Even with decades of experience, emotional overwhelm still happens. Here’s how understanding the three-story brain–mind can help you regulate anxiety and reconnect with yourself.
The Emotional Brain: A Canary in the Coal Mine When I first began writing about the emotional brain for my book, Why Good Sex Matters, I approached it through the lens of sexuality because sex, desire, and pleasure are vivid reflections of our inner emotional life....
Dear Readers, As the new year unfolds, I—along with many others—continue to struggle with painful levels of stress and anxiety. Beyond the evidence that political polarization is taking a toll on our collective mental health, waking up each day to alarming news only...
As this year draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on just how hard it has been. I’ve written openly about my own anxiety and anhedonia—the difficulty experiencing pleasure—shaped by a challenging childhood and intensified by profound life changes. In the past...
Much of our understanding of what enables us to experience pleasure counterintuitively comes from the more abundant research into pain.
When we investigate the brain correlates of pleasure more closely, we discover that the pathways for pleasure and pain are closely intertwined.
When we avoid pain, we are also learning to avoid pleasure. We shut down emotionally as well as physically.
Most people make resolutions about what they should do to be happy. But research shows that harnessing one's attention on radical acceptance of what is and focusing on how you get to be in the new year will increase your ability to enjoy life. Want to make New Year's...
