How To Find Joy In an Anxious World | Sara Bareilles and Dacher Keltner

Overview

This episode features a conversation between Dan Harris, singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, and psychologist Dacher Keltner at the New York Times Well Festival. They explore their personal experiences with anxiety and share practical tools for finding joy and managing mental health challenges. Topics include the role of vulnerability, the power of community, and the science-backed benefits of meditation, nature, and exposure therapy.

Notable Quotes

- There is so much fear, and there is so much support. – Sara Bareilles, reflecting on her journey with anxiety.

- The only way out of fear is through it. – Dan Harris, on the power of exposure therapy.

- Action absorbs anxiety. – Dan Harris, emphasizing the importance of being useful to others as a way to combat existential dread.

🧠 Personal Journeys with Anxiety

- Sara Bareilles shared her struggles with anxiety, including dissociative episodes and a recent severe cycle triggered by grief. She credited Lexapro, therapy, and human connection as transformative tools.

- Dacher Keltner recounted his lifelong battle with anxiety, including panic attacks during his early career. He highlighted the importance of community and outdoor activities in his recovery.

- Dan Harris discussed his infamous on-air panic attack and how it led him to confront his anxiety through therapy, meditation, and exposure therapy.

🌿 Tools for Managing Anxiety

- Sara Bareilles emphasized the importance of therapy, meditation, exercise, and vulnerability in fostering connection. She also shared a profound insight from an MDMA-assisted therapy session: fear is omnipresent, but so is support.

- Dacher Keltner recommended spending time in nature, citing its scientifically proven calming effects on the nervous system. He also highlighted the role of music and art in reducing anxiety.

- Dan Harris advocated for exposure therapy, describing his deliberate practice of facing fears like elevators and planes to desensitize his anxiety.

🎨 The Role of Creativity and Connection

- Sara Bareilles explained how vulnerability has enriched her relationships and artistic work, calling it medicine for anxiety. She noted that her song Brave was inspired by a friend's struggles with anxiety, which ultimately deepened her own understanding of the condition.

- Dacher Keltner underscored the therapeutic power of music and art, suggesting that engaging with creative practices can offer meditative benefits.

🌍 Addressing Existential Dread

- The panel discussed the growing prevalence of climate dread among younger generations. Dacher Keltner pointed to the rise of meditation, yoga, and outdoor activities as coping mechanisms.

- Dan Harris proposed actionable steps to combat existential anxiety, emphasizing the psychological benefits of being useful to others, whether through volunteering, small acts of kindness, or creative contributions.

🧘 Meditation as a Tool for Anxiety

- The panel highlighted meditation as a powerful practice for managing anxiety. Sara Bareilles appreciated its focus on building a relationship with what is rather than fixing or changing.

- Dacher Keltner and Dan Harris emphasized the physiological benefits of meditation, such as calming the amygdala and reducing cortisol. They also encouraged flexibility and starting small to make meditation accessible.