Bob Thurman Podcast: Buddhas Have More Fun! · Robert A.F. Thurman

A Tibet House US | Menla Conversation with David H. Rosmarin – Ep. 331

November 8, 2023·53 min·3 clips

Psychiatrist David Rosmarin argues you might be too stressed and not anxious enough to thrive.

It begins before it begins. Thurman is still getting his bearings with the galley, apologizing for not reading all of it, and working through the book's distinction between stress and anxiety. That loose start gives the episode its shape. Once the recording settles, he welcomes David Rosmarin as a psychiatrist whose work has grown into anxiety clinics in Boston and New York. The conversation keeps opening up. Thurman brings in Lisa Miller, Columbia, spirituality, and the public mood around stress, panic, confusion, and meaninglessness. He sounds worried in a real way. Rosmarin meets that concern by describing anxiety as a signal, a bodily request to recalibrate rather than a malfunction to shut down. The book is still new. Rosmarin says it came out only a couple of weeks earlier, so its nine tools still need time with readers and colleagues. The clinical frame stays warm. When anxiety comes from stress, he points toward restoring resources through sleep, exercise, nature, spiritual practice, and whatever nourishes body and soul. Then he adds the harder part. People also have to lower demands, because inner work cannot make up for endless commitments and depleted capacity. Thurman likes that and keeps pressing gently. He treats the project as more than academic production, calling it a mission because the crisis around them is social, spiritual, and public. Rosmarin accepts the bridge. He describes being at a forward-thinking institution while knowing that not every academic culture values this kind of work. The tone stays spacious. Instead of turning anxiety into a quick self-help formula, the exchange lets clinical language, Buddhist concern, and ordinary strain sit together. The ending is simple and warm. Thurman offers a small prayer for Rosmarin's work, and the gratitude feels like part of the episode's case for care.

As heard by us

A thoughtful look at stress, anxiety, and the habits that can steady both.

Bob Thurman's conversation with psychiatrist David Rosmarin draws a clean line between stress and anxiety, with the stronger point being that stress can be a signal to slow down and rebalance before it turns into something more fixed.

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Why you'd press play

You want a conversation about anxiety that ties stress, spirituality, and everyday recalibration.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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