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Back to EpisodesYou Won't Take Care of Your Body Until You Believe You Are Worth It" | Dr. Arnold Gilberg | #158
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At 89 years old, Dr. Arnold Gilberg still feels 40. That is not a metaphor, it is a philosophy. I sat down with this Beverly Hills psychiatrist, ordained rabbi, and author of The Myth of Aging, trained by one of Sigmund Freud's own colleagues, to talk about the one enemy more dangerous than getting older: disengagement.
What we explore:
- How disengagement, not aging itself, is the true driver of physical and mental decline.
- Why curiosity is the master key to staying mentally alive as you grow older.
- How self-forgiveness unlocks behavioral change that willpower alone never can.
- Why psychiatry's drift toward medication alone is leaving patients behind.
- Why gratitude, practiced daily, is one of the most powerful tools for vitality.
- How giving yourself grace, not perfection, finally allows people to act on what they know.
- What happiness really looks like across a lifetime, and why expecting constant joy backfires.
- Why vulnerability between doctor and patient, not clinical distance, is what heals. About Dr. Arnold Gilberg: Arnold L. Gilberg, MD, PhD, received his bachelor's degree in political science and Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Illinois. He interned at the Los Angeles General Medical Center. He is the last person alive trained by Franz Alexander, MD, a distinguished colleague of Sigmund Freud. His psychiatric training took place at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was chief psychiatric resident. He also has a doctorate in psychoanalysis from the Southern California Psychoanalytic Institute.
Dr. Gilberg is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, the former Clinical Chief of Psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and an associate clinical professor at UCLA School of Medicine (honorary). He served for ten years under three different governors on the Medical Board of California for LA County, and has treated thousands of patients in his Los Angeles-based practice. π Get Dr. Arnold Gilberg's Book: The Myth of Aging: A Prescription for Emotional and Physical Well-Being https://a.co/d/06sz328q
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:46 Disengagement: The Real Enemy of Aging
05:00 Curiosity as the Key to Staying Mentally Alive
10:30 Inside The Myth of Aging
13:00 Vulnerability in the Doctor-Patient Relationship
18:00 The Gap Between Knowing and Doing
24:00 Grace, Perfectionism, and What My Teenager Taught Me
31:00 His Fitness Journey: Starting at 30, Still Going at 89
36:00 Happiness Is a Rollercoaster, Not a Destination
43:00 Authenticity Over Performance: The Real Work of Aging Well Start your Unbreakable journey
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