The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a new era of how we interact and function in society. Our brains and behaviors experienced unprecedented upheavals, forcing us to adapt to new ways of living. In recent years, science has made bold advances in understanding how the brain and its wiring manage new situations and stress. Leading experts in cognitive science, neurobiology and psychology present perspectives on the brain and the fascinating ways it adapts to change and stress. Hear about what happens inside the brain during times of stress; how to self-regulate your brain and bodily states; as well as ideas on mindfulness, radical honesty and how to build emotional resilience.  Series: "A Deep Look into the Future of Biology" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 38938]

A Deep Look Inside Our Minds: Adapting to Change and Stress

Engaging in everyday physical activity can influence brain and cognitive health. Zvinka Z. Zlatar, Ph.D., shares how physical activity can potentially reduce risk for Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive issues. She reviews the current excercise recommendations for older adults and how digital devices can help us reach our goals.  Series: "Stein Institute for Research on Aging" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 38693]

Physical Activity and Brain Health in Aging

Since the mid 1970s, California policy makers have attempted to address the ever-growing problem of homelessness and incarceration of people with serious mental illness. Despite these efforts, the numbers of people who are homeless and incarcerated with mental illness have reached unprecedented highs. In this program, Dr. Joel Braslow, professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and History at UCLA, lays out why this historically informed perspective is crucial to understanding why we have failed to solve the fundamental problems of caring for our most vulnerable citizens. This program is a presentation of UC Center Sacramentro. [Public Affairs] [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 38662]

Why We Are Failing - Historical Perspective on California's Homeless

Tage S. Rai is a psychologist who studies ethics, culture, and violence. Drawing on both qualitative and experimental methods, he examines the social-relational nature of morality, its origins, and its consequences. In recent work, he has found that when perpetrators are motivated by moral sentiments, they may humanize rather than dehumanize their victims, experience greater rather than lesser self-control when harming them, and respond irrationally to material costs and benefits. Moving forward, he is especially interested in developing psychological approaches to the study of organizational and institutional violence. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 38800]

Virtuous Violence: Rethinking the Relationship Between Morality and Aggression - Exploring Ethics

Join UC San Diego’s School of Biological Sciences for the next event in our Deep Look public speaker series. As we move into the holidays and the winter season, society continues to grapple with challenges to our mental health and wellbeing, from the lingering uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, to an ongoing war, the climate crisis and the struggles of daily living. Long-ignored issues related to mental health have now come to the forefront of our collective consciousness and become less stigmatized. Join us as we explore the mental health crisis on college campuses, views from underserved communities and international perspectives on mental health. Series: "A Deep Look into the Future of Biology" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 37832]

A Deep Look into Mental Health: On Campus In Our Community and Around the World

In this program, Yvette Flores, professor of psychology at UC Davis, discusses how to cope during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, especially social stress and the impact of it on disadvantaged and marginalized groups. Series: "Critically Human" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Show ID: 37074]

Mental Health and the Pandemic: Promoting Healthy Coping Strategies

Mindful self-compassion has been widely researched in recent years and found effective in a wide variety of mental health and wellbeing variables. Dr. Christiane Wolf with InsightLA offers a short 3-step self-compassion practice to help you recover more quickly from stress. Simply treat yourself the way you would treat a dear friend! Series: "Wellbeing " [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 37748]

Be Your Own Best Friend: Self-Compassion for Stress Reduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has put all of us in crisis mode. So how can you manage feelings of anxiety and stress?  Esme Shaller, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry at UC San Francisco, teaches four simple crisis survival skills called TIPP: temperature, intense exercise, paced breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation. Series: "Wellbeing " [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 37745]

Feeling Extreme Emotions? Try a Survival TIPP

It can be difficult to resist eating food when it is all around us.  As the pandemic forced many people to work from home, having easy access to your kitchen can increase the temptation to eat more. Ashley Mason, Ph.D., UC San Francisco psychiatry professor who specializes in mindful eating, offers helpful tips on how to structure your environment to maximize positive choices and how to plan for temptations. Series: "Resilience and Emotional Well-being" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 37750]

It can be difficult to resist eating food when it is all around us.  As the pandemic forced many people to work from home, having easy access to your kitchen can increase the temptation to eat more. Ashley Mason, Ph.D., UC San Francisco psychiatry professor who specializes in mindful eating, offers helpful tips on how to structure your environment to maximize positive choices and how to plan for temptations.<br> Series: "Resilience and Emotional Well-being" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 37750]

Food Food Everywhere: Managing the Constant Urge to Eat 

Breathing techniques can help us relax and reduce stress and anxiety. Simply slowing our breathing rate can reduce arousal in our autonomic nervous system. Elissa Epel, Ph.D., psychiatry professor at UC San Francisco, demonstrates a simple three-part breathing technique that can help with stress and sleep.  Try this four times in a row each day. It can be done upon waking, during a break, or before bed (or during insomnia!). Series: "Wellbeing " [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 37747]

Breathing techniques can help us relax and reduce stress and anxiety. Simply slowing our breathing rate can reduce arousal in our autonomic nervous system. Elissa Epel, Ph.D., psychiatry professor at UC San Francisco, demonstrates a simple three-part breathing technique that can help with stress and sleep.  Try this four times in a row each day. It can be done upon waking, during a break, or before bed (or during insomnia!).<br> Series: "Wellbeing " [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 37747]

Deep Breathing - A Fundamental Part of Stress Reduction

Guest speakers, researchers and University of California faculty explore mental illness and mental health.

Mental Health and Psychiatry (Audio)

Dr. Descartes Li explores the ways that culture influences mental health. He looks at the effects of cultural identify and the models of illness. He also explores the stressors and supports and the elements of the relationship with the clinicians and the resulting treatment plan.  Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 35581]

Cultural Factors in Psychiatric Care: Focus on Asian Mental Health

Selena Chan, DO, takes you through a brief history of treating mental health from the stone age to today. She then looks at psychiatry today and how we are at a time when behavioral medicine is uniquely situated to bridge biomedicine and an array of healing modalities.  Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 34526]

Selena Chan, DO, takes you through a brief history of treating mental health from the stone age to today. She then looks at psychiatry today and how we are at a time when behavioral medicine is uniquely situated to bridge biomedicine and an array of healing modalities. <br><br> Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 34526]

Exploring Physical and Emotional Dimensions of Pain and Loss: The Power of the Mind-Body Connection

Michael Green, neuroscientist and professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA, has been fascinated with the human brain, behavior and mental illness since his undergraduate days. In particular, his research focuses on schizophrenia, a chronic brain disorder that affects about 1 percent of the population. In this UCLA Faculty Research Lecture, he describes how his lab uses discoveries in psychology and social neuroscience about normal brain functioning to inform his schizophrenia research. And now, Green and his colleagues are moving into new territory, studying the causes of social isolation among people who do not have schizophrenia. You’ll learn about the tools they use such as functional MRI, that measures and maps brain activity, and EEG, that detects electrical activity in the brain, and how they do research to answer questions about social isolation in the general public. Series: "UCLA Faculty Research Lectures" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 32573]

The Human Social Brain: How It Works and How It Goes Awry in Schizophrenia and the General Population

Is stress just in your head or can its impact be physical? Owen M. Wolkowitz, MD examines how stress and depression can affect the body on a cellular level and shares treatment and lifestyle interventions that can help.  Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 31005]

Sadness and the Cell: Is Depression All in Your Body or is it All in Your Mind?

Everyone occasionally feels sad or unhappy but depression is different. David Feifel, MD, PhD joins our host David Granet, MD to help define depression. Series: "Health Matters" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 32863]

What is Depression?

Eva C. Ihle, MD, PhD, UCSF Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Education] [Professional Medical Education] [Show ID: 34666]

Pharmacotherapy for Anxiety and Stress-Related Behavior Dysregulation in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Iman Crosson and Natalie Spilger continue their work with spiritual psychology and learn a tool for how to practice self-forgiveness. [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 31269]

Forgiving Yourself - 30 Days of Intent No. 18

Jessica Pullins goes over proven methods that help people take control of, and relax, their fight or flight response. Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 33529]

Ways to Turn Off Your Fight or Flight Response

Beating burnout is hard under the best circumstances but even harder when things happen. Here, Dr. Larissa Thomas describes the characteristics of burnout. Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 33586]

What is Burnout?

Psychiatry specialist Dr. Jeffrey DeVido gives an overview of addictive disorders. Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 31004]

Substance Use Disorders/Addictions - Clinical Overview

In the U.S.,100,000 young people experience psychosis each year. Kristin Cadenhead, MD, director of the Cognitive Assessment and Risk Evaluation (CARE) Program at UC San Diego joins David Granet, MD to discuss the symptoms that would help get them the care they need. Series: "Health Matters" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 32672]

Symptoms of Psychosis

David Lukoff, PhD, explores transpersonal psychology, the study of human growth and development from a perspective of spirituality and the inner soul.   Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 34524]

Listening to One's Deepest Self: Opening to Transpersonal Dimensions of Healing

The best podcast episodes of anyone with an interesting story. With famous guests like Obama, LeBron James, Drake, Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson, Michelle Obama, Serena Williams, to anyone who has a unique and interesting story to tell. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

Best Episodes: Personal Stories & Great Interviews

The Best Multi-Part Documentaries, with documentaries on Obama, Federer vs Nadal, the making of Star Wars, Netflix vs Blockbuster and more. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!