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This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.

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Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.

Honest Sleep with Brian Curtis, PhD, DBSM

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by Brian Curtis, PhD

5.0(5 reviews)

16 episodes

Updated Daily

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Podcast Overview

Join clinical psychologist Brian Curtis, PhD, for a different kind of mental health podcast: One where you don't just learn about psychological skills, you practice them. If you feel stuck in your life, overwhelmed by thoughts or emotions, unsure of your direction, caught in unhelpful habits, or struggling in relationships, this podcast offers a direct path forward. Each episode is a guided experiment where you'll learn and apply evidence-based tools from the most effective psychological treatments to help you get unstuck and move toward the life you truly want to live. This is not passive listening. You'll be encouraged to pause, reflect, and write in your own "lab notebook" as you practice these skills in real time and test them out in the laboratory of your daily life. This podcast is not a replacement for mental health assessment or treatment, but it is a place to learn and practice science-based psychological skills in an honest, open, authentic, and deeply human way. How would your life change if you were no longer stuck? If you were free to start moving toward the life you truly want to live, rather than continuing to put your happiness on hold? Let's find out together. Welcome to the Honest Mental Health Podcast. Learn more at https://www.honestmentalhealth.com/ Watch each guided experiment on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HonestMentalHealthTherapy

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Publishing Since

4/27/2023

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Recent Episodes

December 22, 2025

#12 - Observing Thoughts as Passengers

In this guided experiment, you'll learn and practice a powerful psychological skill for changing your relationship with difficult thoughts without trying to control, suppress, or argue with them. Rather than struggling with your mind, this episode invites you to step back and observe your thoughts as "passengers" in a vehicle you are driving toward the life you truly want to live. You'll be guided to: • Identify recurring thoughts that tend to pull you away from your values • Personify these thoughts as individual "passengers" riding along with you • Practice staying in the driver's seat, even when difficult or critical thoughts are loud • Learn how to respond flexibly to thoughts without letting them dictate your behavior This experiment builds on earlier mindfulness and defusion practices and helps you develop more psychological flexibility so you can continue moving toward what matters most, even when uncomfortable thoughts show up. As always, you'll be encouraged to pause, reflect, and write in your own lab notebook, turning this episode into an active experiment rather than passive listening. Welcome to the experiment. Learn more at https://www.honestmentalhealth.com/

December 15, 2025

#11 - I'm Aware of Having the Thought That...

In this guided experiment, you'll learn and practice a powerful, evidence-based psychological skill for changing your relationship to difficult thoughts without trying to control, suppress, or eliminate them. Rather than getting caught up in the content of your thoughts, this experiment helps you become more aware of the process of thinking itself. You'll practice observing thoughts as thoughts, bits of language or images arising in your mind, rather than taking them as facts about who you are or what your life means. This episode guides you through a simple but profound three-step process: 1) Identifying a recurring, judgmental thought that tends to keep you stuck   2) Noticing how it feels to fully identify with that thought   3) Practicing increasing levels of distance, awareness, and flexibility in how you relate to it As you work through the experiment, you may notice shifts in emotional intensity, body sensations, and your sense of freedom to choose how you respond — rather than being pushed around by your mind. This practice draws from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), mindfulness-based approaches, and decades of research on cognitive fusion and defusion. With regular practice, it can help reduce suffering related to anxiety, self-criticism, rumination, and avoidance, while supporting more flexible, values-based action in daily life. As always, this is not passive listening. You'll be encouraged to pause the audio, reflect, and write your observations in your own lab notebook as you actively test this skill in the laboratory of your daily life. This podcast is not a replacement for mental health assessment or treatment, but it is a place to learn and practice science-based psychological skills in an honest, open, authentic, and deeply human way. Welcome to the experiment. Learn more at <a href="https://www.honestmentalhealth.com/" target="_new" data-start="2099" data-end= "2134">https://www.honestmentalhealth.com/</a>

December 8, 2025

#10 - The Purple Cow

In today's guided practice, we explore one of the most well-studied, and counterproductive, patterns that keeps people stuck: trying to control our thoughts. This experiment begins simply: "For the next two minutes, try not to think of a purple cow." What follows is an experiential deep dive into: · What happens when we try to suppress or avoid certain thoughts · Why this often increases the frequency and intensity of the very thoughts we're trying to push away · How this "rebound effect" shows up in anxiety, trauma, insomnia, OCD, and daily life · A more effective alternative based in mindfulness and cognitive defusion After experiencing thought suppression directly, we contrast it with a second exercise: mindfully observing whatever thoughts arise, without trying to control them, push them away, or make them stop. Across both exercises, you'll use your "lab notebook" to track what you notice, including: · What thoughts arose when you tried not to think of a purple cow · What the quality of your experience was like in each condition · How often the thought appeared when suppressing vs. when observing · How you reacted to these thoughts in each exercise · What this reveals about the process of thinking and the suffering we create through control We then explore the science behind these effects, including: · Why thought suppression reliably increases unwanted thoughts · How it fuels rumination, worry, obsessive thinking, and avoidance · Why controlling thoughts keeps us stuck in long-term suffering · A more workable alternative: noticing thoughts as thoughts · Learning to relate differently to thinking so we can live more freely and intentionally The goal of this episode isn't to get rid of painful thoughts. It's to help you change your relationship to them. So as you go about your day, notice when the mind starts playing "The Purple Cow" game, trying to avoid, push away, or control your thoughts. When it happens, see if you can step back, make a gentle mental note, and return to observing thoughts like waves in the ocean or clouds in the sky: arising, changing, passing on their own. No need to control your thoughts. Just observe. Just notice. Just practice.

16 total episodes available

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Frequently asked questions

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What is Honest Sleep with Brian Curtis, PhD, DBSM?: Join clinical psychologist Brian Curtis, PhD, for a different kind of mental health podcast: One where you don't just learn about psychological skills, you practice them.

If you feel stuck in your life, overwhelmed by thoughts or emotions, unsure of your direction, caught in unhelpful habits, or struggling in relationships, this podcast offers a direct path forward. Each episode is a guided experiment where you'll learn and apply evidence-based tools from the most effective psychological treatments to help you get unstuck and move toward the life you truly want to live.

This is not passive listening.

You'll be encouraged to pause, reflect, and write in your own "lab notebook" as you practice these skills in real time and test them out in the laboratory of your daily life.

This podcast is not a replacement for mental health assessment or treatment, but it is a place to learn and practice science-based psychological skills in an honest, open, authentic, and deeply human way.

How would your life change if you were no longer stuck? If you were free to start moving toward the life you truly want to live, rather than continuing to put your happiness on hold?

Let's find out together.

Welcome to the Honest Mental Health Podcast.

Learn more at https://www.honestmentalhealth.com/

Watch each guided experiment on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HonestMentalHealthTherapy
How often does this podcast release new episodes?: This podcast updates daily.
Where can I listen to this podcast?: This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
Does this podcast accept guests?: Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.

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