How Early Childhood Attachment Sets Your Relationship Patterns – Daniel P. Brown, Ph.D., with Dave Asprey – #718

In this episode of Bulletproof Radio, my guest’s expertise ranges from trauma, attachment theory and hypnosis to ancient traditions of meditation. In fact, he’s a Buddhist Meditation Master. This is the first of a two-part series you don’t want to miss.

Dan Brown, Ph.D., is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology at Harvard University Medical School. He also teaches hypnotherapy. He’s been on the faculty for nearly 40 years.

We explore how early childhood attachment can define your relationships positively or negatively. As the world-leading expert on attachment theory, Dr. Brown shares share his research findings and give you options.

“There are two relational maps,” says Dr. Brown. “The first one forms about 12 to 20 months. That’s the attachment map. The second one forms about the third and fourth year of life. That’s called CCRT or Core Conflict Relationship Theme map. The difference between those two maps is the second map is much more complicated, and it’s much more accessible to memory. The difference, put simply, is that there’s a difference between whether you have trouble with relationships or within relationships.”

Dr. Brown also expanded his work to study the Buddhist approach.

“In the West we study psychopathology and psychiatric conditions,” he says. “In Buddhism, they studied positive states, so that’s the other half of the map. Once you’ve worked through the negative stuff, all that leaves you with is a basic everyday unhappiness. If you work on developing the mind in the positive sense, you will be onto happiness and contentment in life, into awakening.”

I asked Dr. Brown how people could fix the broken stuff if they had early childhood trauma and were struggling in their adult relationships. He offers hope, treatments and says no one is left behind if they need help.

The other really cool thing we get into is hypnosis, which is actually just a “talent for heightened attentiveness.” Dr. Brown worked for over 100 hours with Sirhan Sirhan, the man accused of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy. You didn’t see that coming, did you? Listen on to learn what he found out!

Here’s the second episode of this two-part series: HOW YOUR ATTACHMENT TYPE DEFINES YOUR SENSE OF SELF – DANIEL P. BROWN, PH.D., WITH DAVE ASPREY – #719

Enjoy the show! And get more resources at Dave.Asprey/podcasts.