Snapshot · Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
BetterHelp's 2026 State of Stigma report found 85% of Americans believe getting mental health support is wise, yet 74% say society still discourages people from seeking it.
Where this was said
At 0:49 · chapter starts 0:00
The episode opens with Dax and Monica introducing Grant Achatz — restaurateur, culinary innovator, and one of Monica's biggest 'quashes' — describing Alinea as arguably the best restaurant in the United States. The hosts tease that the worst imaginable thing that could happen to a chef is exactly what happened to Grant. Before the interview begins, the pair deliver sponsor reads for BetterHelp (citing a 2026 survey showing 85% of Americans believe therapy is wise but 74% say society discourages it) and Squarespace. Monica's admission that she mildly judges people who haven't sought therapy despite prolonged struggles introduces the episode's undercurrent of vulnerability and self-improvement.
Grant Achatz grew up in Saint Clair, Michigan — population 3,000, two stoplights, no fast food. His parents ran the town diner, which became a community hub where regulars never had to order. That sensory, seasonal, communal world shaped everything he would later do at Alinea.
Spencer Greenberg and Jeremy Stevenson analyzed almost 500 self-improvement techniques and found they all reduce to just 12 underlying psychological drivers.
Cold exposure has good short-term alertness benefits but the evidence base for long-term health benefits is much weaker than popularly believed.
In a randomized study of 20 habit-formation techniques run on hundreds of people, almost none of the techniques produced statistically meaningful results.
People given a tiny-habit fallback option (e.g. 10 squats instead of gym) were actually MORE successful at completing the full habit, not less.
The most effective habit-formation technique was 'habit reflection' — recalling a past successful habit, writing down what helped, then applying those lessons to a new habit.
A study found that simply scheduling enjoyable activities was as effective as standard cognitive behavioral therapy for depression, leading to its own therapy called behavioral activation.
The 'worry time' technique — deferring all worries to a designated time of day — helps people realize they have more control over worry than they thought and reveals it is less useful than it feels.
A study found that participants told to try to stay awake while in bed fell asleep faster than participants told to try to sleep — illustrating the paradox of direct effort.
Spencer Greenberg reduced his severe social anxiety dramatically in roughly 6 months through a structured exposure therapy hierarchy, culminating in asking strangers for hugs.
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