Episode 141 – Dr. Steven C. Hayes – Psychology, Tools for controlling Anxiety, Panic, Negativity

Ideas worth returning to

Quotes

Five substantial excerpts from the published transcript, lightly edited for clarity without changing their meaning.

1. “Facing fear does not guarantee that fear will disappear before you begin living a flexible, useful, and vital life. We often say we must get through, beyond, or over fear, but the task is to get with it. It belongs to your history and may return. Can you feel it fully, without needless defense, while still choosing how to live?”

   From the conversation

2. “We are always in the present, but we can choose which parts of it deserve attention—broadening, narrowing, shifting, or sustaining our focus. Rumination cannot perfectly predict the future, and worry cannot eliminate every danger. Show up in the present and connect by choice with what gives life meaning and purpose, rather than acting from shame, blame, or guilt.”

   From the conversation

3. “Psychological flexibility is an open way of being that moves life forward across many domains. Skills learned while working with anxiety, depression, or substance abuse can also help with weight loss, exercise, serious illness, and other challenges. The content changes, but the capacity to respond flexibly remains relevant.”

   From the conversation

4. “I want to scale psychological flexibility into social processes and down into biological processes that support human beings, connect them with others, and empower them to face modern challenges. It is difficult to look at a television or phone without feeling that something is wrong in the world. We need skills that help us step toward those problems instead of shrinking, fighting, hiding, or running away.”

   From the conversation

5. “My mind creates comparisons between me and people I do not know in real life. Social media makes this common: someone scrolls through carefully selected images and begins measuring an ordinary life against a stranger’s presentation. Recognizing that thought process creates space between the comparison and the conclusions we draw from it.”

   From the conversation