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Giving a F*ck with Dr. Alex Wills

Robert Sikes

• March 10th, 2023

Do you struggle with emotional acceptance or silencing your emotions? On this episode, I welcome Dr. Alex Wills to discuss his book, Give a Fuck, Actually. He is a board-certified psychiatrist. He graduated from the Sackler School of Medicine and completed his residency and fellowship training in Hawaii with additional training from Columbia University. He is the owner of Perma Mental Health, a private psychiatric practice with offices across Idaho.

Alex's clinical days are spent using the Radical Emotional Acceptance method to help patients heal from issues ranging from past traumas to interpersonal struggles in their marriages. Give a F*CK, Actually is based on that experience. (https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Alex-Wills/199869907)

What you'll learn in this episode:

The motivation behind his book and title (2:09)
Value in all emotions (4:17)
Why he went down this route of psychotherapy initially (5:30)
HIs typical patient demographic (6:53)
His five-step approach to help people tune into their own emotional wisdom (9:56)
How long he has been using this approach in his practice (20:26)
How humans as a whole are trending in regards to tuning in to their feelings and emotions (21:35)
Helping patients with depression bridge the gap to follow the five pillar approach to emotional wellness (24:48)
Journaling and meditation (27:40)
How weight training has helped him from a psychological standpoint (29:55)
Rewiring your emotional brain with basic cognitive behavioral therapy (33:07)
The most prevalent emotion he has been feeling regularly as of late (35:07)
The biggest pushback he's gotten in regards to his methodology for leveraging one's emotions (37:56)
What's in the pipeline for Dr. Wills (40:21)
What children are being taught in schools in regards to handling emotions (41:18)
HIs recommendations for raising children with a healthy emotional awareness (44:02)