Beliefs Behind Your Stress: Dr. Walter Matweychuk on REBT and the 'Musts' That Wreck Your Mood
Bounce! Conversations with Larry Weeks
Release Date: 02/02/2026
Beliefs Behind Your Stress: Dr. Walter Matweychuk on REBT and the 'Musts' That Wreck Your Mood
Bounce! Conversations with Larry Weeks
My guest on this podcast asserts that a huge chunk of our psychological stress isn’t caused by what’s happening but by the demands one quietly places on reality. In this episode, Dr. Walter Matweychuk teaches me about Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), which focuses on identifying and disputing irrational, self-defeating beliefs to reduce emotional distress and change negative behaviors. Walter makes the case that REBT is not just a therapeutic modality but a philosophy for living based on emotional responsibility, resilience, and a way to stop rating yourself as “good” or...
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Stopping the Clock: Steve Taylor on the Psychology and Physics of Time Expansion
Bounce! Conversations with Larry Weeks
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Bounce! Conversations with Larry Weeks
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Bounce! Conversations with Larry Weeks
In a world increasingly dominated by AI and computational thinking, we've been taught that logic is the ultimate form of intelligence. But what if an over-reliance on pure reason is making us more fragile and less equipped to navigate uncertainty? Angus Fletcher is a professor at Ohio State's Project Narrative and the author of the best-selling book, Primal Intelligence. Angus's has had an extraordinary career path to say the least, from building mutant neurons in neuroscience labs to studying Shakespeare at Yale, and being recruited by US Army Special Operations to train their elite...
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Bounce! Conversations with Larry Weeks
In this episode, I’m digging into the messy reality of business turnarounds, the kind where survival isn’t guaranteed and leadership is more about doing the hard, boring things than dazzling with big ideas. My guest is Tony Stubblebine, CEO of Medium, whose recent post “Fell Into a Hole and Got Out” made the rounds for being one of the most honest and actionable stories about company rescue I’ve ever read. Tony’s background runs deep: founder of Coach.me, architect of the Better Humans publication. This is what it’s really like to take over a company bleeding millions, shrinking...
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Bounce! Conversations with Larry Weeks
There’s something strangely reassuring about knowing people were wrestling with the similar issues we struggle with over 2,000 years ago — even if they wore togas and wrote with a chisel. Donald Robertson is a cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist, acclaimed author of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor, and one of the world’s leading voices on Stoicism. He’s also the founder of the Plato’s Academy Centre in Athens, and a founding member of the Modern Stoicism nonprofit. On this pod, we talk about the wisdom literature and how it can help with emotional distress;...
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Bounce! Conversations with Larry Weeks
People think happiness comes from getting everything you want. But the science shows, it’s the absence, the novelty, and the change that bring joy back - Tali Sharot Ever wonder why lasting happiness can feel so elusive? This episode delves into the neuroscience of habituation, and why our brains, despite achieving desires, tend to filter out positive experiences. We'll explore this phenomenon and uncover practical strategies to consciously re-engage with what’s already good in your life. My guest is Dr. Tali Sharot, a cognitive neuroscientist and professor at University College...
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Bounce! Conversations with Larry Weeks
Does the richness of your world expand or shrink in direct proportion to how much of your life is digitally mediated? My guest argues that by defaulting to digital mediation—where technology filters and facilitates our interactions—we are trading away the richness of real, embodied experience. And in doing so, we risk losing—without even noticing—the very moments that make us happy and resilient. Are we shrinking our capacity for a full, messy, exhilarating experience of being human? Christine Rosen is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where she explores American...
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Ep. 83: Why Depression Exists: Jonathan Rottenberg on the Evolutionary Origins of Mood
Bounce! Conversations with Larry Weeks
In this episode, we explore the human mood system and the origin of depression. My guest is Dr. Jonathan Rottenberg, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Better Outcomes Laboratory at Cornell University. His work examines long-term functioning and well-being after depression and related conditions, with a particular focus on explaining why some people achieve good outcomes. He received his BA from Harvard University, an MA in History from Johns Hopkins University, and his PhD in Psychology from Stanford University. Dr. Rottenberg's research has been covered in popular outlets such...
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Ep. 82: The Divided Brain: Iain McGilchrist On How We See The World
Bounce! Conversations with Larry Weeks
In this episode, we explore the fascinating world of the brain’s hemispheres and their profound impact on how we perceive and engage with reality. My guest is Dr. Iain McGilchrist. Iain is a true polymath—a psychiatrist, neuroscientist, philosopher, and literary scholar. He’s been a Fellow of All Souls College at Oxford and an Associate Fellow at Green Templeton College. He’s also a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and previously served as Clinical Director at the Bethlem Royal & Maudsley Hospital in London. He’s been a research fellow in neuroimaging at...
info_outlineMy guest on this podcast asserts that a huge chunk of our psychological stress isn’t caused by what’s happening but by the demands one quietly places on reality.
In this episode, Dr. Walter Matweychuk teaches me about Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), which focuses on identifying and disputing irrational, self-defeating beliefs to reduce emotional distress and change negative behaviors. Walter makes the case that REBT is not just a therapeutic modality but a philosophy for living based on emotional responsibility, resilience, and a way to stop rating yourself as “good” or “bad.”
Walter is a psychologist with the University of Pennsylvania Health System and an adjunct professor at NYU who specializes in REBT. Formally trained by pioneers Dr. Albert Ellis and Dr. Aaron Beck, he integrates their foundational insights into a private practice serving clients worldwide. He is the author/co-author of multiple books and writes the Intermittent Reinforcement newsletter. Beyond his clinical work, Dr. Matweychuk is widely recognized for hosting the weekly REBT Conversation Hour, a long-running public demonstration of practical cognitive-behavioral strategies available at REBTDoctor.com.
In this conversation:
- What Walter learned training with CBT legends Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck
- Shame vs. healthy concern, and Walter’s “shame-attack” experiments
- The two big engines of disturbance: “ego disturbance” vs. “discomfort disturbance"
- The way dogmatic “musts” turn a bad moment into an emotional spiral
- “Philosophical acceptance”: how to stop personal scorekeeping
- How to catch the belief that’s driving a feeling in real time
- The little “8 ideas” card Walter sends people
- Long-term hedonism: how REBT thinks about pleasure, meaning, and tradeoffs
- Secondary disturbance: the second layer of suffering that keeps people stuck
- Emotional responsibility and why it’s closer to freedom than “positive thinking”
If stress is often a “demand in disguise,” this episode might help you spot the demand and loosen its grip.
Enjoy!
Show notes and more at larryweeks.com