August 1, 2025 • 14 mins
Join Dr. Pete as he discusses finding balance in a world filled with daily challenges.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:17):
Hello and welcome back to On Air with Dr Pete.
I'm your host, dr Pete Economo,the psychologist, professor and
fellow human being navigatingthe emotional turbulence in
today's world.
Today's headlines are scaryfrom the war and political
unrest and economic instabilityand climate fear, and you know
(00:38):
just the fact of how polarizedwe are.
Today, I wanted to bring to youa special episode on how to
protect our minds and bodies ina world that often feels unsafe
and unpredictable.
So here's the thing Life isfull of uncertainty and so if
you've listened to an episodebefore, welcome back.
If you haven't, welcome.
As a Zen practitioner,psychologist uncertainty is one
(01:01):
of the first things that welearn in the practice of Zen and
Buddhism.
When we sit, that is what we'retrying to untangle.
We often say that meditating isthe practice of untangling that
which we've already learned.
Our brains are unable to dealwith 24-7 crisis updates.
This is something that's new.
(01:21):
Back in the day, mygrandparents, for example, when
they were watching the news,they had to wait for five or six
o'clock to be able to watch it.
Today's world, you get a 24-7and our brains are not ready for
it.
All of us understand how we canfeel better when we set
boundaries around how we usetechnology and so not accessing
information in a way that isconstant, the exposure to war
(01:46):
and violence that you seethrough news and social media.
It does affect our mood, mostlynegatively, as you might
imagine.
It also affects our sleep andmental clarity.
So one of my best suggestionshere is use boundaries around
how you use it, in other words,allow yourself to read the news.
So the way I practice is, inthe morning, after I'm done with
my stretch and my meditation, Iam allowing myself just to
(02:10):
access about two or threedifferent news sources, and so I
read them, spending what?
20, 30 minutes seeing what'shappened, and that's it.
I don't have a ton ofnotifications on my phone.
That's another way that you cando this Shut the notifications
off.
(02:30):
Vicarious trauma is real, so Idon't know if you've ever heard
that term, but vicarious traumais basically experiencing
someone else's trauma, and so ifyou think about, say, dan
Siegel and a lot of this stuffthat we understand about
neurology today, for example,have you ever watched someone
yawn and then you yawn?
Those mirror neurons, these arethings that occur in our body,
in our nervous system, and sovicarious trauma can occur.
Just from watching the news.
You sort of feel as if you'vebeen in, you know, say uh in as
(02:54):
a recording in 2025, perhaps youfeel like you're in, uh, israel
or iran or ukraine or russia,you know, uh, knowing that
you're around this, and the factthat some of this has been
normalized like oh yeah, thesirens went off so we went to a
safety shelter that's not normal.
The brain is in high alert andthat cortisol has negative
(03:16):
implications for our health andour well-being, and so if you're
feeling tired, that's okay.
Allow yourself to feel tired.
That's what we call emotionalfatigue.
We often find that subsequent tovicarious trauma, as one
example, you may also findyourself a little bit more
hypervigilant.
You're not weak, you are human.
So if the problem is chronicstress from global instability,
(03:40):
how do we cope?
So that's what we're going totalk about.
I'll give you a few suggestionshere, but we need to care for
ourselves without turning outthe world entirely.
Clients say that all the time.
To me, I feel as if I'm justturning my back to a group of
people or a FOMO by not kind ofstaying engaged, and maybe I'm
missing out on something.
(04:00):
Here's the thing there aretools for managing fear and
helplessness.
So fear versus anxiety is animportant distinction, and if
you watch Inside Out maybe fromone to two there's the sequel
you'll see that there was adifference there.
If you're hypervigilant, ifyou're living in one of these
(04:28):
areas that is, fear, anxiety ismore future-based and so, also
maybe living in one of theseareas, perhaps that's something
that you're experiencing becauseyou're wondering will my home
still be here?
Will my job still be here?
Do I need to relocate, kind ofall those types of questions.
Or if you're not, if you're inthe United States where I'm
recording, that could also besomething where you have some
fear because perhaps you havefamily in one of these areas and
(04:50):
you have some anxiety becauseyou're not sure about what is
happening to our world.
So I have gravitated towards andtrained acceptance and
commitment therapy, stephenHayes, and so this is one of the
third wave cognitive andbehavioral therapies, and so
there's three techniques thatyou can use here that I don't
want to just reduce it to saythat this is so simple.
(05:12):
Do this it's not easy, butground yourself in the present
moment.
And so you could try that, evenas you're listening, if you're
on the train, if you're driving,just feel your feet right now,
or take a deep breath and feelit in your belly.
You know or notice somethingaround you, like a tree or a
flower.
That's just something thathelps you ground in the present
moment.
And then cognitive diffusion.
And so this is one of thethings where you have to name
(05:33):
your thought, because by namingit it reduces its power.
So the more I'm able to say Inoticed a thought that, the
better I'm able to operate.
And so what we do is weidentify the cognitive
distortions and then we have toseparate from them.
And then clarifying your valuesin the face of uncertainty.
But many times we're living asif tomorrow is guaranteed and
(05:53):
it's not.
And I know that that mightsound scary and kind of add, and
this was an episode to make youfeel good, but the bottom line
is, when you clarify your values, you're living fully in this
moment, and so you're notwaiting for another moment to
try and do something you've beenwaiting to do.
In the eyes of tragedy oranxiety or some of the things
that we're experiencing, wemight then commit to these
(06:13):
things, but try that just now.
You don't have to wait for that.
So small rituals can helpreclaim your own stability.
That can start with like amorning routine, unplugging from
the doom scrolling I actuallythe other day said, called it a
scroll hole.
So you heard it here first,because I was with the team and
we were laughing because I meantto say doom scrolling, but I
(06:39):
called it a scroll hole andeveryone of course knew what I
meant.
But you know, we're trying to,you know, identify when we get
stuck in the screen.
You want to engage your senses.
So if you're walking the dog,feel everything when you're
walking the dog.
So Viktor Frankl quote saidbetween stimulus and response,
there is a space.
In that space is our power tochoose our response, and that's
what we do in third-weekcognitive and behavioral therapy
(07:00):
.
You can observe, diffuse andchoose how you respond.
That's the only thing that wehave faculty over is our choice
about how we behave.
So another thing you'll alwayshear me talk about is
mindfulness and boundary setting.
Those are two of my favoritethings, to be honest.
And so mindfulness is doingwhat you do on purpose, in the
present moment and withoutjudgment.
(07:20):
I borrow that definition fromJon Kabat-Zinn, and that might
not make total sense.
And let me give you thisexample If you're making dinner
while you're listening to thispodcast, just make dinner, maybe
to shut the podcast off,actually, which means peel the
potatoes Notice the potato whereit came from.
They grow underground.
Did you know that?
Peeling the skin, putting theminto the water where the water
(07:45):
come from, and just doing thatin the moment, maybe feeling
your feet every so often becauseyou're likely thinking about
who you have to make this for anargument that you had earlier
in the day with somebody that'sclose to you.
So how do you just let go ofanxiety about the future and
holding on to the past?
You just have to be in thepresent moment.
(08:06):
So, focused breathing is anothermindfulness practice where
maybe you do that in the morningor in the evening, setting
apart a time that you can dothat in a very intentional way.
So if you're walking the dog,that may not actually be the
intention, but if you make theintention're walking the dog,
that may not actually be theintention, you know.
But if you make the intentionof walking the dog mindfully,
then you can do it.
What I write about my book isif I'm walking to the ATM,
(08:28):
that's not mindful, then youknow, because I'm doing this to
get to the ATM.
Another grounding technique is5-4-3-2-1.
So, noticing five things thatyou see, feel and hear, then
four things, then three things,then two things Engaging your
senses that you see, feel andhear, then four things, then
three things, then two thingsEngaging your senses.
And if you don't want to do oneof the senses, like see or feel
or hear, you can just choosewhichever sense you want to do.
There's no right or wrong wayto do these things.
(08:49):
Find what works for you and, ofcourse, gentle movement.
A lot of times when I'm feelinganxious, I make sure to create
space, of course, for meditating, but then for some movement,
and so yoga, for example, I'vealready mentioned.
You want to be informed, but youalso don't want to be
overwhelmed, so a media hygieneperspective is critical.
You do not need to know.
(09:11):
So, for example, one of thethings I often tell clients and
I truly, truly believe this andpractice this myself I practice
most of what I preach, not allof it, most of it no phones in
the bedroom, and that issomething that really helps us
grow and disconnect, and so thatis, for me, is a media hygiene
to escape that moment.
But present isn't the onlything that gets us through it,
(09:31):
it's also meaning.
So earlier I mentioned aboutvalues.
And so what are your values?
Take self-inventory you knowthere's just things you know.
(09:53):
If I'm a teacher, you know, intoday's world it's really hard
to be a teacher, you know, thanthan it once was.
Both you know safety issues atschools, curriculum issues that
have been politicized, uh.
Parental issues, uh, you knowchildren have changed.
You know their brains havechanged, and so there's lots of
(10:14):
things that make these make lifemore difficult today.
And so, if, again, if you'velistened, I don't want to
villainize social media ortechnology and, with boundaries,
we want to ensure that we havethat.
So, if I'm a teacher, I want toreconnect with my values.
Is it about helping childrendevelop and grow?
Is it about my community thatI've created with fellow
teachers, you know?
Is it about developingcurricula so that I can, you
(10:35):
know, empower the futuregenerations?
That is possible with whateveryou're doing.
So, whether you're a teacher, ajanitor or a CEO, really it
does not matter what is yourvalue.
Perhaps it's just putting foodon the table.
That's your value being able tosupport your children and your
family.
A lot of this helps towardspost-traumatic growth.
(10:56):
This is a term that's new.
When I was in grad school, thatwasn't something that we talked
about, but it's just a say likevery relevant in sport,
whenever we face adversity, wegrow at the end, and so that is
so critical that it helps usdeepen purpose.
And so, if you think about itlike who's even listening to
this episode right now?
You know what anchors you andreconnect to all of that.
(11:20):
Uh, because you want to reallyunderstand that this moment will
pass and I know that mightsound annoying, you may have
already clicked off because youheard that and it's true and I'm
okay Either way, if you staylistening or if you click off,
uh, every moment passes, youknow it does get better and and
things will come and go, andthat is mindful and present
(11:41):
moment living, challenging, yetpowerful.
So you want to think about otherways that you can connect with
your community.
That's another technique thatyou can do there.
You don't have to do this alone.
You want to really check inwith others too, and the key
with checking with others islisten, listen to what they're
(12:03):
saying.
A lot of times, people are justtrying to say what they're
saying and we've become parrots.
So can you slow down andactually listen and try to learn
a little bit?
So if you're overwhelmed, you'reanxious and you're hopeless at
times.
You are not alone and you'realso not broken.
These are really commonresponses to these challenging
times, but remember that yourmind is a place that you can
(12:26):
come home to.
You can choose peace or you canchoose chaos, and in today's
world, chaos is way easier.
I will say that I've alwayssaid it's a lot more work to
feel good than it is to not feelso good, and so trying to
choose peace.
So you might start today byjournaling, maybe some
(12:49):
meditative practices Therapycould be an option or just
talking with somebody that youlove.
Have a group together wheremaybe you just have some time to
share about what's going on andwrite some reflections about
this.
But I also encourage you, thelisteners, to share with me what
you're going through.
What is it that you would likeus to talk about on this?
(13:10):
And so, this summer, trying tobring you some topics along that
route and, of course, stayingto strength, resilience in the
face of adversity and improvingour overall wellbeing.
So, as always, thank you forbeing here for tuning in every
week.
Your support is instrumental inkeeping this podcast going and
I look forward to bringing younew content in the weeks to come
(13:31):
.
Please like, follow and shareEverything's at
officialdrpetecom and I'll seeyou back here next week.
Until then, spread a littlekindness and stay well.
Hello and welcome back to On Air with Dr Pete.
I'm your host, dr Pete Economo,the psychologist, professor and
fellow human being navigatingthe emotional turbulence in
today's world.
Today's headlines are scaryfrom the war and political
unrest and economic instabilityand climate fear, and you know
(00:38):
just the fact of how polarizedwe are.
Today, I wanted to bring to youa special episode on how to
protect our minds and bodies ina world that often feels unsafe
and unpredictable.
So here's the thing Life isfull of uncertainty and so if
you've listened to an episodebefore, welcome back.
If you haven't, welcome.
As a Zen practitioner,psychologist uncertainty is one
(01:01):
of the first things that welearn in the practice of Zen and
Buddhism.
When we sit, that is what we'retrying to untangle.
We often say that meditating isthe practice of untangling that
which we've already learned.
Our brains are unable to dealwith 24-7 crisis updates.
This is something that's new.
(01:21):
Back in the day, mygrandparents, for example, when
they were watching the news,they had to wait for five or six
o'clock to be able to watch it.
Today's world, you get a 24-7and our brains are not ready for
it.
All of us understand how we canfeel better when we set
boundaries around how we usetechnology and so not accessing
information in a way that isconstant, the exposure to war
(01:46):
and violence that you seethrough news and social media.
It does affect our mood, mostlynegatively, as you might
imagine.
It also affects our sleep andmental clarity.
So one of my best suggestionshere is use boundaries around
how you use it, in other words,allow yourself to read the news.
So the way I practice is, inthe morning, after I'm done with
my stretch and my meditation, Iam allowing myself just to
(02:10):
access about two or threedifferent news sources, and so I
read them, spending what?
20, 30 minutes seeing what'shappened, and that's it.
I don't have a ton ofnotifications on my phone.
That's another way that you cando this Shut the notifications
off.
(02:30):
Vicarious trauma is real, so Idon't know if you've ever heard
that term, but vicarious traumais basically experiencing
someone else's trauma, and so ifyou think about, say, dan
Siegel and a lot of this stuffthat we understand about
neurology today, for example,have you ever watched someone
yawn and then you yawn?
Those mirror neurons, these arethings that occur in our body,
in our nervous system, and sovicarious trauma can occur.
Just from watching the news.
You sort of feel as if you'vebeen in, you know, say uh in as
(02:54):
a recording in 2025, perhaps youfeel like you're in, uh, israel
or iran or ukraine or russia,you know, uh, knowing that
you're around this, and the factthat some of this has been
normalized like oh yeah, thesirens went off so we went to a
safety shelter that's not normal.
The brain is in high alert andthat cortisol has negative
(03:16):
implications for our health andour well-being, and so if you're
feeling tired, that's okay.
Allow yourself to feel tired.
That's what we call emotionalfatigue.
We often find that subsequent tovicarious trauma, as one
example, you may also findyourself a little bit more
hypervigilant.
You're not weak, you are human.
So if the problem is chronicstress from global instability,
(03:40):
how do we cope?
So that's what we're going totalk about.
I'll give you a few suggestionshere, but we need to care for
ourselves without turning outthe world entirely.
Clients say that all the time.
To me, I feel as if I'm justturning my back to a group of
people or a FOMO by not kind ofstaying engaged, and maybe I'm
missing out on something.
(04:00):
Here's the thing there aretools for managing fear and
helplessness.
So fear versus anxiety is animportant distinction, and if
you watch Inside Out maybe fromone to two there's the sequel
you'll see that there was adifference there.
If you're hypervigilant, ifyou're living in one of these
(04:28):
areas that is, fear, anxiety ismore future-based and so, also
maybe living in one of theseareas, perhaps that's something
that you're experiencing becauseyou're wondering will my home
still be here?
Will my job still be here?
Do I need to relocate, kind ofall those types of questions.
Or if you're not, if you're inthe United States where I'm
recording, that could also besomething where you have some
fear because perhaps you havefamily in one of these areas and
(04:50):
you have some anxiety becauseyou're not sure about what is
happening to our world.
So I have gravitated towards andtrained acceptance and
commitment therapy, stephenHayes, and so this is one of the
third wave cognitive andbehavioral therapies, and so
there's three techniques thatyou can use here that I don't
want to just reduce it to saythat this is so simple.
(05:12):
Do this it's not easy, butground yourself in the present
moment.
And so you could try that, evenas you're listening, if you're
on the train, if you're driving,just feel your feet right now,
or take a deep breath and feelit in your belly.
You know or notice somethingaround you, like a tree or a
flower.
That's just something thathelps you ground in the present
moment.
And then cognitive diffusion.
And so this is one of thethings where you have to name
(05:33):
your thought, because by namingit it reduces its power.
So the more I'm able to say Inoticed a thought that, the
better I'm able to operate.
And so what we do is weidentify the cognitive
distortions and then we have toseparate from them.
And then clarifying your valuesin the face of uncertainty.
But many times we're living asif tomorrow is guaranteed and
(05:53):
it's not.
And I know that that mightsound scary and kind of add, and
this was an episode to make youfeel good, but the bottom line
is, when you clarify your values, you're living fully in this
moment, and so you're notwaiting for another moment to
try and do something you've beenwaiting to do.
In the eyes of tragedy oranxiety or some of the things
that we're experiencing, wemight then commit to these
(06:13):
things, but try that just now.
You don't have to wait for that.
So small rituals can helpreclaim your own stability.
That can start with like amorning routine, unplugging from
the doom scrolling I actuallythe other day said, called it a
scroll hole.
So you heard it here first,because I was with the team and
we were laughing because I meantto say doom scrolling, but I
(06:39):
called it a scroll hole andeveryone of course knew what I
meant.
But you know, we're trying to,you know, identify when we get
stuck in the screen.
You want to engage your senses.
So if you're walking the dog,feel everything when you're
walking the dog.
So Viktor Frankl quote saidbetween stimulus and response,
there is a space.
In that space is our power tochoose our response, and that's
what we do in third-weekcognitive and behavioral therapy
(07:00):
.
You can observe, diffuse andchoose how you respond.
That's the only thing that wehave faculty over is our choice
about how we behave.
So another thing you'll alwayshear me talk about is
mindfulness and boundary setting.
Those are two of my favoritethings, to be honest.
And so mindfulness is doingwhat you do on purpose, in the
present moment and withoutjudgment.
(07:20):
I borrow that definition fromJon Kabat-Zinn, and that might
not make total sense.
And let me give you thisexample If you're making dinner
while you're listening to thispodcast, just make dinner, maybe
to shut the podcast off,actually, which means peel the
potatoes Notice the potato whereit came from.
They grow underground.
Did you know that?
Peeling the skin, putting theminto the water where the water
(07:45):
come from, and just doing thatin the moment, maybe feeling
your feet every so often becauseyou're likely thinking about
who you have to make this for anargument that you had earlier
in the day with somebody that'sclose to you.
So how do you just let go ofanxiety about the future and
holding on to the past?
You just have to be in thepresent moment.
(08:06):
So, focused breathing is anothermindfulness practice where
maybe you do that in the morningor in the evening, setting
apart a time that you can dothat in a very intentional way.
So if you're walking the dog,that may not actually be the
intention, but if you make theintention're walking the dog,
that may not actually be theintention, you know.
But if you make the intentionof walking the dog mindfully,
then you can do it.
What I write about my book isif I'm walking to the ATM,
(08:28):
that's not mindful, then youknow, because I'm doing this to
get to the ATM.
Another grounding technique is5-4-3-2-1.
So, noticing five things thatyou see, feel and hear, then
four things, then three things,then two things Engaging your
senses that you see, feel andhear, then four things, then
three things, then two thingsEngaging your senses.
And if you don't want to do oneof the senses, like see or feel
or hear, you can just choosewhichever sense you want to do.
There's no right or wrong wayto do these things.
(08:49):
Find what works for you and, ofcourse, gentle movement.
A lot of times when I'm feelinganxious, I make sure to create
space, of course, for meditating, but then for some movement,
and so yoga, for example, I'vealready mentioned.
You want to be informed, but youalso don't want to be
overwhelmed, so a media hygieneperspective is critical.
You do not need to know.
(09:11):
So, for example, one of thethings I often tell clients and
I truly, truly believe this andpractice this myself I practice
most of what I preach, not allof it, most of it no phones in
the bedroom, and that issomething that really helps us
grow and disconnect, and so thatis, for me, is a media hygiene
to escape that moment.
But present isn't the onlything that gets us through it,
(09:31):
it's also meaning.
So earlier I mentioned aboutvalues.
And so what are your values?
Take self-inventory you knowthere's just things you know.
(09:53):
If I'm a teacher, you know, intoday's world it's really hard
to be a teacher, you know, thanthan it once was.
Both you know safety issues atschools, curriculum issues that
have been politicized, uh.
Parental issues, uh, you knowchildren have changed.
You know their brains havechanged, and so there's lots of
(10:14):
things that make these make lifemore difficult today.
And so, if, again, if you'velistened, I don't want to
villainize social media ortechnology and, with boundaries,
we want to ensure that we havethat.
So, if I'm a teacher, I want toreconnect with my values.
Is it about helping childrendevelop and grow?
Is it about my community thatI've created with fellow
teachers, you know?
Is it about developingcurricula so that I can, you
(10:35):
know, empower the futuregenerations?
That is possible with whateveryou're doing.
So, whether you're a teacher, ajanitor or a CEO, really it
does not matter what is yourvalue.
Perhaps it's just putting foodon the table.
That's your value being able tosupport your children and your
family.
A lot of this helps towardspost-traumatic growth.
(10:56):
This is a term that's new.
When I was in grad school, thatwasn't something that we talked
about, but it's just a say likevery relevant in sport,
whenever we face adversity, wegrow at the end, and so that is
so critical that it helps usdeepen purpose.
And so, if you think about itlike who's even listening to
this episode right now?
You know what anchors you andreconnect to all of that.
(11:20):
Uh, because you want to reallyunderstand that this moment will
pass and I know that mightsound annoying, you may have
already clicked off because youheard that and it's true and I'm
okay Either way, if you staylistening or if you click off,
uh, every moment passes, youknow it does get better and and
things will come and go, andthat is mindful and present
(11:41):
moment living, challenging, yetpowerful.
So you want to think about otherways that you can connect with
your community.
That's another technique thatyou can do there.
You don't have to do this alone.
You want to really check inwith others too, and the key
with checking with others islisten, listen to what they're
(12:03):
saying.
A lot of times, people are justtrying to say what they're
saying and we've become parrots.
So can you slow down andactually listen and try to learn
a little bit?
So if you're overwhelmed, you'reanxious and you're hopeless at
times.
You are not alone and you'realso not broken.
These are really commonresponses to these challenging
times, but remember that yourmind is a place that you can
(12:26):
come home to.
You can choose peace or you canchoose chaos, and in today's
world, chaos is way easier.
I will say that I've alwayssaid it's a lot more work to
feel good than it is to not feelso good, and so trying to
choose peace.
So you might start today byjournaling, maybe some
(12:49):
meditative practices Therapycould be an option or just
talking with somebody that youlove.
Have a group together wheremaybe you just have some time to
share about what's going on andwrite some reflections about
this.
But I also encourage you, thelisteners, to share with me what
you're going through.
What is it that you would likeus to talk about on this?
(13:10):
And so, this summer, trying tobring you some topics along that
route and, of course, stayingto strength, resilience in the
face of adversity and improvingour overall wellbeing.
So, as always, thank you forbeing here for tuning in every
week.
Your support is instrumental inkeeping this podcast going and
I look forward to bringing younew content in the weeks to come
(13:31):
.
Please like, follow and shareEverything's at
officialdrpetecom and I'll seeyou back here next week.
Until then, spread a littlekindness and stay well.
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com