While the helpful function of fear is most obvious, alerting us to potential threats in our environment to keep us safe, even the experiences of grief, shame, resentment, envy, and low mood are helpful, if we can learn to hold them, understand their messages, and identify what’s a helpful alarm for the current situation, and what might be a false alarm that may more resemble a past threat or be based on misunderstanding.  Our smoke alarms are set to have many false alarms—it’s better to be safe than sorry—as we don’t want to miss any fires.  But  once we identify the alarm is going off, we still need to investigate the situation to see if there’s actually a fire right now, or if a false alarm of our bagel burning in the toaster.

Our shame alarms warns us that we are potentially in a rejecting or psychologically environment so we must hide parts of ourselves to fit in, or find a healthier group of people.

The resentment alarm tells us when we need healthier boundaries. 

The guilt alarm tells us we’ve caused hurt or harm and need to be accountable and repair the situation.

The low mood alarm tells us the rewards of the environment don’t outway the potential risks so we need to find a new environment or approach or hibernate until the rewards come back

The grief alarm is a compass to our heart, showing us what’s important so we can rebuild it.

The envy alarm tells us what needs are unmet in us, that others have

Show Highlights

Dr. James JC Cooley along with Co-Host Dr. Michael Mantell-  renowned and esteemed mental health architect and prolific author have a sit-down conversation with

Dr. Joanna Cheek - Canadian psychiatrist, award-winning professor at the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Medicine, speaker, researcher, group facilitator, meditation teacher and psychotherapist.

·       Resentment Alarm

·       Guilt Alarm

·       Low Mood Alarm

·       Grief Alarm

·       The Envy Alarm

Biography

Joanna Cheek, M.D., is a Canadian psychiatrist, award-winning professor at the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Medicine, speaker, researcher, group facilitator, meditation teacher, psychotherapist trained in numerous styles of therapy, journalist, and mom. She co-founded Mind Space (https://mind-space.ca), a collective of physicians offering mental health groups to tens of thousands of participants, to improve access to publicly funded mental health services in BC.  Her writing is featured in the Toronto Star, CBC, NeoLife, L.A. Times, Walrus, and Maclean’s, among others. Joanna sees mental health struggles as symptoms of the imbalances in our wider systems, hoping to decrease the stigma that is too often misplaced on the individuals who suffer rather than the ailing society around them. In addition to caring for individuals, she hopes to heal the harmful dynamics of domination, division, and indifference within our collective systems, teaching that collective-care is self-care.

Website

https://www.joannacheek.ca/