GSEP Alumna Dr. Lauren Cook Presents At The Margaret J Weber Distinguished Lecture Series

GSEP alumna of the psychology doctoral program, Dr. Lauren Cook, returned to the West Los Angeles campus to present “Generation Anxiety “as part of the GSEP Margaret J Weber Distinguished lecture series.

Focusing on empowered acceptance, Dr. Cook led attendees through exercises to assist in accepting our anxiety and the realities of this world. “Working through anxiety is like riding a wave. Over time, we see just how capable we are,“ shared Dr. Cook. Knowing that acceptance is not enough, Dr. Cook challenged the attendees to realize power lies in our perspective. While we can’t control our thoughts, we can control our response — seeing rejection as a gift and a time saver and seeing failure as a sign that we are showing up for ourselves, and learning valuable information.

Dr. Cook ended the session with a stat from Melanie Greenberg‘s The Stress-Proof Brain, “85% of the things that people worry about never actually happen.” Keeping this quote in mind, Dr. Cook encouraged listeners to have self-compassion while challenging themselves to face their fears.