Episode 2: The Toolkit

Episode 2: The Toolkit

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2615154/fan_mail/new] Welcome to episode 2 of Shrinking America. This episode is a continuation of our first episode — where we really asked ourselves what we’re doing here. Now that we’ve asked some important defining questions we’re trying to figure out how to walk our talk. Literally.  We talked a lot last time about how we’re using our training to ask important questions to deepen understanding. We cannot underplay the importance of simply questioning and maintaining a mindset of curiosity - a mindset that inherently fosters connections and growth. But we want this podcast to be more than just helping us to understand. We want you to walk away every time with something tangible.  So, in this podcast, we will make plenty of reading recommendations, what we refer to as bibliotherapy. We’ll also call upon specific frameworks. Frameworks like Erikson’s stages of psychological development, Kaufman’s stages of moral reasoning or Marsha Linnehan’s dialectical behavioral therapy. We aim to introduce orienting psychological concepts, big and small, that help shift your thinking and to give you practical tools for change. Or - to help you to accept. And hopefully help cultivate some wisdom as to when to practice which. Shout out to the serenity prayer — one of our favorite toolkit items. And for real — in this episode you’ll hear us actually walking our talk as we go through what we want this toolkit to look like. So please excuse any lower quality audio issues — as Sarah’s sister pointed out in an earlier edit — at one point a murder of crows was so loud they killed our message. So we did incorporate some minor editing of the street noise. But mostly - what you’re getting in this episode is Shrinking America, in the raw. And hey - We want to build this with you. The toolkit is never finished. It's a living, breathing library. It's something we'll develop together with this community over time.  So take a walk with us. This is episode two, The Toolkit.  Deeper Learning Points * Bibliotherapy [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11424070/], “Bibliotherapy, a relatively underutilized lifestyle intervention in psychotherapy, is a unique cost-effective avenue of treatment that empowers patients by integrating therapeutic reading into their treatment plan.” * 🧰 Einstein and Aimlessness [https://qz.com/1299282/albert-einsteins-best-ideas-came-while-he-was-relaxing-aimlessly-yours-can-too] * 🧰 Ru Paul [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFyaFjGSi8l/?hl=en]: “With all the darkness that’s going on in the world, you can look at the darkness, don’t stare, it will make you crazy, it will make you cross eyed, it will make you what it is. The solution is to create magic, dance, sing, love, create environments where you can find joy, because you can create joy. * 🧰 Acceptance and Commitment Therapy [https://positivepsychology.com/act-acceptance-and-commitment-therapy/]: We have mentioned this form of therapy before; this time, here are a few more resources: * Workbook [https://www.newharbinger.com/9781648483738/the-acceptance-and-commitment-therapy-skills-workbook/?srsltid=AfmBOorMKJNIrlcfdbHJEVH3-1MB9l3YgrAVI7seg7TJBL0bbDTsKJr4] * Values Inventory [https://www.va.gov/WHOLEHEALTHLIBRARY/docs/Values.pdf] * Happiness Trap Worksheets [https://thehappinesstrap.com/upimages/The_Complete_Happiness_Trap_Worksheets.pdf.pdf] * Bright Light Therapy [https://sleepeducation.org/patients/bright-light-therapy/]: For the many of us who :( in the wintertime * 🧰 Atomic Habits [https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits] by James Clear * Tsundoku [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsundoku] * Jacob Riis: “When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that last blow that did it, but all that had gone before. * Confucius: "The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." * Radical Acceptance [https://www.tarabrach.com/books/radical-acceptance/] by Tara Brach * The Vital Spark [https://lisamarchiano.com/the-vital-spark/] by Lisa Marchiano * This Jungian Life Podcast [https://thisjungianlife.com/podcast/] * Echo Chamber Effect [https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/communication-and-mass-media/echo-chamber-effect]: “The ‘Echo Chamber Effect’ refers to a phenomenon in which an individual's beliefs and views are reinforced by exposure to information that aligns with their preexisting opinions” * The Greatest Sentence Ever Written [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Greatest-Sentence-Ever-Written/Walter-Isaacson/9781982181314], Walter Isaacson * Civil Conversation [https://www.americanbar.org/groups/judicial/about/initiatives/american-jury/dialogue/ground-rules/]: The American Bar Association indicates, “One of the hallmarks of a democracy is its citizens' willingness to express, defend, and perhaps reexamine their own opinions, while being respectful of the views of others.”

Episode 1: What Are We Doing?

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2615154/fan_mail/new] Welcome to Shrinking America…this time, for real. This episode, recorded in January before any of our other content, dives into a conversation about what got us going on a podcast, who we are as individuals, friends, psychiatrists and as Americans, and demonstrates a bit of how conversation flows so often in long-term therapy. The distillation? Kyle captures it with “seeking to understand what is happening in our country in this moment through a biopsychosocial and dare I say philosophical lens.” Deeper Learning Points * 🧰 Defenses: Intellectualization [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559106/]: “Anna Freud defined these defense mechanisms as ‘unconscious resources used by the ego’ to decrease internal stress.” Basically, they’re things our brain does fairly automatically to help us cope with life. * The speed of modern life [https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/evolution-in-daily-life/202202/is-there-a-natural-pace-of-living-for-human-beings] and how this is all probably too much * 🧰 Erikson Stages [https://www.simplypsychology.org/erik-erikson.html] are a useful construct for understanding different phases of life and what we seek to accomplish, in the world and internally, in each era * The Savior Complex [https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-power-of-parallels/202501/understanding-the-savior-complex] is what it sounds like…a tendency, to varying degrees, to help or try to save others, sometimes too much, often because you get something from it too * Vulnerability * The Power of Vulnerability by Brené Brown [https://riverside.com/editor/8b19580f-7cb8-45fb-aad1-b236517d392a/amazon.com] * Creativity: The process of creating and of appreciating the creations of others are both deeply human and deeply therapeutic. We didn’t discuss it beforehand, but ending our episode with a poem felt like a spontaneous moment of feeling into the power of art to define the human experience. * Ranier Maria Rilke, “Live the questions now” [https://www.themarginalian.org/2012/06/01/rilke-on-questions/] * “Big 5” [https://bigfive-test.com/#google_vignette] : We talked about the Introvert/Extrovert divide that makes up part of the "five-factor model" of personality: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. If you don't know where you fall on these scales, taking an online test can be a fun way to get to know yourself a bit better.  * Quiet by Susan Cain [https://susancain.net/book/quiet/] * Brian Little and personality [https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapter/robert-sawyer-kateri-akiwenzie-damm-summer-mystery-picks-1.3634162/brian-little-on-introverts-and-extroverts-1.3634170] * Culture and Introversion: Country by country, even state by state [https://worldpopulationreview.com/newsletter/intro-or-extroverted-how-nations-stack-up], this differs * The Enneagram [https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-descriptions/] is another one of many tools for personality exploration (just like the “Big 5”). These tools certainly aren’t the only way to understand ourselves (if you prefer astrology, that’s alright too); but  they can provide a useful jumping off point for introspection. * Daniel Kahneman's "Thinking, Fast and Slow" [https://riverside.com/editor/8b19580f-7cb8-45fb-aad1-b236517d392a/amazon.com] * 🧰 Rupture and repair is a core theme in human development and long-term therapy; this quote [https://www.jaacap.org/article/S0890-8567(24)00122-9/abstract] captures the concept nicely: “Rupture and repair are key ingredients to connection. When ruptures in relationships occur, which they will, it is important to revisit the situation to work on restoring safety, regulation, attunement, and understanding. Through engaging in this process and providing consistent secure base and safe haven supports, conflicts have the opportunity to heal.”

Episode 0.125: America on Hold

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2615154/fan_mail/new] Welcome to Episode 0.125. It’s an impromptu addition to our prequel series, where we decided to turn the psychiatric lens on ourselves. We noticed in our text thread we were all having interesting reactions about finally putting our work out into the world, and the only logical next step was to put ourselves on the couch and let the shrinking begin. This process brought up some interesting themes around narcissism, imposter syndrome, and inadequacy. Yes, shrinks work through all of that too. So, join us as we explore our thoughts and feelings surrounding the soft launch, in real time. Because in psychiatry, it's all grist for the mill, and sometimes we also need our own time on the couch. Deeper Learning Points * “Grist for the Mill” [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21025.The_Gift_of_Therapy] * A metaphor for therapeutic material coined by therapy giant Dr. Irvin Yalom * Overton Effect: A thing we plan to trademark * 🧰 Overview Effect: A repeat from episode 0 * Overton Window * Per Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window], “The Overton window is the range of subjects and arguments politically acceptable to the mainstream population at a given time” * Self-disclosure * Self disclosure refers to how much we reveal about ourselves to our patients. We try to be intentional about it as the therapeutic setting is a unique environment and relationship wherein the exploration of the psyche is inherently more one-sided. Historically, therapists were supposed to be a “blank slate“, but even Freud let his patients into his personal life at times, and it is important for us to consider when this may or may not be therapeutic, and what the risks and benefits of self disclosure may be. * A major premise of the show Shrinking [https://tv.apple.com/us/show/shrinking/umc.cmc.apzybj6eqf6pzccd97kev7bs] is exploring the different perspectives that the therapist characters have on self disclosure and just how rigid or permeable our boundaries can and should be. * Imposter Syndrome [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40596-025-02204-9] * Some people are immune [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hBntZGgaZls] :) * 🧰 Acceptance and Commitment Therapy/Values [https://positivepsychology.com/act-acceptance-and-commitment-therapy/] * 🧰 Healthy Narcissism * We’re fans of the Psychiatry and Psychotherapy podcast, and they do a nice episode on healthy narcissism [https://www.psychiatrypodcast.com/psychiatry-psychotherapy-podcast/185-narcissism-with-jonathan-shedler?rq=Narci], to include its adaptive aspects * Positive stress (“Eustress”) [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541120/] * Freud’s psychoanalytic approach [https://www.simplypsychology.org/psychoanalysis.html] * There’s a lot to cover with Freud, including the concepts of transference/countertransference [https://www.simplypsychology.org/psychoanalytic-theory-of-transference.html], which we refer to in the episode * Loneliness Epidemic: The surgeon general [https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf] declared this a public health issue in 2023 * Community Episode: We’re planning this for episode 4, released August 5th! * 🧰 Internal Family Systems (IFS) [https://ifs-institute.com/] / “parts theory” * 🧰 Humor as Defense [https://www.centreforpsychodynamicinsights.com/blog/humour-defence?srsltid=AfmBOoqG5-1h__H4h5DCuW9Pl1QlShIJf-ds0zwswVRpgimUphiurh7b] * Opus No. 1 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbTKxC4eveI]

Episode 0 : Artemis II and One Small Step For Shrinks (One Giant Leap Coming June 24th!)

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2615154/fan_mail/new] We've been chipping away at this podcast for a while — balancing our collective perfectionism with a "good enough" energy, finding time in chaotic millennial midlife to meet, laugh, and record together on an almost weekly basis. When Artemis II launched, we couldn't help ourselves. Turns out when your co-hosts include a former military pilot, a Navy flight surgeon, and someone who applied to the astronaut program — twice — space is never really far from the conversation.  Kyle, our closest brush with NASA, got us going on a conversation that covers a lot of range. So since this felt time sensitive, and because it was finally time to take one small step, we're doing a soft launch before we get fully underway in June (June 24th, to be specific). And why May the 4th? Come on. Space, exploration, the hero's journey, daddy issues...too good to pass up. Join us for a slightly rambling conversation about space, exploration, and what it means to reach for something. For Deeper Exploration... * 🧰 Toolkit Item: Hawthorne Effect [https://catalogofbias.org/biases/hawthorne-effect/] * 🧰 Toolkit Item: The Overview Effect * Earthscape VR [https://earthscapevr.com/] * Astronaut Profiles [https://www.nasa.gov/feature/our-artemis-crew/] * Christina Koch Overview Video 1 [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uVieunQuOwY]and Overview Video 2 [https://www.instagram.com/p/DW4uWZFjv86/] * NASA: The Overview Effect [https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/johnson/the-overview-effect-astronaut-perspectives-from-25-years-in-low-earth-orbit/] * The Pale Blue Dot [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blue_Dot] * The Science of Astronaut Wellbeing [https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/virtual-reality/articles/10.3389/frvir.2024.1446796/full] * And also The Burden of Space Exploration on the Mental Health of Astronauts [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8696290/] * The Hero Archetype [https://scottjeffrey.com/hero-archetype/] * How mythologist Joseph Campbell made Luke Skywalker a hero [https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/how-mythologist-joseph-campbell-made-luke-skywalker-a-hero-1.5262649] * “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: The hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.” - Joseph Campbell * “We need a great rebirth of the heroic in our world. Every sector of human society, wherever that may be on the planet, seems to be slipping into an unconscious chaos. Only the heroic consciousness, exerting all its might, will be able to stop this slide toward oblivion. Only a massive rebirth of courage in both men and women will rescue the world.” – Moore and Gillette * 🧰 Toolkit Item: Cognitive Dissonance [https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/cognitive-dissonance] * Cognitive Dissonance, More Detail [https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html] * The Drive for Discovery/Exploration * We hadn’t read it before we recorded, but this article captures so much of what we discussed–the drive for exploration and the cost, shooting for  the stars versus grounding on earth and solving the problems here, knowing what really matters in life: “Billionaire space race: the ultimate symbol of capitalism’s flawed obsession with growth” [https://theconversation.com/billionaire-space-race-the-ultimate-symbol-of-capitalisms-flawed-obsession-with-growth-164511]

Shrinking America Trailer

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