The Less Stress Doc Website

Dr. Gary Sprouse on IG

After nearly four decades in primary care, Dr. Gary Sprouse didn’t walk away from healing—he just changed the direction. In this conversation, we explore what happens when we stop treating stress like an enemy and start seeing it as the natural side effect of our most human gifts.

Gary's book Highway to Your Happy Place offers tools like the Worry Organizer and models like Stratosphere to help rewire fear, reclaim calm, and reframe how we understand our struggles. We dig deep into the idea that skills like envisioning the future and forming identities come with powerful side effects—worry, regret, overwhelm—and how we can keep the gift while shedding the weight.

We talk about aging, self-worth, Buddhism, Confucianism, parenting, and the ultimate future we all face—death. I also share a bit about my own project, “How to Live for the Death You Hope to Have,” and how imagining an ideal death can become a surprisingly powerful way to live fully in the present.

If stress has ever made you question your purpose, your potential, or your peace of mind, this episode is a hand reaching back from solid ground.

#DrCD #Earthroot #TheGathering2040 #MentalBreakthrough #StressIsAHumanThing #Mindfulness #WorryLess #Neuroscience #HealingJourney #HumanSkills #EmotionalHealth #SelfWorth #FutureThinking

Dr. Craig B. Wiener

In Episode 65 of Mental Breakthrough, I sit down with psychologist and author Dr. Craig B. Wiener to explore what truly divides us—not just politically, but psychologically, culturally, and emotionally. Drawing from his book Backyard Politics, we unpack how the ways we raise children echo in our public life: our craving for certainty, our intolerance of ambivalence, and our retreat into either safetyism or control.

Dr. Wiener offers a powerful framework for seeing ideological rigidity not as a moral failing, but as a developmental impasse. We talk about how evolutionary instincts, attachment styles, and trauma narratives all shape how we engage—or disengage—from societal problems. And we ask: Can we reclaim personal agency without abandoning compassion? Can policy be both protective and empowering?

I also share my ongoing project around envisioning an “ideal death”—not as a fixation, but as a guide for living authentically now.

This conversation digs deep into the emotional roots of polarization and invites a more grounded, humane way forward.

#DrCD #Earthroot #TheGathering2040 #Psychology #Parenting #Polarization #TraumaCulture #BackyardPolitics #MentalBreakthrough #CertaintyAddiction #FreedomVsControl #SafeToGrow #CraigWiener #CraigBWiener

Download the Pleasure Ladder chart, learn more about Bracha’s work

In this soul-stirring conversation with Bracha Goetz, we dive deep into the journey from food addiction to joyful spiritual fulfillment. Bracha, Harvard grad and author of over 45 children's books, shares how she transformed her life through ancient mystical wisdom, neuroscience, and the soul-fueling power of gratitude.

We explore the Pleasure Ladder—five rungs of lasting happiness that reconnect us with our bodies, creativity, and a transcendent sense of purpose. From the neuroplastic power of grateful moments to teaching emotional tools through rhyming children’s stories, Bracha shows us how joy is both ancient and accessible.

We also talk healing through connection, how addiction masks spiritual hunger, and why our kids (and our inner kids) desperately need these practices now more than ever. Whether you're struggling with cravings, feeling disconnected, or just looking for a deeper sense of meaning, this episode offers a ladder up.

#DrCD #Earthroot #TheGathering2040 #gratitude #neuroscience #TorahWisdom #addictionrecovery #childrensbooks #spiritualgrowth #creativity #pleasureladder #mentalhealth #joyfulparenting