Move Your Mind with Nick Bracks

Why do you feel anxious when nothing is actually wrong?

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Randolph Nesse, a pioneering psychiatrist and one of the founders of evolutionary medicine, to understand why our brains create so much anxiety, even when we’re perfectly safe.We talk about why people who can’t feel pain often die young, why anxiety works like a smoke detector that goes off when you burn the toast, and why fighting a panic attack can actually make it worse.

We also get into the snake he borrowed from...

What if the anger you feel isn’t really anger at all?

In this episode I sit down with Bryan Blakeny, a therapist and certified Anger Resolution Therapist, to explore why so many men lose it over things that don’t really matter.

We talk about the four hidden fuels behind anger, why feeling powerless so often comes out as rage, how anger gives you a false sense of control when you feel like you have none, and why the standards you keep failing to live up to were often never yours in the...

What happens when the person who treats you well feels boring, and the one who keeps you guessing feels like love?

In this episode I sit down with Sabrina Zohar, the dating and relationship coach and author of Why Am I Like This?, to explore why so many of us keep choosing the wrong person.

We talk about why your brain is built to keep you safe rather than help you grow, how repetition compulsion pulls you toward partners who feel like home even when home wasn't safe, why being liked without having...

What happens when young men are so desperate to prove they're real men that they'll follow anyone who promises to show them how?

In this episode I sit down with Michael Kimmel, the sociologist and author of Guyland who has spent decades studying how boys become men, to explore why young men fall for figures like Andrew Tate.

We talk about why the pressure on young men hasn't changed since he wrote Guyland but the noise around it has exploded, what West Point cadets told him about the difference between a good man...

What happens when the trauma you survived as a kid splits you into parts you don't even know are there?

In this episode I sit down with AnnaLynne McCord, the 90210 star who went public about her assault years before Me Too and later revealed her dissociative identity disorder diagnosis, to explore why childhood trauma fractures your identity.We talk about why she was first diagnosed as bipolar, how her DID diagnosis cracked open memories she'd buried, what it was like to have co-consciousness with different parts of herself, and how she went from 90% dysregulation to 90% peace.<...

What happens when you already know there's no winning, and you keep going anyway?

In this episode I sit down with Jonathan Todd Schwartz, a former Hollywood business manager who embezzled millions from a handful of clients, including Alanis Morissette, and is now an addiction therapist, to explore why we keep doing the very things that are destroying us.We talk about how six years of betting on sports every day turned into a hole he kept digging deeper, why he bet on every game on the board even though it was almost impossible to win...

We're told the answer to hard feelings is to talk them out.

But what if the thing you're talking to isn't actually listening at all?

In this episode I sit down with David Dean, an enterprise AI strategist with 20 years of transformation experience and author of An Inbox Between Us, to explore what happens when we start turning to AI for emotional support, and where the line sits between using it as a tool and giving it too much authority over our lives.

We talk about why turning to AI...

We're told that if we want to change who we are, we just need to change our habits, our environment and the way we think.

But what if parts of who you are were there long before you ever had a choice?

In this episode I sit down with Dr. Nancy Segal, a leading twin researcher, psychologist, author and founder of the Twin Studies Center at California State University, Fullerton, to explore what decades of twin research can teach us about who we really are, and how much of ourselves we can actually...

Most men don't think they have a porn problem. They think they just have a habit. Something they do late at night, alone, that nobody needs to know about.

But according to today's guest, that habit isn't really about sex. It's about something much harder to face.

In this episode I sit down with Jeremy Lipkowitz, a former Buddhist monk, scientist and founder of Unhooked Academy, to talk about what's really driving compulsive porn use in men and why willpower alone will never fix it.

We talk about why most...

There’s no perfect timeline for figuring out your life. But when everyone around you seems to be moving forward, it can be difficult to believe you’re not falling behind.

In this episode I sit down with film producer Jeremy Walton to explore why there is no normal path through life, and why starting a new chapter later than expected doesn’t mean you’ve taken the wrong one.

Jeremy came to filmmaking after a career in law, finance and venture capital. Rather than regretting the years he spent elsewhere, he believes those ex...

Your mind is designed to keep you safe. But what happens when it starts protecting you from threats that aren't actually there?

In this episode I sit down with Dr. Sue Morter to explore why we can stay trapped in survival mode long after the danger has passed, and how fear can quietly shape the decisions we make, the risks we avoid, and the lives we end up living.

Sue describes the way the mind creates worst-case scenarios as essentially "creating bears" that aren't even real. And yet our instinct is usually to...

Our attention span has collapsed from around two and a half minutes on a screen to just 47 seconds. And according to psychologist and attention researcher Dr. Gloria Mark, the problem is much bigger than simply spending too much time on our phones.

In this episode I sit down with Gloria to explore what we're actually avoiding every time we reach for a screen, why boredom has almost disappeared from our lives, and what constant switching is doing to our ability to think, focus and connect with other people.

We talk about the research...

He lost nearly 100 friends on September 11th.

Twenty-five years later, he says he has a wonderful life.

In this episode, I sit down with retired FDNY firefighter and 9/11 survivor Tim Brown, who was inside the World Trade Center on the morning of the attacks and came within seconds of dying when the South Tower collapsed.

We talk about the final conversations he had with the friends he never saw again, the prayer he whispered while holding onto a steel column as the building came down around him, and the grief...

She was born three generations into one of the most extreme cults in American history - where child abuse was doctrine and children were the product. She escaped at 15 with nothing.

In this episode I sit down with Daniella Mestyanek Young, who went from a childhood in the Children of God cult to graduating valedictorian, becoming a U.S. Army intelligence officer stationed in Afghanistan, and still, through all of it, convinced she was fine.

She wasn't. And the way she found that out is one of the most honest things I've heard...

Most of us walk past someone sleeping on the street and tell ourselves a story about how they got there.

In this episode I sit down with Mark Horvath, founder of Invisible People, and he challenges pretty much everything I thought I knew.

We talk about why most homeless people are actually sober, why affordable housing is the real issue and not personal failure, how politicians are using homeless people to score points, and why the most expensive thing we can do is leave people on the streets.

But we...

Most of us assume the person with the credentials knows us better than we know ourselves.

In this episode, I sit down with lawyer-turned-therapist and author Mark A. Michaels to explore why that assumption might be therapy's biggest blind spot.

We talk about the authority of the therapist versus the authority of lived experience, the myth of Freud's Oedipus complex and what the story is actually about, growing up with a family secret that took thirty years to uncover, the right to your own therapy transcripts, attachment theory, and the dangers of letting...

Many of us have been taught that being mentally strong means pushing through, hiding our emotions, and pretending we're okay.

In this episode, I sit down with psychotherapist and bestselling author Amy Morin to explore the difference between mental toughness and mental strength.

We talk about anxiety, grief, emotional suppression, avoidance, self-awareness, uncertainty, vulnerability, resilience, unhealthy coping strategies, and why acknowledging what you're feeling is often the strongest thing you can do.

This isn't just a conversation about mental health. It's about challenging the belief that strength means suffering in...

When you're feeling intense emotions, your mind can start convincing you of things that aren't true.

In this episode, I sit down with Spencer Greenberg, a mathematician and psychology researcher, to explore why our brains distort reality, why painful thoughts can feel so convincing, and how to stop believing every story your mind tells you.

We talk about anxiety, depression, negative thought loops, intrinsic values, social comparison, critical thinking, conspiracy thinking, community, and why the stories we tell ourselves can either keep us stuck or help us move forward.

Spencer...

At 19 years old, Coss Marte was making millions of dollars a year running one of New York City's largest drug operations.

A few years later, he was facing life in prison.

Most people would assume that was the end of the story. It wasn't.

In this episode, I sit down with Coss Marte, a former drug kingpin who transformed his life after incarceration and went on to build ConBody, a fitness company that has helped thousands of people transform their lives.

We talk about...

Most of us have been through difficult experiences. We’ve been hurt, let down, rejected, traumatised, or faced challenges we never asked for. The question is: what happens next?

In this episode, I sit down with Chris Moon, a former military officer, landmine survivor, former Khmer Rouge prisoner, and the world’s first amputee ultra-distance runner. Chris has survived experiences most of us can’t even imagine, but what stood out to me most wasn’t what happened to him.

It was how he chose to think about it.

We talk abo...

Most people think getting healthy requires extreme discipline, perfect routines, and complicated fitness advice.

In this episode, I speak with Gary Vee's long-time coach Jordan Syatt about the biggest lies we've been sold about health and fitness, and why the simple things often matter most.

We talk about walking, longevity, fitness myths, dieting, body image, perfectionism, food addiction, biohacking, health trackers, and why so many people struggle to stay consistent.

Jordan also shares his own experience with eating disorders, the lessons he learned from coaching thousands of clients, and why...

This conversation starts with a confronting question: are men actually built to be faithful?

In this episode, I speak with Yale psychologist Dr. Bill von Hippel about the biology behind male variety-seeking, modern dating, commitment, dopamine, and why chasing more options often leaves people feeling more disconnected.

We talk about serial monogamy, dating apps, social comparison, success, loneliness, and why the things we think will make us happy often don’t.

What I loved about this conversation is that it doesn’t excuse behaviour, it explains the deeper forces underneath it...

Why does porn keep escalating?

In this episode, I speak with porn recovery coach Noah Church about why people seek more and more extreme porn, and how it can affect the brain, relationships, and real intimacy.

We explore how porn can become a way to escape stress, anxiety, loneliness, shame, and emotional pain. We also talk about desensitisation, porn-induced erectile dysfunction, relapse, fantasy, intimacy, and why so many men struggle to connect in real life after years of using screens to cope.

At the heart of the conversation is the...

What is rumination really costing you?

In this episode, I speak with Donna Jackson Nakazawa, an award-winning science journalist and Oprah-picked author of Mind Drama.

We explore why getting stuck in your head can quietly steal years of your life, and why rumination is not just overthinking... it is a survival response that can keep you trapped in old stories, shame, guilt, and self-criticism.

We also look at the hidden cost of living in your head: losing focus, presence, relationships, and time you can never get back.

...

A lot of us don’t just feel anxious...we get anxious about being anxious.

In this episode, I speak with Donald J. Robertson, a psychotherapist and one of the world’s leading voices on Stoicism.

We talk about why trying to get rid of anxiety can keep it alive, why overthinking often feels useful when it’s really another form of avoidance, and how facing what we fear can help us move forward. We also get into self-criticism, comparison, external validation, and why so many people chase success without ever questioning if it’s t...

Why do so many men feel lost today?

In this episode, I speak with Zach Watson, a viral creator and mental load coach helping men take emotional ownership in their relationships and lives.

We explore why so many men are struggling with loneliness, emotional numbness, rejection, porn, the internet, and the pressure to pretend they’re fine.

We also talk about why boys are often taught to hide what they feel, how that shapes men later in life, and why emotional regulation may be one of the biggest missing skills fo...

Why can success still leave you feeling empty?

In this episode, I speak with James Ostroburski OAM, a banking executive, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and mental health advocate.

James built and led a lending business that deployed over $2 billion, while privately navigating depression, burnout, ADHD, and the pressure of always needing to achieve more.

We talk about ambition, identity, childhood pressure, mental health, and what happens when everything looks successful from the outside but something feels wrong underneath.

This episode will change how you think about success, pressure, and...

Why is it so hard to stop comparing yourself to others?

In this episode, I speak with Jemma Sbeg, host of The Psychology of Your 20s, a #1 global podcast with over 50 million listens, now streaming on Netflix.

We explore why comparison has become so unavoidable, and how it can leave you feeling behind, stuck, and disconnected from your own life.

This episode will change how you think about comparison and help you stop chasing someone else’s version of success.

Jemma Sbeg is a mental health advocate an...

Why does modern life leave so many people feeling empty?

In this episode, I speak with Mike Glover, a former Green Beret and CIA contractor.

We explore why comfort, instant gratification, and modern convenience may be making people feel more lost, disconnected, and unfulfilled.

We talk about purpose, discipline, self-reliance, and why many people don’t change until they’re faced with crisis, regret, or mortality.

This episode will challenge the way you think about comfort and what it takes to build a meaningful life.

Mi...

What would you do if you were told you might never walk again?

In this episode, I speak with Jason Cooper, a former high school athlete chasing his dream of playing college football...until a car crash in 2019 left him paralyzed from the neck down. We explore what goes through your mind when everything changes overnight - your identity, your future, and the life you thought you were meant to live.

Jason shares the moment he hit rock bottom in a hospital room, the decision that changed everything, and how he began rebuilding his...

Why do you keep choosing the wrong people?

In this episode, I speak with Jessica Baum, a psychotherapist, relationship coach, and author of Anxiously Attached.

We explore why you keep choosing the wrong people and what that reveals about your deeper relationship patterns.

We unpack how early experiences shape who you’re drawn to, why unhealthy relationships feel familiar, and why you keep repeating the same patterns, even when you want something different.

This episode will change how you understand attraction, intimacy, and the patterns that keep yo...

Why are so many men struggling in silence?

In this episode, I speak with George from The Tin Men, a writer and advocate focused on the hidden realities of men’s mental health.

We discuss why suicide is the biggest risk to men under 50, what society keeps getting wrong about men’s struggles, and why “just talking about it” isn’t enough.

We explore the structural issues that can leave men feeling trapped, unheard, and hopeless - from relationship breakdown and abuse to shame, purpose, and the lack of support.

G...

Why do people stay in abusive relationships?

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Peter Salerno, a psychologist and expert in trauma and abusive relationships.

We explore what happens psychologically when someone is being abused - from the early signs to the long-term effects on the mind and nervous system.

We talk about cognitive dissonance, manipulation tactics like gaslighting and love bombing, and why people can feel trapped even when they know something is wrong.

This episode will change how you understand abusive relationships and the people...

What does it mean when you feel lost in life?

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Adam Formal, a clinical psychologist who works with elite athletes and people dealing with burnout and addiction.

We explore why so many people feel lost and how small daily decisions can slowly pull you away from who you really are.

This episode will explain why you can feel lost in life and how to start changing it.

Dr. Adam Formal is a clinical psychologist based in NYC.

...

How do you know when you’re abandoning yourself? And why do so many of us stay in situations that slowly erode our sense of self?

In this episode, I’m joined by Sandra Silverman, an author who shares her journey of rebuilding her life after leaving a 27-year toxic relationship.

We talk about the cycle of toxic relationships, including gaslighting, love bombing, and self-blame, the role of past trauma in shaping our relationship patterns, and why learning to feel safe within yourself is essential before you can feel safe with someone else.

Why do we feel shame? Why does guilt hit so deeply? And why do some people seem to carry these emotions far more intensely than others?

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Debra Lieberman — evolutionary psychologist, professor at the University of Miami, and Editor-in-Chief of Evolution and Human Behavior — to explore why humans evolved to feel shame and guilt, and what these emotions are actually trying to do.

We talk about the evolutionary purpose of shame, the difference between shame and guilt, why high-functioning people can be especially prone to self-criticism, how so...

Comparison can quietly destroy your life.

Most of us default to upward comparison… we fixate on what everyone else has that we don’t. And we rarely do the opposite - noticing what we’ve built, what we’ve survived, and what other people would trade places with us for in a second.

That’s why you can feel behind even when you’re not. You end up measuring your life with a broken ruler...curated highlights, imaginary timelines, and a brain that’s wired to obsess over what’s missing. Comparison keeps you stuck.

Do you say yes when you want to say no, then wonder why you feel exhausted?

In this episode I talk with Dr. Alana Greco about why people-pleasing forms, how it quietly erodes self-worth, and how to stop the cycle.

We trace the pattern back to childhood survival, discuss the four types of boundaries most people miss, and walk through the self-compassion shift that helps change behaviour.

This episode will change your life by changing how you deal with people pleasing.

Dr. Alana Greco is a clinical psychologist...

If you’ve been trying to outthink your anxiety - replaying the same thoughts, searching for the perfect solution, telling yourself “once I figure this out, I’ll be fine” - this episode will land.

Because anxiety doesn’t just live in your mind. It lives in your body. And when you try to solve a body experience with logic, you often end up feeding the spiral instead of calming it.

I’m joined by Dr Jenn Rapkin (naturopathic doctor + somatic practitioner) to unpack the difference between sitting with the story (rumination, what-ifs, worst-case s...

If you’re exhausted from replaying conversations, second-guessing your choices, and filtering your personality through “what will they think?” - this episode will help.

I’m joined by Jordanna Bornensztajn (comedian, communication expert, keynote speaker) to unpack the real reason so many high-functioning people feel stuck: fear of judgment.

We talk about why judgment is the #1 fear she sees in workshops, why most of the “pressure” you feel is actually self-generated, and the mindset shift that instantly loosens its grip: stop making it about you. We also get into how confidence is built through mess...