We call it "being productive," but for a lot of us it's a nervous system stuck in go mode. Always on. Always bracing. Then someone says "just breathe" and it sounds like a joke.

Dr. Marc Brackett sits down with former NFL wide receiver and mindfulness facilitator Brandon "SOUL COLE" Coleman to talk about what happens when performance mode becomes your identity and stillness starts to feel unsafe.

In this conversation:

• The identity crash after injury and why it can trigger anxiety, depression, and shutdown
• Why five minutes a day can actually change your patterns if you stick with it
• Mindfulness vs. breathwork and why "just breathe" isn't enough
• The five senses reset that works for skeptics in under two minutes
• Masculinity, vulnerability, and unlearning "tighten up"
• What it looks like to plant these skills early for kids and communities

Links

Marc Brackett: https://marcbrackett.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/marc.brackett

X: https://x.com/marcbrackett

Facebook: https://facebook.com/drmarcbrackett

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/drmarcbrackett

About the guest

Brandon "SOUL COLE" Coleman is a former NFL wide receiver and mindfulness facilitator who helps people build practical tools for regulation, resilience, and real-life performance.

Connect with SOUL COLE

Instagram: @b_cole16

SOUL Impact Foundation: https://soulimpactfoundation.org

Dr. Marc Brackett's Books

• Permission to Feel
• Dealing with Feeling

Explore Marc Brackett's work at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, where he serves as founding director, and learn more about RULER—an evidence-based, systemic approach to SEL developed at Yale that supports leaders, educators, students, and families in building emotional intelligence and creating healthier school climates.

A special thank you to the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence for supporting this webcast. I also want to thank Oji Life Lab for their generous support: https://ojilifelab.com. Oji Life Lab is the leader in mastery-centered learning for the workplace. To develop your skills in leadership, emotional intelligence and more, visit oji life lab dot com or click the link in the description of this video and use the promo code DEALINGWITHFEELINGS to save 25%.

We call it "normal life."

But for most of us, it's a low-grade chronic stress loop.

News alerts. Group chats. Doomscrolling. Constant urgency.

In this episode of Dealing With Feeling, Dr. Marc Brackett sits down with clinical psychologist and author Dr. Elisha Goldstein to explore how tiny emotional shifts can interrupt stress patterns, strengthen relationships, and change the trajectory of our health over time.

This is a conversation about emotional longevity — and what it means to stop living in permanent survival mode.

In this conversation:

• Why anxiety is not your identity, but a reinforced loop

• How low-grade stress becomes "the water we swim in"

• Elisha's 4R method: Recognize, Release, Refocus, Reinforce

• Moving from blame into skillful emotional requests in relationships

• How small shifts in real moments create long-term change

Links

Marc Brackett: https://marcbrackett.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/marc.brackett

X: https://x.com/marcbrackett

Facebook: https://facebook.com/drmarcbrackett

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/drmarcbrackett

About the guest

Dr. Elisha Goldstein is a clinical psychologist, teacher, and author whose work focuses on mindfulness, resilience, and emotional health.

Guest links

Website: https://elishagoldstein.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/drelishagoldstein

Dr. Marc Brackett's Books

• Permission to Feel

• Dealing with Feeling

Explore Marc Brackett's work at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, where he serves as founding director, and learn more about RULER—an evidence-based, systemic approach to SEL developed at Yale that supports leaders, educators, students, and families in building emotional intelligence and creating healthier school climates.

A special thank you to the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence for supporting this webcast. I also want to thank Oji Life Lab for their generous support: https://ojilifelab.com. Oji Life Lab is the leader in mastery-centered learning for the workplace. To develop your skills in leadership, emotional intelligence and more, visit oji life lab dot com or click the link in the description of this video and use the promo code DEALINGWITHFEELINGS to save 25%.

Gaslighting is not just an argument. It is a slow erosion of identity.

Dr. Marc Brackett sits down with his longtime friend and colleague Dr. Robin Stern to unpack The Gaslight Effect, how anxiety fuels both the gaslighter and the gaslightee, and what it takes to rebuild self-trust. They explore how people don't lose their reality overnight. They lose it in inches, one second-guess at a time.

In this conversation:

• What gaslighting really is and why it is so disorienting
• The three stages of The Gaslight Effect: disbelief, defense, depression
• That first "maybe it wasn't that bad" moment, and why it matters
• How fear of being "the bad one" keeps the cycle going
• How to start rebuilding self-trust after months or years of doubt

About the guest

Dr. Robin Stern is a psychoanalyst and the Senior Advisor to the Director at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. She is the author of The Gaslight Effect, the Recovery Guide of the same name, the host of The Gaslight Effect podcast and a leading voice on gaslighting and self-trust.

Robin's links:

Website: https://robinstern.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/dr.robinstern

X: https://x.com/RobinSStern

Facebook: https://facebook.com/drrobinstern

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/robin-stern-220b403a

Resources

The Gaslight Effect

The Gaslight Effect Recovery Guide

Marc's Links

Marc Brackett: https://marcbrackett.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/marc.brackett

X: https://x.com/marcbrackett

Facebook: https://facebook.com/drmarcbrackett

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/drmarcbrackett

Dr. Marc Brackett's Books

• Permission to Feel
• Dealing with Feeling

Explore Marc Brackett's work at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, where he serves as founding director, and learn more about RULER—an evidence-based, systemic approach to SEL developed at Yale that supports leaders, educators, students, and families in building emotional intelligence and creating healthier school climates.

A special thank you to the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence for supporting this webcast. I also want to thank Oji Life Lab for their generous support: https://ojilifelab.com. Oji Life Lab is the leader in mastery-centered learning for the workplace. To develop your skills in leadership, emotional intelligence and more, visit oji life lab dot com or click the link in the description of this video and use the promo code DEALINGWITHFEELINGS to save 25%.