will not try to stifle you or make you go away. So how does that change anything?

That can be really helpful. There's a psychologist named James Pennebaker who found that if he just had students, he just did this experiment once as a graduate student. He had students write for 15 minutes about something that was upsetting to them. And many of them came out of the experiment in tears. It really upset them for an hour or two.

That can be really helpful. There's a psychologist named James Pennebaker who found that if he just had students, he just did this experiment once as a graduate student. He had students write for 15 minutes about something that was upsetting to them. And many of them came out of the experiment in tears. It really upset them for an hour or two.

He had other students just write what they did last summer or whatever. So there was this brief period where the ones who had stirred up some turmoil felt unsettled. But in the weeks and even the years subsequent to that experiment, they had fewer doctor's visits. They had less anxiety. They had better relationships. They had better everything.

He had other students just write what they did last summer or whatever. So there was this brief period where the ones who had stirred up some turmoil felt unsettled. But in the weeks and even the years subsequent to that experiment, they had fewer doctor's visits. They had less anxiety. They had better relationships. They had better everything.

So he, for his whole career, just did these writing exercises where he would have people just express themselves, not to show anyone, not even to reread, just to express. The parts of us that are frightened need to be heard more. The parts of society that are hurting need to be heard.

So he, for his whole career, just did these writing exercises where he would have people just express themselves, not to show anyone, not even to reread, just to express. The parts of us that are frightened need to be heard more. The parts of society that are hurting need to be heard.

I'm astonished by the Truth and Reconciliation Councils held in South Africa after Nelson Mandela became president. These people who had been through absolute atrocities and they were just heard. They were allowed to tell their stories to the people who had hurt them and other people who were on their side. And the telling of it avoided, you know, what everyone thought would be a bloodbath.

I'm astonished by the Truth and Reconciliation Councils held in South Africa after Nelson Mandela became president. These people who had been through absolute atrocities and they were just heard. They were allowed to tell their stories to the people who had hurt them and other people who were on their side. And the telling of it avoided, you know, what everyone thought would be a bloodbath.

And it, of course, didn't fix all the problems, but it unburdened, to a large extent, people who had been through things that I can't even imagine. So, yes, write it. Write it down. So she's in the other room. She's acting weird. Something might come up about, like, how old is that anxious part? Maybe it's young. Maybe it's not.

And it, of course, didn't fix all the problems, but it unburdened, to a large extent, people who had been through things that I can't even imagine. So, yes, write it. Write it down. So she's in the other room. She's acting weird. Something might come up about, like, how old is that anxious part? Maybe it's young. Maybe it's not.

That's what it's like if you get stuck in what's called the anxiety spiral in the brain, the anxiety cycle, some people call it. So what you have to do in that situation is, to extend the metaphor, get out of the car, disarm the mechanism, get that mechanism out of the way, you know, the tire ripping thing, and then you can back out.

That's what it's like if you get stuck in what's called the anxiety spiral in the brain, the anxiety cycle, some people call it. So what you have to do in that situation is, to extend the metaphor, get out of the car, disarm the mechanism, get that mechanism out of the way, you know, the tire ripping thing, and then you can back out.

But the stopping and getting out, that's the calming step of anxiety. And that's what you're doing here. As weird as it sounds, when you write your name backwards and you come into a state of physiological calm, you are getting rid of the tire rippers. You're building pathways that go into the calmer parts of the brain.

But the stopping and getting out, that's the calming step of anxiety. And that's what you're doing here. As weird as it sounds, when you write your name backwards and you come into a state of physiological calm, you are getting rid of the tire rippers. You're building pathways that go into the calmer parts of the brain.

So the same thing when you were imagining eating an orange, you're calming yourself and it allows you to reverse. It allows you to leave finally. But our culture tends to not allow you to leave. It's always telling you horror stories. So then once you get really calm and you've taken care of that part of yourself, I said the acronym is CAT, cat.

So the same thing when you were imagining eating an orange, you're calming yourself and it allows you to reverse. It allows you to leave finally. But our culture tends to not allow you to leave. It's always telling you horror stories. So then once you get really calm and you've taken care of that part of yourself, I said the acronym is CAT, cat.

Once you get to calm, then very paradoxically, it blew me away when I realized this, then you need art. And I don't mean drawing. I mean making things, making things in three dimensions, making events happen, making a podcast. Like what was the fire in you that made you make things? And how did it feel when you were in the making?