You know that negative voice that goes round and round in your head, keeping you up at night? When that negative inner voice gets switched on, it's hard to think about anything else. Psychologist Ethan Kross has a name for it: chatter. He says it's part of the human condition, but there are ways to keep our negative emotions from morphing into chatter.
Duration
1h 0m
Broadcast on
01 Aug 2022
Audio Format
other
This episode appears to contain dynamically inserted ads. Transcript timestamps may be approximate.
You know that negative voice that goes round and round in your head, keeping you up at night? When that negative inner voice gets switched on, it's hard to think about anything else. Psychologist Ethan Kross has a name for it: chatter. He says it's part of the human condition, but there are ways to keep our negative emotions from morphing into chatter.
If you like this show, be sure to check out our other work, including our two recent episodes on how our mindsets shape our lives in subtle but profound ways. Episode 1 looks at how we respond to stress, and episode 2 examines how our beliefs about food and exercise affect our bodies.
Also, if you'd like to support our work, you can do so at support.hiddenbrain.org. Thanks!
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
This is Hidden Brain, I'm Shankar Vedanta. When was the last time you stayed awake at night, unable to sleep, replaying something in your head that happened that day? Did you notice how your thoughts coil back on themselves, how you went in circles as the night wore on? All of us, even those who have been spared the pain of insomnia, have heard that voice. If you've messed up a presentation at work, or flubbed a test at school, or been rejected in love, you've heard those nagging, doubting thoughts, borrowing themselves deeper and deeper into the recesses of your brain. Oh, how could I say something so stupid? Why did I say that? Because of the mess. I'm always so lazy. I really should have worked out. I cannot believe you forgot to fill out that permission form. You forgot about parent-teacher conferences. What the heck? My back hurts. My body is just falling apart. Why does this inner voice seem to love to torment us? Wouldn't life be better if we could just make it stop? When that negative inner voice takes hold, that is all we can hear because it is consuming our attention.
Today, we kick off our long-awaited annual series, You 2.0. All through the month of August, we'll bring you stories that will help you see yourself and the people around you with fresh eyes. We'll also give you research-based ideas on how to approach life's challenges with wisdom. There's a fallacy that your first thoughts are your best thoughts. And so you don't want to trust your gut, you want to test your gut. I don't think there's very much evidence at all that people are chokers or thrivers and I think anyone can learn to perform better at what makes them most nervous when the pressure is on. The people who know us well are good observers of our behavior and often can deduce our feelings better than we can. We begin our series by examining that nagging voice inside your head. How it works and what you can do to make it work for you this week on Hidden Brain. Support for Hidden Brain comes from Liberty Mutual Insurance. Making smart decisions includes considering how to protect your car and home and how much you're paying to ensure them. Liberty Mutual customizes your car and home insurance to save you money, because when you've worked hard for something, choosing insurance should be easy. Start your quote at Liberty Mutual dot com. Support for Hidden Brain comes from Southern New Hampshire University. Science consistently tells us learning starts with motivation. That's why SNHU offers over 200 flexible, affordable online programs to help you get where you want to go. Take classes that spark your curiosity, shape your skill set and prepare you for what's next.
Transcription truncated.
You know that negative voice that goes round and round in your head, keeping you up at night? When that negative inner voice gets switched on, it's hard to think about anything else. Psychologist Ethan Kross has a name for it: chatter. He says it's part of the human condition, but there are ways to keep our negative emotions from morphing into chatter.
