EMOTIONAL WELLNESS with Dr. Mark Lerner
Emotional Wellness with Dr. Mark Lerner is a micro-audio podcast series focused on what you need to know—rather than what’s nice to know—for listeners worldwide.
The National Center for Emotional Wellness defines emotional wellness as the awareness, understanding, and acceptance of our feelings—and the ability to effectively manage challenges and change. It also reflects our capacity to sublimate: to harness painful emotional energy from adversity and channel it into action—not merely to survive, but to thrive.
The mission of the Center is to advance emotional well-being by integrating technology, evidence-based strategies, and the irreplaceable power of authentic human presence.
Grounded in AI-Integrated Emotional Wellness (AIEW), this series incorporates accessible, evidence-based information with the irreplaceable power of genuine human presence. It is designed for individuals, leaders, and diverse organizations navigating our increasingly complex and rapidly evolving technological world.
NationalCenterforEmotionalWellness.org
EMOTIONAL WELLNESS with Dr. Mark Lerner
How to Manage Anxiety: An AI-Integrated Emotional Wellness™ Perspective
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AI and the Irreplaceable Need for Human Presence
We're experiencing information overload—infused with daily doses of streaming conflict and adversity. Additionally, digital communication, such as text messaging, email, mobile apps, games, social media, and video conferencing, is replacing genuine face-to-face interaction.
Correlated with this proliferation of technology is an alarming increase in mental health problems. Anxiety has become the most common mental illness in the United States.
NationalCenterforEmotionalWellness.org
The National Center for Emotional Wellness presents Emotional Wellness with Dr. Mark Lerner. How to manage anxiety, an AI integrated emotional wellness perspective. AI and the irreplaceable need for human presence. We're experiencing information overload, infused with daily doses of streaming conflict and adversity. Additionally, digital communications such as text messaging, email, mobile apps, games, social media, and video conferencing is replacing genuine face-to-face interaction. Correlated with this proliferation of technology is an alarming increase in mental health problems. Anxiety has become the most common mental illness in the United States. Having decades of experience as a clinical and forensic psychologist, helping people navigate challenges and change, particularly traumatic events, I maintain that technology is increasing faster than we're able to adapt to it. As a result, millions of people are struggling to manage their overwhelming feelings while attempting to function in their personal and professional lives. Ironically, the very technology contributing to this problem, artificial intelligence, can also help address it. AI integrated emotional wellness refers to the ethical and responsible interface between the cognitive abilities of artificial intelligence and the depth, uniqueness, and complexity of human emotion. AI can provide easily accessible evidence-based techniques, strategies, tools, and support to promote emotional well-being, such as guided breathing, mindfulness, grounding techniques, psychoeducation, cognitive behavioral strategies, and AI-based supportive interactions. For example, someone awake at 2 AM struggling with anxiety, that accessibility can be invaluable. However, AI-integrated emotional wellness affirms a fundamental truth. Authentic face-to-face human presence remains irreplaceable and essential for emotional wellness. While practicing as a clinical psychologist and later consulting and presenting internationally, I often shared that anxiety arose from the interaction of energy and conflict. I explained that by harnessing or tapping into this energy and using it in healthing pursuits, such as exercising, engaging in sports, playing a musical instrument, writing, cooking, or countless other creative and productive outlets, one can alleviate feelings of anxiety. By doing so, individuals can utilize that very fuel that sustains anxiety. AI integrated emotional wellness can also mitigate the conflict associated with anxiety by providing practical suggestions on how to handle a particular matter. However, we must be careful not to confuse accessibility with healing. AI can't provide the human connection, moral commitment, and healing presence of another person. As I've repeatedly written, AI can't look at you with eyes filled with compassion. Hold your hand as your eyes pool with tears. Embrace you while you're crying. Convey warmth through presence without saying a word. Sit beside you and softly say, I'm here for you. Authentic healing requires genuine human presence. Chatbots and other AI platforms can't replicate the experience of feeling understood, emotionally connected, and genuinely cared for by another human being. Beyond accessible evidence-based techniques, strategies, tools, and support, we need human connection to manage overwhelming feelings of anxiety. AI integrated emotional wellness provides immediate access to AI with the irreplaceable need for human presence, the most powerful form of emotional healing. Thank you for listening to this program from the National Center for Emotional Wellness. To learn more about the center's accessible information, engaging presentations, and innovative consultation, visit National Center for Emotional Wellness dot org. Until next time, remember technology informs us. Humanity empowers us.