Jim Rohn once said, “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.”
If I could amend that quote, I would add that you should not only take care of your body but also your brain. At the end of the day, your brain and your mental health matter just as much as your physical health — if not more.
My guest is Dr. Peter Attia, and this conversation will blow you away. Dr. Peter focuses on the applied science of longevity, the extension of human life, and overall wellbeing of your lifespan
We covered so much ground over our conversation that we’re bringing it to you in two parts. If you haven’t had a chance to hear the beginning of our chat, listen to Part One — we talked about how mental health affects longevity, daily practices you can do to live a longer and healthier life, and all the details on Type 2 diabetes.
In this second part of the interview, we dove deep on the causes of stress and how to become happier, the main cause of mental health issues, and how to heal from trauma. The key is developing our emotional resistance, which is the secret to being happier and living better. We also talked about the importance of therapy and the main things to do to live a healthier life — including the foods Dr. Peter does and doesn’t recommend to improve the quality of your life.
This episode is full of so many essential tips to increase your mental health and emotional resistance, so let’s dive in!
Who Is Dr. Peter Attia?
Dr. Peter Attia is a physician focusing on the applied science of longevity. His practice deals extensively with nutritional interventions, exercise physiology, sleep physiology, emotional and mental health, and pharmacology to increase lifespan (delay the onset of chronic disease) while simultaneously improving healthspan (quality of life).
In addition to training at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Dr. Peter also spent two years at the National Institutes of Health as a surgical oncology fellow at the National Cancer Institute, where his research focused on immune-based therapies for melanoma. He has since been mentored by some of the most experienced and innovative lipidologists, endocrinologists, gynecologists, sleep physiologists, and longevity scientists in the United States and Canada.
Dr. Peter earned his M.D. from Stanford University and holds a B.Sc. in mechanical engineering and applied mathematics. He also receives speaking honorariums from organizations, including hospitals and health-related businesses, when he is asked to speak on longevity, metabolic-related topics, athletic performance, and his personal experience working in medicine.
In addition to being an accomplished physician, Dr. Peter is also a successful businessman. He is the Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of the fasting app Zero. Additionally, Dr. Peter is an advisor to and/or investor in the following companies: Virta Health, Hu Kitchen, Oura Health Oy, Magic Spoon Cereal, Inevitable Ventures, Salutoceuticals, Dexcom, and Supercast.
Dr. Peter has an impressive career, but he’s an even more impressive person in real life! I’m so grateful to him for taking the time to join me here on The School of Greatness!
Living Longer and Living Better
Dr. Peter and I covered a lot of ground in our first episode related to longevity — especially related to serious health conditions like diabetes. But, at the root of longevity is inner peace, inner happiness, and peace of mind. These are big components of a healthy life span. And without that emotional peace, there can be, as Dr. Peter says, “No greater torture than living longer.”
“Once you cease to [relate to others], I think you’re on that path to a very slow death. When you isolate yourself more and you don’t cultivate strong relationships, … you suffer more. What does [trying to live longer] matter [without healthy relationships]? Even if you don’t [die] sooner, you might as well because you’re suffering.” – Dr. Peter Attia
He’s right — you could be the healthiest 100-year old on the planet, but it’s worth nothing if you don’t have joy, great relationships, and inner peace. Taking care of your emotional health is just as important as eating right and getting exercise. And, if you’re not sure where to start, Dr. Peter has some ideas of where to begin. He should know — Dr. Peter took a good hard look at some of his negative patterns and, through therapy, has since learned how to reverse those negative behaviors.
“The first step is mindfulness. Meditation obviously is a very important exercise that we can do to learn how to stop and identify [our emotions]. If you look at me today, versus me three years ago when I literally was on the verge of killing somebody in a parking lot, a big difference is now if something upsets me, I now have the gap between stimulus and response to examine the emotion and say, ‘Oh, you know, that email really upset me because the person implied something that is threatening to my credibility.’” – Dr. Peter Attia
Meditation and mindfulness exercises can help you tap into your inner calm when something is triggering you. In that moment, you can interrupt any negative patterns you may have developed over time.
Dr. Peter also spends a lot of time on what he referred to as emotional “homework.” He’ll sit and reflect back on the different emotions that came up during the week. Dr. Peter asks himself, “When this happened, how did you feel? What was that emotion signaling to you?” It’s all part of checking in and being in touch with his feelings, rather than disassociating and suffering. If meditation isn’t something that’s worked for you in the past, I highly recommend this alternative way to practice mindfulness and start to get in touch with your emotional side.
