Dr. Jud Brewer works in the field of habit change and the “science of self-mastery”, combining over 20 years of experience with mindfulness training and a career in scientific research. He is passionate about understanding how our brains work, and how to use that knowledge to help people make deep, permanent change in their lives — with the goal of reducing suffering in the world at large.

Dr. Jud is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center and associate professor in psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Brown University, as well as a research affiliate at MIT. Before that, he held research and teaching positions at Yale University and the University of Massachusetts’ Center for Mindfulness.

Learn more about Dr. Judson Brewer: https://drjud.com/
Follow Dr. Jud on X: https://twitter.com/judbrewer

00:00:30 – Sean welcomes Dr. Judson Brewer
00:03:42 – Introduction from Dr. Judson Brewer
00:05:06 – The best advice Dr. Judson received as a new teacher
00:08:40 – Mindfulness in an age of uncertainty
00:12:27 – Medications for anxiety
00:14:32 – The problem with willpower
00:16:27 – Exercise: What does anxiety feel like?
00:20:05 – What is anxiety?
00:21:40 – Where does anxiety manifest in the body?
00:24:38 – Anxiety gone viral (short video)
00:32:09 – Reward-based learning and what led to Buddha’s enlightenment
00:38:57 – Question: Is there more basic identification with the aggregates in regards to anxiety?
00:40:16 – Question: Is there a connection between shame and anxiety?
00:42:11 – Question: How do we work with anxiety that isn’t from consciously accessible material?
00:45:25 – Question: What if people feel that anxiety is actually helping them to succeed?
00:47:35 – Correlation does not equal causation (anxiety and performance)
00:55:06 – Question: What if people aren’t aware that they are anxious?
00:57:20 – Question: How do you direct people towards corrective behaviors?
00:59:32 – Anxiety can be driven like any other habit
01:02:56 – Getting stuck in anxiety spirals
01:04:52 – Question: What is the reward for anxiety?
01:07:46 – The science of anxiety and mindfulness
01:15:20 – The neuroscience of mindfulness
01:19:49 – Question: How is control experienced as a reward?
01:25:40 – Three steps of habit change
01:30:19 – The only way to change a behavior
01:35:19 – Rewards that are more rewarding
01:42:47 – Question: How do you help people to realize that perceived positive aspects of anxiety might not be so positive?
01:46:48 – Question: What can we do if curiosity is out of reach?
01:51:39 – Question: When there is strong identification, are the three steps still safe?
01:57:30 – Closing remarks from Sean
02:00:12 – Question: How could you explore step one of habit change in practice?
02:06:25 – Kung Fu Panda – “What you resist persists”