Video Library
A curated collection of educational mental-health videos — on therapy, mindfulness, medication, and general wellbeing — for clients and visitors across Maine.
Neuroscience Confirms - Why Doing Less Helps You Achieve More
Most people's first move when they feel stuck is to add more. More habits, more goals, more systems. This video makes the case for the opposite. The research is clear: too many open goals running in parallel drain your cognitive resources constantly, not just when you're working on them, but all the time. And when goals compete for the same limited attention and energy, performance on all of them drops. The people who actually execute well over time tend to have fewer priorities, not more. In this video I cover: Why your brain keeps running unfinished goals in the background, and what that costs you cognitively What the research shows about competing goals and performance Why adding things feels like progress but often works against you How to audit what you're actually doing versus what's moving the needle What execution actually looks like in practice, and why it's simpler than most people think
How to make friends as an adult, according to a Harvard psychiatrist
When we're chronically disconnected, our bodies enter a low-grade fight-or-flight mode, flooding our systems with cortisol and inflammation that breaks down our joints, immune systems, and hearts. Psychiatrist Robert Waldinger traces the epidemic not to smartphones, but to the 1950s, when television arrived, Americans stopped going out, joining clubs, and inviting neighbors over. About Robert Waldinger: Robert Waldinger, MD is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, a practicing psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and a Zen teacher and practitioner. For the last two decades, Waldinger has been the director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development. This study, conducted over more than 85 years, has analyzed the entire lives of 724 families to determine the activities, behaviors, and dynamics that enhance a person's life-long well-being. He is the author of several books, including his most recent, The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness.
Thinking too logically can actually hold you back
Rationalism has shaped the way we think for thousands of years, teaching us that to truly know something, we must describe it explicitly, reduce it into rules, and test those rules repeatedly. But what if rationalism only tells half the story? Every CEO Dan Shipper explores. About Dan Shipper: Dan Shipper is the CEO and cofounder of Every, where he explores the frontiers of AI in his column, Chain of Thought, and on his podcast, 'AI & I.'
Your identity, habits, and patterns were designed by childhood wounds
Psychologist Dr. Nicole LePera explains that the inner child isn't a therapeutic abstraction but a body-based memory system, one that formed before you had language, logic, and long before you had any say in the matter. Those implicit emotional memories don't retire when you hit adulthood -- they keep making decisions for you. About Nicole LePera: Dr. Nicole LePera is a Holistic Psychologist and Founder of the virtual healing platform, SelfHealers Circle. She's the author of the New York Times Bestselling book: "How To Do The Work" and "How to Meet Your Self." Dr. LePera also hosts SelfHealers Soundboard, a weekly ad-free podcast.
You can't shame yourself into a new nervous system
Reparenting your inner child isn't nostalgia for a better childhood. It's the practical, neurological work of updating those structures in real time, teaching your nervous system that the circumstances have changed. Dr. LePera breaks down exactly where to start, why insight alone never produces lasting change, and what it actually takes to stop inheriting patterns you never consciously chose. About Nicole LePera: Dr. Nicole LePera is a Holistic Psychologist and Founder of the virtual healing platform, SelfHealers Circle. She's the author of the New York Times Bestselling book: "How To Do The Work" and "How to Meet Your Self." Dr. LePera also hosts SelfHealers Soundboard, a weekly ad-free podcast.
Most of your suffering comes from one thing
What you actually care about shows up in your calendar and your bank statement, not your intentions. Mark Manson walks through the Stoic practice of Memento Mori, his own "law of avoidance," explaining why people sabotage good relationships as readily as bad ones, and why generations with the most options are often the most adrift. About Mark Manson: Mark Manson is a three-time #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, as well as other titles, which have sold over 20 million copies, been translated into more than 65 languages, and reached number one in more than a dozen countries. In 2023, a feature film about Manson's life and ideas was released worldwide by Universal Pictures.
The science behind the 10-minute brain reset walk
What if the simplest tool for mental health was already in your daily routine, you've just been overlooking its power all along? Neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki reveals how walking can deliver extraordinary benefits for your brain. Backed by hard neuroscience, she explains how just 10 minutes of movement can shift the chemical makeup of your mind, reducing anxiety, boosting mood, and improving focus.
You Need to Be Bored. Here's Why.
Boredom isn't a bug—it's a feature. Harvard professor Arthur C. Brooks explains why boredom unlocks creativity, activates a powerful brain network, and might even protect you from depression. Learn how the mind wanders—and why that's a very good thing.
How the Meaning of Life Affects Your Brain: Part 3 of 3 Ways to Find Meaning and Build a Happier Life
This is the final episode in my 3-part series on meaning, and it begins with a question I couldn't ignore when I returned to campus five years ago: why do so many successful, driven people feel anxious, depressed, and lonely? In this episode, I share three real-life stories that reveal what's missing—and why the problem isn't a lack of enjoyment or satisfaction, but rather the third macronutrient of happiness, meaning. I finish by sharing the six protocols from my book to help you move beyond distraction and build a more meaningful life in six months. If you want to go deeper, I hope you'll consider the book.
How the Meaning of Life Affects Your Brain: Part 2 of 3
This is Part Two of my series on meaning, where I explore the science behind the meaning crisis. In the last episode, we looked at boredom. Today, I dive into the link between a lack of meaning and rising anxiety and depression—and why avoiding life's biggest questions may be part of the problem. Why do we avoid the questions that matter most? Easy: These questions are uncomfortable—they don't have clear answers and can't be solved "once and for all." However, the process of asking these unanswerable, ineffable questions changes the way we understand our lives, even if we cannot neatly articulate that understanding. As always, I share practical steps to get you to the "right" side of your brain, so that you can start building a life with greater meaning.
Find the Meaning of Your Life Part 1 of 3: Get Better at Boredom
Most of us hate waiting. Whether it's standing in line, sitting in traffic, or waiting for a delayed flight, those idle moments feel irritating and pointless. Our instinct is to escape them as quickly as possible, almost always by reaching for our phones. But what if those moments of boredom are actually valuable? Today's episode of Office Hours is the first of my three-part series on The Meaning of Your Life about boredom and how learning to sit with it can help us reconnect with reflection, insight, and the search for meaning. I often talk about the trap of trying to eliminate discomfort from our lives. Boredom is no different. When we constantly distract ourselves, we miss the very mental space where insight and reflection occur. The truth is that boredom can be a gift. One that opens the door to deeper thought and a clearer sense of meaning.
How to Stop Caring What Others Think
Why do we care so much about what other people think of us? In this episode of Office Hours, I explain the science behind why concern about others' opinions is so powerful in the first place. I talk about the two reasons we are wired to care what people think, how our brains treat social judgment as a real threat, and why this fear can quietly shape our choices, our behavior, and even our sense of self. Once we understand what is happening in our minds and bodies, we can start to loosen its grip. I share three ways to break out of this pattern and begin caring less about other people's opinions, not by ignoring them entirely, but by relating to them more wisely. I hope that these ideas help you move with more freedom, show up more authentically, and live with less unnecessary fear of being judged.
How to Create Your Calling
Your professional calling is a mysterious idea. It's the ineffable sense that you are meant to do something. Many people get tripped up in their pursuit of their calling, because they conceive of it like buried treasure—something hidden that they must find. In truth, your calling can be built no matter your present circumstances. So, how do you do it? In this episode, I explain how to move from chasing an objective career—titles, status, money—to building a more subjective one based on what you care about and what genuinely interests you. I also share three simple steps to help you evaluate and shape your calling. If you stick with them, you'll be more likely to end up doing work that feels meaningful—and, in turn, you'll get happier.
Identity Crisis: Why Defining Yourself by Your Career Is a Problem
One way to develop a healthier relationship with your career may be to visualize its end. "The party's going to finish," says HBS Professor and co-author (with Oprah Winfrey) of "Build the Life You Want," Arthur C. Brooks. Here are some steps you can take to mentally and emotionally prepare for the inevitable.
Lean Into Imposter Syndrome, Don't Give In to It
Why do ambitious "strivers" so often feel they haven't truly earned their success? Harvard behavioral social scientist and author of "The Happiness Files," Arthur C. Brooks argues that self-doubt is usually evidence of healthy humility—not incompetence—and a clear contrast to the overconfidence of "dark-triad" personalities. Brooks shows executives how to reframe imposter feelings as diagnostic feedback, then "lean in without giving in" by targeting the specific skills and knowledge gaps those feelings reveal, turning discomfort into a disciplined catalyst for growth.