Dr. Robert Waldinger

We can teach kids not to be afraid that sadness is okay and it's not going to last.

Right.

That's a big message because kids don't know that, especially when you're in the midst of a sad time or really angry time.

It feels like forever.

And so to be able to teach kids about what feelings are like and how they work, it's actually, you know, that's why I'm in London now for the Royal Foundation for this thing.

They have a Shaping Us initiative.

They're trying to call attention to the fact that we can teach the kind of thing you just talked about.

We can teach kids not to be afraid of feelings and to use their feelings rather than let their feelings, you know, run away with them.

That's interesting, you know, because I know it does work that way for some people at some times.

For other people, it works in the reverse.

That some people say you're struggling with OCD and you have these behaviors.

You don't know why you have to keep checking whether the door is locked or the stove is turned off.

And it's driving you crazy and it's driving everybody around you crazy.

And then someone finally says, here's what it is.

And you can see the relief that somebody gets when you say, oh, this is a thing.

It's called OCD.

And we know what it is.

We know what to do about it.

And it's so organizing.

Because otherwise, you're just left with that feeling of, I am crazy.