Hello and welcome to the Feeling Good podcast.

I am your host, Fabrice Nye.

And joining me here in the Murrieta Studios is Dr. David Burns.

Hi, David.

Hi, Fabrice.

Dr. David Burns has been a pioneer in the development of cognitive therapy, and he is the creator of the new team therapy. He is the author of

Feeling Good, which has sold over 5 million copies in the United States, and has been translated into

over 20 languages. He is an emeritus adjunct clinical professor

of psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Welcome to episode 76 of the

Feeling Good podcast. This is number three in the series of five simple ways to boost your happiness.

Today, David, you're going to talk to us about doing something we're afraid of. Yes, yeah, confronting a fear. How could that bring happiness?

Right. Well, when you have something that you're afraid of and you keep avoiding it,

the fear of mushrooms and you tend to feel ashamed and get more and more and more afraid of that thing.

And it's both the psychological principle that's been around for 2,500 years or more,

as well as a kind of philosophical, spiritual principle

that when you confront something that you're afraid of rather than running away,

you will usually discover that the monster has no teeth,

and then you experience a great feeling of joy

and liberation. It's actually one of the important basic ideas behind Tibetan Buddhism,

but it's built into most religions as well. But from a practical point of view, if you have fears and you confront them and defeat them,

it can be exhilarating.

And I know from personal experience, I've mentioned on previous podcasts.

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