Okay, welcome to module three. Before we get started with the new content, let me do a quick review of what we've covered so far in modules one and module two. So in module one, we started off by discovering what resilience is. We explored the science of resilience to identify the variables that really matter in cultivating resilience. Then we did a deeper dive into optimism, one of those variables, and we explored how optimism predicts mental health and physical health and strong relationships. We talked about the behaviors of optimist. In module two, we slowed down and looked at five different thinking traps. You'll remember these: mind reading, me, them, catastrophizing, and helplessness. And we talked about how those traps not only block optimism but they undercut our resilience and well-being. So we explored a strategy, real-time resilience, for challenging those really counterproductive thoughts so that we can enhance our optimism, enhance our resilience. Now, module three. We're gonna shift gears again, and in this module, we're gonna start off by looking closely at anxiety. Anxiety is a good emotion, right? It motivates us, it helps us to have the energy to tackle situations in front of us. But, when our anxiety is too high, it has the opposite effect. It can deplete us, it undercuts our well-being, it undercuts our effectiveness in the world. So we're gonna explore a thinking trap, catastrophizing – we talked about that last time – and how catastrophizing drives unhelpful levels of anxiety. I'm gonna talk about a skill that you can use to challenge that catastrophic thinking directly – it's a cognitive skill. We're also gonna hear from Dr. Michael Baime, who's the director of the Penn Program for Mindfulness. I'm really excited to hear from him. And he's gonna talk to us about another approach to dealing with anxiety – the mindfulness approach. He'll tell us about how anxiety shows up in our bodies. He'll talk to us about what the research on mindfulness shows. After we explore anxiety in more detail, then we're gonna shift gears and talk about the importance of positive emotion, emotions like joy and gratitude and love, and how positive emotions are instrumental in keeping us resilient. I'm gonna showcase the emotion of gratitude, in particular. Gratitude is one of my favorite positive emotions. I will talk about why gratitude matters so much. For me, this is an example of science catching up with grandma, because we all had someone in our life, a grandmother, a pastor, somebody who said when we were really young, "Count your blessings". And I wanna talk to you about what science tells us are the benefits of counting your blessings, of developing an attitude of gratitude. And then we'll have you practice gratitude with some simple exercises. So that's what we'll be doing, let's get started. All right, so let's talk about catastrophizing. We already reviewed that in module two when we talked about the five thinking traps and catastrophizing is one of those five. But I want to kind of slow down and unpack it a little bit more. And the first thing I want to say is that – I wanna be really careful here – we are not saying that anxiety is bad, is a bad emotion to have. I'm sure you, like me, had many, many instances when that anxiety motivated you to take action, that, you know, if you have a major report due in three days and you're sitting on your couch watching reality TV and then you get a pang of anxiety because you're thinking about that report, that pang of anxiety likely get you off the couch, get you back to your desk so that you're preparing for the report that you have to deliver. Students need anxiety to get them sort of in the frame of mind to maybe study when they really don't want to. So, look, anxiety is an adaptive, healthy emotion. The problem with anxiety is that, sometimes, the level of it is too great and it's mismatched from what's actually going on, that maybe a dose, a small dose, of anxiety would be beneficial, but we're awash in overwhelming anxiety. That's not helpful. So catastrophizing is when you're wasting critical energy ruminating, you're going around and around and around in your brain, around irrational – notice that word – irrational, worst-case outcomes of a situation, and all of that thinking about these irrational, unlikely to happen, like really, really, really unlikely to happen worst-case outcomes is generating levels of anxiety that don't motivate us. They cause intense anxiety, agitation, and they stop us from taking purposeful action. So, catastrophizing is not a healthy or helpful way of thinking. So, how is it that catastrophic thinking leads to such anxiety? Well, if any of you have ever been in catastrophic thinking, and I'm guessing many of you have, your thoughts are so vivid that your body responds as if what you're imagining is happening in the moment. Your thoughts are so vivid that your body is going into fight-or-flight response, and that's what's generating all of that intense anxiety.
