In this week’s episode, I am joined by Dr. Jud Brewer! Jud Brewer, MD, Ph.D. (“Dr. Jud”) blends over 20 years of experience with mindfulness training and a career in scientific research. He is passionate about understanding how our brains work, and how to use that knowledge to help people make deep, permanent change in their lives — with the goal of reducing suffering in the world at large. Dr. Jud is the director of research and innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center, and the executive medical director of behavioral health at Sharecare, the digital health company helping people manage all their health in one place. He has developed and tested novel mindfulness programs for habit change, including Unwinding Anxiety, Eat Right Now and Craving to Quit. Based on the success of these programs, he co-founded MindSciences, Inc. to create app-based digital therapeutic versions of these programs for a wider audience, to put effective, evidence-based behavior change guidance in the hands of people struggling with unwanted behaviors and “everyday addictions.” Sharecare, Inc. acquired MindSciences in 2020. His published work has been featured on 60 Minutes, TED, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Today Show, TIME, The Washington Post, Forbes, CNN, BBC, NPR, and more. Current work - The Hunger Habit: As Jud did for addiction and anxiety, he is now doing for hunger. In The Hunger Habit (on sale Jan 9, 2024), Jud examines how "hunger" went from a tenant of survival to a mechanism for pleasure, an outlet for pain, and a habit rather than a need. Key Points • Habits: Trigger, Behavior, Reward • Mind as Habit Loop Map • Anxiety & Worry as Habits • Cravings: Awareness Kills Them • Bigger, Better Offers to Habits   Best Quotes 17:47 - 18:02 • "When we can see very, very clearly that an old habit is not actually rewarding, we get something what’s called in our brain, we get a negative prediction error, meaning we, our brain expected it to be, you know, at some level of reward and it's not as good as expected." 19:13 - 19:22 • "You know, I, I was thinking, okay, they're probably gaining weight. 'cause most people, you know, they eat as a replacement for smoking, right? They provide a substitute behavior." 19:52 - 19:56 • "So this reward thing, and I was talking about, you know, something has a certain reward value." 24:19 - 24:26 • "So we create this unwaning anxiety app and we do a randomized controlled trial in people with generalized anxiety disorder." 46:15 - 46:25 • "If we look at those and we, you know, we have this craving to eat, we, we can fight that craving, right? That's that willpower depletion type of thing at best." 59:39 - 59:50 • "And I'll also say, let's, let's circle back to Ted. You know, the belief comes from experiencing these things ourself."     For more about Dr. Jud: https://drjud.com/