Dr. Ethan Kross: How to Control Your Inner Voice & Increase Your Resilience

In this episode, my guest is Dr. Ethan Kross, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, director of the Emotion & Self-Control Laboratory, and author of the bestselling book Chatter. We discuss the purpose of the inner voice in your head and its impact on emotional well-being and motivation.

We also explore practical tools to manage negative internal chatter and eliminate intrusive thoughts. Topics include how music, exercise, mental distancing techniques, and expressive writing can help rescript your inner dialogue to be self-encouraging and effective in creating outward behavioral changes. Dr. Kross explains why venting to others is self-defeating and offers better alternatives. Throughout the episode, he provides research-supported, actionable protocols to help you shift your internal dialogue and accompanying emotional state, fostering greater happiness and resilience.

Articles

• Emotion Modulation through Music after Sadness Induction—The Iso Principle in a Controlled Experimental Study (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health)
• Visible and Invisible Social Support: How, Why, and When (Current Directions in Psychological Science)
• Confronting a traumatic event: Toward an understanding of inhibition and disease. (Journal of Abnormal Psychology)
• Prospective associations of co-rumination with friendship and emotional adjustment: Considering the socioemotional trade-offs of co-rumination. (Developmental Psychology)
• Putting Feelings Into Words (Psychological Science)
• Harnessing Placebo Effects to Regulate Emotions (Handbook of Emotion Regulation)
• The Cognitive Benefits of Interacting With Nature (Psychological Science)
• From the Laboratory to Daily Life: Preliminary Evidence That Self-Distancing Training Buffers Vulnerable Individuals Against Daily Rumination and Depression Over Time (Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice)
• A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind (Science)

Books

• Opening Up by Writing It Down: How Expressive Writing Improves Health and Eases Emotional Pain

Other Resources

• Therapeutic Journaling (UW Integrative Health)
• Therapeutic Journaling (VA Office of Patient Centered Care)
• Free Solo (documentary)

Huberman Lab Episodes Mentioned

• A Science-Supported Journaling Protocol to Improve Mental & Physical Health
• Dr. Karl Deisseroth: Understanding & Healing the Mind
• David Goggins: How to Build Immense Inner Strength

People Mentioned

• James Pennebaker: Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin
• J. Anthony Movshon: Professor of Neural Science and Psychology; New York University
• Bernard Rimé: Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Université Catholique de Louvain
• Lev Vygotsky: Russian psychologist
• Egas Moniz: Nobel Prize in Medicine for lobotomy
• Wendy Suzuki: Professor of Neural Science and Psychology, New York University
• Alex Honnold: American rock climber