Freudian Sips

This week, the ‘mother-daughter' part of this podcast becomes even more relevant as Anna and Bonnie talk about parenting styles. They explain the main four types of parenting — authoritarian, permissive, authoritative, and uninvolved — as well as a few bonus styles, like helicopter parenting. They talk about what kinds of parenting styles can really help or hurt kids, and along the way, they get kinda real about their own experiences as parent and child. So listen to this episode… because we said so! If you'd like to read more about the various parenting styles, head on over to www.freudiansipspod.com, where you can find references on the episode page.

This week, the gals are talking about the father of operant conditioning, BF Skinner. Since he was a pretty firm atheist who didn't believe in all that ‘free will' jazz, he theorized that a person's behavior is trained by a series of rewards and punishments, and he made all sorts of boxes to prove it! He made boxes for rats, boxes for babies, just so many boxes. So turn up the volume on your podcast box and let Anna and Bonnie reward you with some knowledge! If you'd like to read more about Skinner's life and theories, head on over to www.freudiansipspod.com for notes and links on the episode page.

Values. Goals. Meaning. It's all part of the word cloud about ‘purpose' that Anna and Bonnie are making to start off the new year. They talk a little about a lot of stuff, including how existential philosophy and Viktor Frankl's logotherapy can help put our life meanings into perspective. Bonnie also gives Anna the Purpose in Life (PIL) test to see if Anna is in an existential void. So pop some champagne and settle in because the girls are back, baby! If you would like to take the PIL test yourself and read a little more about logotherapy, check that out here: https://exploringyourmind.com/evaluating-your-purpose-in-life-the-pil-test/

You didn't think the gals forgot Spooktober, did you? Well, buckle up for a bunch of tricks and treats, because this week, Anna and Bonnie are talking about weird brain glitches! Mostly silly and occasionally spooky, they talk about the sensory mix-ups of synesthesia, the disorienting feeling of deja vu, the strangeness of the uncanny valley, and many more perception errors we can experience in our everyday lives. Also, a note: this will be the last episode of 2022! The gals are taking some time off for the holidays, but more Freudian Sips will be hitting your favorite podcast carrier in 2023.

This week, Anna and Bonnie talk about the father of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Dr. Aaron Beck. As always, Anna talks about Aaron's life and times, of which there are many, because this was a very busy man. They chat about CBT techniques that Beck created and even used on himself, along with how those were radically different than the Freudian stuff of the time. Then Bonnie talks about several of the assessments created by Aaron himself, including the Beck Depression Inventory.

Fighting through low energy and even lower focus, the girls try to talk this week about a few personality assessments. Bonnie talks about the Big Five test, which sorts personalities on five (duh) different qualities, like extraversion and neuroticism. Then Anna chats about the Thematic Apperception Test, where the test taker is asked to create a dramatic story based on a vague prompt, and hopefully that points us to all the things wrong in your brain! If you want to take the Big Five test for yourself, head over to www.bigfive-test.com!

Hot take, guys: music is pretty cool. This week, Bonnie and Anna unpack all the different ways music affects the brain, how it gives us lots of feel-good chemicals, and just generally how it improves our health, both mental and physical. They also talk about how music is an integral part of culture and evolution, and how we use it as a form of connection and a way to regulate our own emotions. Because it turns out, science has proven what the best genre of music is… and it's whatever music you like the most! Scientific vindication! If you want to learn more about how music is used to treat Alzheimer's and dementia, check out the documentary “Alive Inside”. To see the University of Central Florida's cool brain map and read more about the professors behind it, go here: https://www.ucf.edu/pegasus/your-brain-on-music

Bonnie and Anna have this tangled ball of Christmas lights that someone left in their office, but it's also emotions? This week, they're chatting about adjustment disorder, a very general diagnosis that covers possibly too much, including crossing some confusing lines with grief. So Bonnie also gives us a run-down on that, talking about concepts like anticipatory and ambiguous grief and how big events (like, say, a worldwide pandemic) can cause those feelings.

This week, the gals are talking about Karen Horney, a Neo-Freudian who fought back against some of Freud's wackier ideas and ended up influencing a lot of other theorists. First, Anna chats about Karen's history and career — including how she was kicked out of the psychoanalysis boy's club and started her own place. Next Bonnie talks theory, exploring the ten (and then later, three) different kinds of neuroses that Karen identified, along with her ideas about basic anxiety and how it all relates to a person's relationships with their parents and society.

In light of the Depp v. Heard trial that's making headlines, the gals are exploring some relevant personality disorders: borderline and histrionic. They chat about the diagnostic criteria for these disorders and do some comparing/contrasting to see how they might work together or contradict each other. They also talk about intimate partner violence and related trauma, especially how these disorders might affect that and how gendered norms can come into play.

Happy hundred episodes, Sipsters! Bonnie and Anna reflect on their three years (!) in podcasting and the hundred episodes since, including talking about some of their favorite episodes in the catalog. Then they revisit their main man, Sigmund Freud. Anna gives a short-ish recount of Freud's history, and then the girls put their heads together to unpack some of his more prominent ideas and theories. Talking points include the psychosexual stages, the Oedipus and Elektra complexes, defense mechanisms, and transference.

Armed with an extremely potent Starry Night shot, the girls are talking this week about Vincent van Gogh, perhaps one of the most famous artists of all time. Being a past art major and current fangirl, Anna tells the story of the artist's life, including all the traumas and health struggles he experienced, and then she and Bonnie discuss what mental health struggles Vincent might have had. Hint: it was a lot, and you will probably want to give him a hug by the end of the episode.

Happy Valentine's week! In honor of the holiday, Anna and Bonnie are talking about love, of course. Bonnie talks about the eight types of love from Ancient Greece, Anna chats about some of the wild brain stuff that happens when we feel love and attraction, and then the gals talk about various other studies and theories about how love works. So grab some chocolates in a heart-shaped box and settle in to listen, and remember: the gals from Freudian Sips love you a whole bunch!

Don't worry, Sipsters, this episode is NOT an auditory hallucination! Or is it? It's not, but Anna does have a cold, and Bonnie is on the moon! Figuratively. Physically she's sticking around to help Anna talk about schizophrenia, a particularly heavy diagnosis involving delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized behavior. Bonnie breaks down some stats about the disorder, how the media has misused the term, and how it's treated, while Anna deep dives into the diagnosis itself to examine the symptoms and talk about some brain stuff.

To start off the new year, Anna is subjecting Bonnie to a quiz! First they talk about various personality tests and assessments they've already covered (and which episodes to listen to for more about them), then Bonnie takes her very own quiz to discover her MBTI type as well as a few other results. The gals use this as a chance to chat about where they're both at in their results and what they mean, as well as giving some teasers about tests that might be covered in the future on the show.

For their final episode of 2021, and to follow up on their episode about narrative therapy, the gals are talking about role playing! They chat about role theory in sociology, how we each have roles in our own lives, how those roles might conflict, and how role playing is used in therapy contexts. Also, Anna chats about how tabletop roleplaying can be a healthy tool (because she's a big ol' nerd), and Bonnie talks about how some people use role play in the bedroom (because she's a dirty bird).

Once upon a time, the gals wanted to talk about narrative therapy, a relatively new therapy that focuses on the client telling their personal stories and reauthoring them as a way to control their identities. So Anna and Bonnie got on their little microphones and chatted, including talking about the basics of narrative therapy, how it relates to other therapy modalities and arts, and how it can be applied even outside of counseling. And they all lived happily ever after!

This might be the gals' spookiest episode yet! Anna and Bonnie are talking about exorcisms, the act of banishing a malevolent spirit or influence from the body. They chat about what an exorcism is, some historical and cultural contexts, and how mental or physical illnesses can be mistaken for demonic possession. Then, Bonnie talks about Dr. Richard Gallagher, a psychiatrist who consults on exorcisms, and Anna talks about the case of Anneliese Michel, a German woman whose death after almost 70 exorcisms led to a high profile trial for negligent homicide.

Happy Spooktober, Sipsters! And what better way to kick off than to talk about the downright scary historical practice of lobotomies? Bonnie starts us off with a history of the lobotomy and some of the famous figures who developed the procedure, but she lets Anna get into the gory details of the different types of lobotomies and how they were performed. They also talk about some famous lobotomy cases, like Rosemary Kennedy, sister of John F. Kennedy. Warning, this one gets a little gross! Not barf bag gross, but we're talking about holes in heads, so just be warned.

Multiple personality disorder. Split personalities. Or, as it's known nowadays, dissociative identity disorder. This week, the girls chat about this interesting diagnosis and how the brain tries to protect us from trauma. They also talk about some famous cases of people with multiple personalities, including Chris Sizemore and the Three Faces of Eve; Herschel Walker of Heisman trophy fame; and Kim Noble, the woman with 100 personalities.

This week, Anna and Bonnie try to wrap their brains around the story of Phineas Gage, a construction foreman whose custom tamping rod took a little trip through his frontal lobe. The gals discuss how in the world Phineas was able to survive such a thing, how the accident affected who he was, and how this case has affected what we know about the brain even today. They also try to figure out what exactly made the tamping rod custom. Did he shoot pool with it? Did he use it to fend off wild dogs on his walks home? Only Phineas himself knows (unless the part that held that knowledge got skewered).

The girls are going for gold this week to talk about resilience, especially inspired by the 2020 Olympics and some mental health controversy. Anna uses her vast sports knowledge to talk about Simone Biles, specifically how awesome it is that she can do all those flips while she's got balls of steel, and meanwhile, Bonnie has made good on her promise (threat?) to implement sound effects as she talks about the three types, five pillars, and seven C's of resilience.

“It's all in your head.” “Time heals all wounds.” “Have you tried yoga?” This week, Anna and Bonnie are chatting about some frequently used sayings and platitudes that get thrown around about mental health, and how these can be more hurtful than helpful. To go along with this, they chat about the general power of words and how we talk to ourselves. Also, Bonnie spends a lot of time brainstorming sound effects as part of her master plan to implement foley work into the ‘cast, so stay tuned for that!

Anna and Bonnie are chatting this week about how brains may differ depending on gender — or more accurately, how they don't differ much at all, according to newer research. Naturally, this includes heavy disclaimers for gender binary stuff, and how the history of this research is rooted in some pretty gnarly sexism. They talk about some of the more well-known works on the subject, like the work of Gina Rippon and the many books in the “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” series.

This week, Anna and Bonnie are talking about Robert Hare and the test he made to assess whether someone is a psychopath! They chat about what words like psychopath and sociopath mean, how they relate to antisocial personality disorder, and they even go over Hare's Psychopathy Checklist, which you should NOT do at home, exactly like the girls do in this very episode! Is Anna a psychopath? Listen to find out!

WARNING: There's another echo in this episode, despite Anna’s best efforts! Oh, wait, that's the wrong warning. WARNING: SEX! Because this week, the gals are talking about fetishes, kinks, and paraphilias. Armed with an appropriately themed shot and several lists of kinks, Anna and Bonnie go from mild to wild as they talk about sexy times. This one is obviously more NSFW than usual!

Trying to stay one step ahead of the Podcast Police, Anna and Bonnie are talking this week about hoarding, the disorder that causes people to accumulate things to excess. They chat about how this might look, how closely this is related to anxiety and trauma, the levels of hoarding (WARNING: gross!), and the kind of treatments that could be beneficial. They also try SO hard to be funny, if only to exceed Bonnie’s expectations.

Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. Social media sites are an almost unavoidable part of life, but how do they affect our mental health? Anna and Bonnie dive in and discuss how using social media can actually make us feel less connected to others, and how it can affect how we see ourselves as well. Oh, and remember to like, comment, and subscribe to give us that sweet, sweet dopamine!

Is the news BAD? Well yes, lately, generally, but does it try to be even WORSE? Anna and Bonnie investigate! They follow a hot scoop about negativity bias in news, including unpacking stuff such as emotionally loaded language and even subliminal messaging. They chat about how the presentation of news can really affect your mental health, and even what you can do to watch out for it!

Anna has finally convinced her mother to talk about marijuana in front of microphones! They chat about what marijuana actually is, the history of the plant, its effect on our brains and bodies, and even some fun names for marijuana (AKA ganja AKA grass AKA the devil’s lettuce). And of course, they also talk about the goods and the bads of substance use, including legality issues as well as the effects on a person’s mental health.

After putting the topic off for far too long, Anna and Bonnie are finally talking about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD! They chat about the symptoms, possible causes, and treatments of ADHD, as well as addressing some common misconceptions and how it might look in adults. (Also there are a lot of animals around, so if you hear dog noises, it’s not all in your head.)

Welcome back, Sipsters! After a short hiatus, the girls are back and ready to vibe. They’re starting off with some healthy self-disclosure by talking about their own philosophies of therapy and how they view being counselors. They chat about what it means to be humanistic and existential, what kind of clients they like to work with, and what they find tough and rewarding about the work. They also talk about their favorite therapy metaphors, which are definitely legally trademarked.

For their last episode in 2020, Anna and Bonnie have cobbled together a list of holiday-themed research studies to chat about. Can science tell what the true meaning of Christmas is? What about when we get bad gifts? Do people get mad when you don’t give them chocolate? All these questions and more are discussed in this very merry episode!

Anna and Bonnie finally did it: they made an episode about bipolar disorder. This week, the gals chat about what bipolar disorder actually looks like, including explaining mania and depression and trashing how society has misused the terms. They also talk about the different types of bipolar, possible causes, how it’s treated, and other somewhat fun facts!

This week, Bonnie and Anna are talking about Mary Whiton Calkins, the first female president of the American Psychiatric Association! As always, Anna talks about the history of the person, including Mary’s uphill battle being a woman in the male-dominated psychology field. Then Bonnie chats about some of Mary’s ideas, including the more lofty ideas like the very concept of self, as well as more practical stuff like dreams and memory.

In their second Spooktober episode, the girls are talking about… death! Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as it sounds. Bonnie gives an overview of various rituals around death, including how other cultures bury their dead, and then Anna gives a look into the origins of Halloween and compares that to a more specifically death-related holiday, the Mexican Dia de Muertos or Day of the Dead

Happy Spooktober, Sipsters! This week, Bonnie is telling us the story of the Salem witch trials, including how it all went down and who all the major payers were. Then Anna comes in to talk about some of the possible theories about what could have caused it all, including more psychological things like trauma or hysteria, as well as more medical explanations like diseases or fungus!

Expansion Pack Volume One! After mentioning these concepts in other episodes, Bonnie and Anna are explaining more details about defense mechanisms and cognitive distortions. Bonnie tells us about defense mechanisms, which originated in Freudian theory, and Anna, who is VERY tired, tells us about cognitive distortions, which are part of CBT. Also, they have family visiting, so there may be some guest background noises!

This week, Anna and Bonnie chat about memory, specifically how it works and how it can sometimes fail. They talk about some good brain stuff, explain short and long term memory, warn about common memory errors, and even chat about what we can do to keep our memories sharp! They also talk about weird things like kuru and ganglions, because it’s their podcast and they can talk about whatever they want.

This one is long overdue: Anna and Bonnie are finally talking about cognitive behavioral therapy, commonly known as CBT! They talk about important CBT concepts like cognitive distortions, faulty assumptions, and core beliefs. They also chat about the history of this particular therapy, as well as what it might look like if your therapist is using CBT techniques, of which there are many!

What do triangles, squiggles, and numerals one through nine have in common? They can all help you understand your personality better! This week, the gals are chatting about some personality tests. Bonnie talks about the psycho geometry test, where choosing a shape helps you know who you are, and Anna talks about the enneagram, a test that started in mysticism and now has SO many complexities. Be sure to take the tests for yourself before listening if you want to be unbiased in your results! THEN come back and listen to us!

Anna and Bonnie are FINALLY talking about Anna Freud, daughter of Sigmund! The gals discuss Anna Freud’s history and childhood growing up with Sigmund as a father, especially how Anna was psychoanalyzed as a child and how growing up in this way may have affected Anna’s sexuality. They also chat about her own contributions to psychology, including her work with ego defense mechanisms and her focus on child psychology.

This week, the gals are finally going to tackle talking about autism spectrum disorder. Despite the name of the disorder, though, is it more of a sundae bar situation? Anna and Bonnie will explore this, as well as going over the possible causes, treatments, and history of the disorder. They’re also doing shots, so words are hard and Anna gets on her soapbox about stuff (exhibit A: VACCINES DON’T CAUSE AUTISM).

This episode has dogs! Specifically, therapy dogs and service dogs, so they’re on the job, so you can’t pet the dogs. Sorry for the clickbait. But really, Anna and Bonnie are talking about the positive effects animals can have on our mental health, and how this has made service animals much more common. Anna also talks about how to get an emotional support animal if you feel like it would be beneficial!

Since they are two Americans recording on the Fourth of July, Anna and Bonnie spend an episode talking about famous presidents with (alleged) mental illnesses. Including a disclaimer that these are NOT confirmed diagnosis but instead educated speculation, the gals chat about how mental health shaped several presidents’ lives and careers, such as Abraham Lincoln battling depression, Lyndon B. Johnson possibly having bipolar disorder, and several other figures that may have struggled during their terms. God bless (or just help) America!

This week, Anna and Bonnie are chatting about self-esteem, a frequent battleground in most people’s brains. They discuss the sources of how we see ourselves, what some famous psychologists have to say about the subject, how to work on negative self-esteem, and some other topics. So grab a drink, settle in to listen, and most importantly, remember that your girls believe in you!

This week, we finally add technical difficulties to our podcast résumé. It's been 65 episodes, so I guess it's about time. But while struggling with audio, the girls are also talking about Carl Rogers, the creator of person-centered therapy, a part of humanistic psychology. They chat about his history and life and how this affected his basis of counseling, which includes being genuine, empathetic, and congruent. What should you look for in a therapist? Is the "good life" a state of being or a journey? Do Anna and Bonnie try to summon Carl with a ouija board? Tune in to find out!

At the request of a Sipster (@CoiesQuestions on Twitter), the gals are chatting about what it’s like to love someone with a mental illness, especially depression. This includes ways to better support a struggling loved one, as well as how to stay supported if you are a caregiver. Special guest stars include SO MANY ANIMALS that kept making noises Anna couldn’t edit out, sorry about that.

Following an episode on bad self-esteem, the girls tackle the opposite: narcissism. Specifically, they talk about narcissistic personality disorder and how that can look in real life, especially in relationships, as well as what treatments might help someone with a narcissistic personality. This one gets into some heavy stuff, like gaslighting and some mentions of a certain orange president, so be warned!

You know those inkblot tests that psychiatrists in movies use to let you know they’re a psychiatrist? That’s a real thing! Inkblot tests were created by Hermann Rorschach (which is why they are also known as Rorschach tests), and this week, the gals are talking all about it. As usual, Anna gives the history of Hermann’s life, and Bonnie talks about the test itself. How many sex organs will the girls see in shapeless ink forms? Tune in to find out!

This week, Anna and Bonnie are talking about feral kids, or children raised in such isolation as to be animalistic. Specifically, Bonnie talks about the case of Genie Wiley, who was kept in neglect and isolation for thirteen years. They also chat about some fictional tales of feral kids, like Mowgli from The Jungle Book, as well as some other historical cases of children raised by various animals!