Start with the TED talk "A simple way to break a bad habit." It is short, self-contained, and has been viewed more than 20 million times, which makes it the most common way people first meet Jud Brewer, MD PhD, known as Dr. Jud. In it he lays out his core idea: a habit is a loop of trigger, behavior and reward, and the loop becomes clearer when you stay curious about the craving itself rather than fighting it. Everything else he does is an extension of that idea, so watching it first gives you the frame for the rest.
Where you go next depends on what you are working on.
If you want to read: There are three books. The Craving Mind is the central text on habit and craving and lays out the framework the others build on. Unwinding Anxiety, a best-seller, applies the method to worry and panic. The Hunger Habit applies it to emotional eating. Pick the one that matches your problem; the ideas carry across all three.
If you want guided practice: He has developed three apps. Craving to Quit addresses habit and addiction patterns, Eat Right Now addresses emotional eating, and Unwinding Anxiety addresses anxiety.
If you want more talks: His YouTube channel at youtube.com/@drjud holds further recorded talks on habit change, mindfulness and the neuroscience behind them. It is free and a good way to go deeper without committing to a book or app.
Expect the material to be practical and a little clinical rather than inspirational. Brewer is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist who directs research and innovation at Brown University's Mindfulness Center, and his lab uses fMRI and EEG neurofeedback to study the Default Mode Network and the posterior cingulate cortex's role in self-referential thinking. That research shows up as explanation: he wants you to understand the mechanism behind a craving, not just be told to sit still. The tone is analytical and warm, closer to a clinical seminar with meditation woven through it than a devotional gathering. You will not find ritual, chant or a named guru lineage; his framing is a meeting point of modern science and ancient meditative practice, built on more than 20 years of his own mindfulness training and delivered through measured, university-studied programs.
Treating it as willpower training. The point is not to suppress a craving. It is to observe its sequence of trigger, feeling and reward closely enough that it loosens.
Expecting spiritual or mystical content. The framework is secular and grounded in neuroscience. If transcendent experience is your goal, this may feel reductive, even though the practical benefits are real.
Assuming an app is a complete treatment. His programs are designed for everyday habits, anxiety and craving. They are not a substitute for crisis care, psychiatric treatment or medical supervision. Serious addiction or severe anxiety calls for qualified clinical support alongside self-guided work.
Skipping the dense parts. The books explain research in detail rather than offering shortcuts. You can follow the practical arguments without a neuroscience background, but expect to slow down and look up terms when the lab findings appear.
It tends to land hardest when you have a specific, stubborn pattern and have already tried to out-muscle it: a habit you keep repeating, worry that loops, eating driven by emotion rather than hunger. It also suits people who found other mindfulness content too abstract and want a mechanism they can test in their own experience the same day.
Day 1: Watch the TED talk. Write down one habit or craving you want to examine.
Day 2: Watch two or three more talks on youtube.com/@drjud. Notice how the trigger, behavior, reward loop is described.
Day 3: Choose your book based on your problem (The Craving Mind, Unwinding Anxiety or The Hunger Habit) and read the opening chapters.
Day 4: Catch one craving as it happens. Rather than acting or resisting, stay curious about how it feels in your body, and watch what it does.
Day 5: Repeat the observation, and note the trigger that set it off.
Day 6: Try the app that matches your pattern: Craving to Quit, Eat Right Now or Unwinding Anxiety.
Day 7: Review your notes. Decide whether to continue with the app or book, and if your struggle is serious, arrange clinical support alongside it.