Hardcore Humanism Dr. Mike talks with Sydney and Noah Sierota of the indie-pop band Echosmith about their creative process. They uncover the powerful intersections of anxiety, outside expectations, and how their faith gives them a bigger purpose amongst these struggles which ultimately shapes their artistry. Together, they navigate the challenging emotions of feeling "cracked" and reveal how embracing their flaws has led them to discover the light in both their creative journeys and life as a whole. On the Hardcore Humanism Podcast, we talk with artists such as Noah and Sydney to hear their stories of their authentic life so that we can learn from their experience as we embark on our own purpose-driven journey. Hardcore Humanism Newsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/GBmf0iU/HardcoreHumanismSignUp Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hardcorehumanism/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardcoreHumanism/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hardcorhumanism Produced by Ars Longa Media Learn more at arslonga.media. Produced by: Erin McCue. Executive Producer: Patrick C. Beeman, MD Legal Stuff The information presented in this podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only and is not professional advice.

Hardcore Humanism Dr Mike talks with Tom Higgenson of the Plain White T's about finding the magic in songwriting, specifically in relation to their new song "Spaghetti Tattoo" and renowned hit "Hey There Delilah." They discuss ways in which Tom is able to embrace the present moment and draw inspiration from his experiences, enriching the songwriting process. On the Hardcore Humanism Podcast, we talk with artists such as Tom to hear their stories of their authentic life so that we can learn from their experience as we embark on our own purpose-driven journey. Hardcore Humanism Newsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/GBmf0iU/HardcoreHumanismSignUp Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hardcorehumanism/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardcoreHumanism/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hardcorhumanism Produced by Ars Longa Media Learn more at arslonga.media. Produced by: Erin McCue. Executive Producer: Patrick C. Beeman, MD Legal Stuff The information presented in this podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only and is not professional advice.

Hardcore Humanism Dr Mike talks with grunge legend Mark Arm about Mudhoney’s new album Plastic Eternity and how Mark addresses existential issues in his life and music. On the Hardcore Humanism Podcast, we talk with artists such as Mark to hear their stories of their authentic life so that we can learn from their experience as we embark on our own purpose-driven journey. Hardcore Humanism Newsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/GBmf0iU/HardcoreHumanismSignUp Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hardcorehumanism/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardcoreHumanism/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hardcorhumanism Produced by Ars Longa Media Learn more at arslonga.media. Produced by: Erin McCue. Executive Producer: Patrick C. Beeman, MD Legal Stuff The information presented in this podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only and is not professional advice.

Hardcore Humanism In this episode, Dr. Mike talks with Brent Smith of multi-platinum, chart topping hard rock band Shinedown. They discuss Shinedown’s new song “A Symptom of Being Human,” Brent’s struggle with anxiety and addiction and what it means to be invited to the “lunatic ball.” Clinical psychologist and life coach, Dr. Mike Friedman talks with musicians who have broken free from societal and cultural expectations and have overcome obstacles to pursue their passion and purpose. Let their stories inspire and motivate your own journey to self-discovery. Hardcore Humanism Newsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/GBmf0iU/HardcoreHumanismSignUp Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hardcorehumanism/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardcoreHumanism/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hardcorhumanism Produced by Ars Longa Media Learn more at arslonga.media. Produced by: Erin McCue. Executive Producer: Patrick C. Beeman, MD Legal Stuff The information presented in this podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only and is not professional advice.

Hardcore Humanism Shaun Morgan of Seether talks about his struggles with early family relationships, people pleasing, depression and addiction. Shaun also shares what he means when he says that he's learned to "empty his marbles" as a way of building his emotional health and strong relationships. On the Hardcore Humanism Podcast, we talk with artists such as Shaun to hear their stories of their authentic life so that we can learn from their experience as we embark on our own purpose-driven journey. Hardcore Humanism Newsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/GBmf0iU/HardcoreHumanismSignUp Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hardcorehumanism/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardcoreHumanism/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hardcorhumanism Produced by Ars Longa Media Learn more at arslonga.media. Produced by: Erin McCue. Executive Producer: Patrick C. Beeman, MD Legal Stuff The information presented in this podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only and is not professional advice.

What’s up Hardcore Humans! This week on The Hardcore Humanism Podcast, we are talking with John Joseph. Many of you know John as the lead singer of the legendary New York Hardcore band Cro-Mags -- including their seminal hardcore album Age of Quarrel -- and more recently as the lead singer of Bloodclot! John is also an Ironman competitor and an author. In his book, Evolution of a Cro Magnon, he describes how he overcame abuse, incarceration, homelessness and addiction to build the life he wanted. John has written several other books, including The PMA Effect and his new books Unf*ck Your Health and Hardcore Kitchen.   And John has recently started his own coaching business where he focuses on the concept of discipline. In our conversation, John explains how with everything he has been through, he never stops grinding. One of the biggest risks we face when we experience mental or physical illness or extreme stressors like John has faced is that we stop moving forward because it is so difficult to just keep going. Many of us naturally take an all-or-none mentality that if we can’t do things fully to the best of our abilities, it’s a waste of time to do anything. And sometimes when we are at our lowest, we can try to think through even basic routines to connect to ourselves and to develop and maintain our discipline. And we have to give ourselves credit for just doing what we need to survive, before we can think of thriving. Later, when we are not undergoing so much stress, we can build on that discipline to work further towards our purpose. The other point that John made was that he always sought out mentors – people to whom he looked for guidance to build his life. And even if we don’t have direct access to mentors, we can look to others that we see in the world as inspirations to help us work towards our goals. ***** Hardcore Humanism Weekly Newsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/GBmf0iU/HardcoreHumanismSignUp Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hardcorehumanism/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardcoreHumanism/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hardcorhumanism LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hardcore-humanism

This week on The Hardcore Humanism Podcast, we are talking with the man, the myth, the legend, George Clinton of Parliament Funkadelic. It is hard to overstate Clinton’s influence on music. With a music and stage show so innovative and with an impact on so many genres -- everything from Hip Hop to funk to psychedelic and rock music - it’s easy to see why they were given the 2019 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic keeping the funk rolling by playing shows this summer and fall, Clinton is also an accomplished visual artist, including his recent work “Lockdown Series 01.” I was absolutely thrilled to get a chance to talk with him about how he has approached his life and his career. Naturally, I was curious to try and understand the creative mindset of someone who has had, and continues to have such a prolific artistic career. And one of the main things that George and I talk about is the concept of obsession. Unfortunately, there has generally been a negative connotation to the term obsession. It’s seen as a mental health problem – where you can’t get unwanted thoughts out of your mind. And for many people, especially people who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder, this type of obsession can be painful and interfere with our leading a healthy and fulfilling life. But the term “obsession” can actually refer to a very invigorating and energizing process by which one is consumed by their purpose. This type of obsession feels like as Clinton describes it, when people are “in the zone” or what has been described as “flow.” It’s more like a life affirming drive in which there is something that is so important to us that we throw ourselves into it, and continue to work to make progress – whether it’s our work, art, music, a sport or family and friends. And if we embrace this form of obsession, it can help achieve our life goals as we embrace our authentic selves. During our conversation, Clinton talks about his obsession with phenomena and the concept of phenomena – remarkable cultural events that go beyond momentary popularity or interest. These are things that seem to transcend and drive our culture and society forward. And it was fascinating to hear Clinton describe his obsession with phenomena since he then went on to create a phenomenon in Parliament Funkadelic that is still contributing to the development and evolution of our culture. And we talk about a concept that I feel is particularly important now: the notion of One Nation Under A Groove – which is one of Parliament’s album titles. It’s that vibe that he describes as connecting to the mothership, where we are all invited into the artist’s obsession and can get that good feeling together, if only for a moment. We can learn so much from George about how we can connect with our own mothership or obsession, be in the zone and live a purpose-driven life. ***** Newsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/GBmf0iU/HardcoreHumanismSignUp Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hardcorehumanism/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardcoreHumanism/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hardcorhumanism LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hardcore-humanism

Today we are talking with Grammy Award winning musician, singer and songwriter Shawn Colvin. You may know Shawn from some of her hit songs such as “Sunny Came Home.” And Shawn has a new live album out called Dragon Clouds, a recording of a 1994 Los Angeles show. Shawn will also be touring in 2022 to mark the 30th anniversary of her debut album Steady On. Now on a personal note, it was wonderful to get the chance to talk with Shawn again. Shawn was actually one of the first artists I ever interviewed for Psychology Today who was open about her struggles with mental health. The first time we spoke was back in 2014 where Shawn shared her struggle with depression and alcoholism. What was so striking was Shawn’s openness about how depression interfered with her engaging in basic life functioning. Just getting up in the morning could be an all day task if it ever happened at all. And the feedback I got on the interview was so powerful. People talked about how the stigma of mental illness had held them back from sharing their mental health issues with others, in some cases so much so that people didn’t get treatment for their depression and addiction. And Shawn’s sharing her story gave people hope that they could reach out and get the help and support they needed.  And that feedback was ultimately one of the reasons my wife Aylin and I decided to eventually launch The Hardcore Humanism Podcast. We saw the power of someone like Shawn to not only change people’s lives through their music, but also through sharing personal stories of how they overcame barriers such as depression and addiction to pursue their authentic lives. A core goal of humanistic approaches to therapy is to help people remove barriers in their lives so that they can self-actualize. And one of the barriers that many people face in pursuing and achieving their best, actualized selves is mental illness. In our conversation today we talk in depth with Shawn about how depression and alcoholism interfered with a central core feature of her purpose in life, which is to be a creative artist. And Shawn talks specifically about the regimen that she uses for her ongoing recovery from both depression and alcoholism. ***** Newsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/GBmf0iU/HardcoreHumanismSignUp Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hardcorehumanism/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardcoreHumanism/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hardcorhumanism LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hardcore-humanism