#18: Dr Peggy Kern, experiencing the complexity of wellbeing

Dr Peggy Kern is a Professor at the Centre for Wellbeing Science at Melbourne University, with a BA in Psychology, and a Masters and PhD in social/personality psychology. If you were to start reading some academic papers or recent texts on wellbeing science or positive psychology, you would quickly come across Peggy's name! Peggy and Megan met in 2018 while Megan was completing her Masters of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) at Melbourne University and was completing her capstone on belonging. In this episode, Peggy shares how the field of positive psychology is currently in what is referred to as the “third wave”, where the idea of complexity is being more widely recognised and explored. Peggy explains the way wellbeing is defined, experienced, and measured is changing, how AI can assist with future research, and how systems thinking is continuing to be explored. Peggy also shares her own story of moving to Australia, working in high pressure environments, and her recent experiences with mental illness. Peggy publicly shares her experiences as she recognises that others can learn from her story and take their own steps to manage their self-care. She highlights that this is particularly important for those also working in wellbeing roles where care is given to others. Peggy talks about the treatment she received while in hospital and how this has guided her thinking around what the general population should be learning about psychology and therapeutic practices. Megan and Peggy discuss some of the wellbeing strategies that Peggy now implements in her day-to-day life, including self-compassion, informal mindfulness, time with her puppy, and gratitude. Peggy also engages in endurance sports, having completed 12 marathons and numerous long-distance running, swimming, and cycling events. You can find out more about Peggy and her research here: https://www.peggykern.org/ If you are wanting to learn more on self-compassion, Kristen Neff's work can be found here: https://self-compassion.org/ Host: Megan Corcoran, Wagtail Institute, https://wagtailinstitute.com/ Music by Kabbilistic Village https://kabbalisticvillage.com/