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Connection to Self
Episode
37

The Truth About Anxiety, Habits, and Why Willpower Fails with Dr. Judson Brewer

May 12, 2026
53 min

Dave and Luke sit down with neuroscientist Dr. Judson Brewer to explore why willpower fails, how habit loops actually form in the brain, and why awareness rather than effort is what unwinds anxiety and unhelpful patterns.

Show Notes & Chapters

Most of us were taught that change is about willpower. Try harder. Push through. White-knuckle your way past the urge until it goes away. Dr. Judson Brewer, a neuroscientist and addiction psychiatrist, has spent two decades showing that this approach quietly fails for a specific neuroscientific reason.

Dave and Luke sit down with Dr. Brewer to explore how habits actually form, why anxiety operates as its own habit loop, and the awareness-based approach that helps the brain learn its way out instead of force its way out.

Chapters

  • 00:00 Meet Dr. Judson Brewer. Dave and Luke introduce Dr. Brewer and his work in anxiety and habit change.
  • 08:37 Understanding Habit Loops. A breakdown of how habits are formed and what makes your brain get stuck.
  • 18:20 Reward-Based Learning. The truth behind learned behavior and the toughing-it-out mentality.
  • 29:47 Bicycle Gears. A new method of thinking to help replace unhelpful habits with healthier responses.
  • 45:55 Pitfalls and Starting Points. Common habit-forming pitfalls to avoid and how to get started forming better habits.

Links and Resources