Dr. Ethan Kross: Managing Our Inner Voice

While we all have a voice in our head, we may not often stop to consider the implications - both positive and negative - of these ongoing conversations with ourselves.  Psychologist and author of the book Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why it Matters & How to Harness It, Dr. Ethan Kross, joins us for an illuminating discussion around:   

• the nature and function of our inner voice
• how and when this inner voice can become negative/dysfunctional and begin to impact our mood, social connections and performance (i.e., "chatter")
• how attention and focus is directed with respect to our inner voice
• a brief consideration of the nature and function of worry and rumination 
• the reasons we gravitate towards worry and rumination, despite these strategies predicting negative outcomes for mood and functioning 
• the evolutionary significance of, and utility of our proclivity for negative thoughts
• the paradoxical outcomes associated with "positive self-talk" 
• the mechanism behind why thought suppression backfires  
• the impact of social media on our inner voice and how to conceptualize social media constructively
• a review of some of Ethan's top strategies for managing "chatter"
• the role that green spaces can play in managing our inner voice

Ethan Kross, PhD, is one of the world’s leading experts on controlling the conscious mind. An award-winning professor in the University of Michigan’s top ranked Psychology Department and its Ross School of Business, he is the director of the Emotion & Self Control Laboratory. He has participated in policy discussion at the White House, and has been interviewed about his work on CBS Evening News, Good Morning America, and NPR’s Morning Edition. His pioneering research has been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New England Journal of Medicine and Science.

https://www.ethankross.com/

Host note: Voices Inside My Head is copyright The Police from their 1980 album Zenyatta Mondatta (Sting, if you object to me using this song, I would be happy to have you on the podcast to discuss further)