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The Peter Attia Drive

#172 - Esther Perel: The effects of trauma, the role of narratives in shaping our worldview, and why we need to accept uncomfortable emotions

The Peter Attia Drive

Peter Attia, MD

Health & Fitness, Medicine, Fitness

4.77.3K Ratings

🗓️ 16 August 2021

⏱️ 124 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Esther Perel is a psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author who is an expert on modern relationships. In this episode, Esther describes how being a child of parents who narrowly survived the Holocaust shaped and influenced her perspectives and ultimately led to her to a career in therapy. She discusses how the generational differences in parenting, among other things, led to the rise of individualism with a focus on happiness and self-esteem to the detriment of our relationships and sense of community. Ultimately, the conversation focuses on the value of our relationships with others for one’s sense of wellbeing, ability to deal with past trauma, resilience, and even our lifespan. She uses real world case studies to emphasize the therapeutic value of creating healthy relationships with others and oneself, explaining how our relationships with others can be a mirror into our own maladaptive behaviors. Esther explains how our self-narratives, which are often shaped by past trauma, may negatively impact our relationships with others and our emotional health, and emphasizes the value in trying to change them when warranted.

We discuss:

  • Esther’s background, adventures in hitchhiking, and how she ended up in the US [2:30];
  • The lasting effects of the Holocaust on Esther’s parents [8:45];
  • Grappling with a dark past and feeling alive again after trauma [16:45];
  • How Esther came to understand her parents in a new light [23:15];
  • Why Esther chose therapy as her career [30:00];
  • Using the concept of sexuality to understand society, culture, and people [40:00];
  • The significance of sexual revolutions, and the similarities of medical advancements and advancements in psychotherapy [50:15];
  • The impact of the rise of individualism and the focus on happiness and self-esteem [56:00];
  • Generational differences in parenting and changing role of fathers [1:09:15];
  • How our narratives affect our sense of wellbeing and relationships with others, and the challenge of changing them [1:17:15];
  • Generational effects of past trauma, and how relationship to others can be a mirror into your maladaptive behavior [1:30:30];
  • The role of willpower in one’s ability change their behavior and improve their relationships [1:40:00];
  • How your relationships impact longevity and the importance of being capable of sitting in uncomfortable emotions [1:43:45];
  • Esther’s definition of resilience and the dangers of believing everything you think or feel [1:50:00];
  • Questions about the human condition that Esther wants to explore [1:57:30]; and
  • More.

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Show notes page for this episode: https://peterattiamd.com/EstherPerel

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Hey everyone, welcome to the Drive Podcast.

0:13.0

I'm your host, Peter Atia.

0:14.8

This podcast, my website, and my weekly newsletter, all focus on the goal of translating

0:18.7

the science of longevity into something accessible for everyone.

0:22.4

Our goal is to provide the best content in health and wellness, full stop, and we've assembled

0:27.0

a great team of analysts to make this happen.

0:29.4

If you enjoy this podcast, we've created a membership program that brings you far more

0:33.2

in depth content if you want to take your knowledge of this space to the next level.

0:37.3

At the end of this episode, I'll explain what those benefits are, or if you want to learn

0:41.0

more now, head over to peteratiamd.com forward slash subscribe.

0:46.3

Now without further delay, here's today's episode.

0:49.0

I guess this week is Esther Perrell.

0:53.1

Esther is a psychotherapist and New York Times best-selling author of the State of Affairs

0:57.5

and Mating and Captivity.

0:59.8

She's given two TED talks which have been widely viewed.

1:03.8

She's also the host of the popular podcast, Where Should We Begin and How's Work?

1:08.5

The latter is a newer podcast.

1:10.6

The former has, I think, is probably now in its fourth or fifth season.

1:14.2

She's given a number of other really fantastic lectures that you can visit and will link to

1:18.8

in the show notes, a couple of talks at South by Southwest that focus on relationships

1:23.9

in the workplace and such.

1:25.6

I've wanted to talk with Esther for quite some time now.

...

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