Answered from How to Make a Difference: Part 2 · Hidden Brain · 2026-09-28
Martin Seligman recommends starting absurdly small and making each task a little harder, which he says sets off a domino effect of confidence. For a depressed person facing a filthy kitchen, the first task is washing one cup. His first study with hospitalized depressed patients found graded tasks lowered depression, a method borrowed from phobia treatment, where patients relax through 6 to 10 steps toward a real cat.
Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Hidden Brain (2026-09-28). Read the whole episode summary →