Mentally Stronger with Therapist Amy Morin

Depression in men rarely looks like sadness and instead, looks like irritability and impatience. And because it rarely looks like what we think depression should look. like, it often goes undetected and untreated for years. Whether you’re a man who recognizes some of these signs in yourself or you love a man who seems to be struggling, this episode is for you. My guest today is Jor-El Caraballo, a...

Without meaning to, most of us make hard situations even harder with the stories we tell ourselves about them. The good news is you can stop adding extra misery, no matter how tough things get. Today I’m sharing three simple tools to keep you from fueling your misery, plus how to tell when you shouldn’t try to make the best of an unhealthy situation. Some of the things I talk about are: The corpor...

Do you feel busy all day but still go to bed wondering what you actually got done? Maybe you've tried productivity tricks like waking up early, tracking your habits or downloading apps and when it doens't work, you decided you're the problem. Well research suggests the average person gets only about 24 minutes of truly focused work a day, and more hacks won’t fix that. My guest, Dr. Christian Poen...

Do you ever run out of energy by the middle of the day, or feel like you’re on empty before the day even starts? Most of us reach for the same fix every time, like more coffee, something sweet, or a quick scroll that turns into 20 minutes. But there are at least three different reasons you might feel drained, and two of them have little to do with your energy. If you reach for the wrong fix, it ca...

Have you ever gotten good news from a friend and felt bad instead of happy for them? Or someone in the group chat announced they’re pregnant — and instead of feeling excited, you felt a little sick to your stomach. And then you felt guilty for feeling that way, so you typed “congratulations” and moved on. The truth is, all of us feel envy sometimes. But most of us have been taught to get rid of it...

Are you always the one who reaches out first? You send the text, plan the dinner, and remember everyone’s birthday. At some point you start to wonder, if I just stopped trying, would anyone even notice? So you start keeping track about who called last and whose turn it is to invite everyone. But keeping score just makes you more resentful. Today I’m sharing three ways to stop keeping score, how to...

Do you notice things other people miss , like a shift in someone’s tone or tension in the room before anyone says a word? Do you need more time to recover than the people around you, so even a fun party or a good work trip can leave you completely wiped out for days? If that sounds like you, chances are someone has told you at some point that you’re too sensitive. Maybe you’ve even wondered if the...

Are you the person everyone comes to? Someone asks you to cover a shift, join the committee, host the gathering, or help with the move, and the yes comes out before you’ve even thought about it. Then you’re driving home wondering, why did I just agree to that? Saying yes to everything doesn’t make people appreciate you more. It can teach them your time isn’t worth much, and it can take a toll on y...

Have you ever downloaded a meditation app you swore you were going to use? Or bought a journal that's still sitting on your nightstand? Or promised yourself that starting Monday, you'd finally do that 20-minute morning routine that was going to change everything — only to abandon it a week later? Most of us have some version of that story. And we usually decide it means we lack self-discipline, th...

Have you ever had to walk into work and act like everything was fine while your whole life was falling apart? Maybe you're going through a divorce, fielding calls about an aging parent between meetings, or you received a scary diagnosis the day before a big presentation. Quitting usually isn't an option, and "just leave it at the door" isn't much help either. Today I'm sharing five of the biggest...

Have you ever done something that went against everything you believe about yourself? Maybe you think of yourself as an honest person, but you round up hours on your timesheet. Or maybe you say family is the most important thing in your life, but you spend the entire weekend working. Or maybe it's something bigger — something you still can't fully explain, even though it happened years ago. Most o...

Pick up a copy of The Mental Strength Playbook. Maybe you replay a conversation that already happened, second-guess a decision you already made, or keep going back over what you should've done differently. A negative thought spiral is hard to break and the more you try to suppress a thought, the more it will keep popping back up. So today I'm sharing one of my favorite mental strength plays to lit...

Have you ever wondered why you attract the same type of person over and over or wondered why you keep ending up in the same situation? You might tell yourself you never want to change but end up right back in a similar situation again. My guest today says there's a reason for that. Every one of us has what she calls a psychological Achilles heel — a tender spot formed early in life around a belief...

Have you ever felt like you just don't feel anything at all? Not exactly sad, but not happy either. Something good happens and you think, well, that's nice. Something bad happens and you think, okay. And you move through your days feeling sort of flat. That's emotional numbness. And while it might seem like a good thing to numb yourself to discomfort, there are some downsides to it too. Some of th...

Have you ever finally gotten something that you thought would make you feel worthy, like a degree or a promotion, and you still felt like you weren't good enough? Or maybe when someone gives you a genuine compliment, you feel worse instead of better. My guest is Dr. Marisa Franco, a psychologist, professor at the University of Maryland, and New York Times bestselling author. And she says we've bee...

When's the last time you asked AI to help you with something personal? Maybe you pasted in a text message and asked what the person really meant by it. Maybe you laid out both sides of a hard decision and asked what you should do. AI can be genuinely helpful for quick answers—but if you're not careful, it may be quietly draining your mental strength. I'm already seeing this unfold in my therapy of...

Most people wait for the right moment, the right feeling, the right amount of information before they change. But my guest today says it all starts when you confront the seven uncomfortable truths that are holding you back. My guest is Kier Gaines, a licensed professional counselor who reaches more than 40 million people on social media every month. His new book is It All Starts When You Do. Some...

Is there a moment from your past that still makes you cringe? Something you said at a party years ago, a text you wish you could unsend, a version of you that you can't believe you ever were? And does that moment ever run through your mind when you don't wish to replay it? In today's episode, I'll share a cringe moments that my brain loves to replay, explain why certain moments get cemented in the...

When something goes wrong in your day—bad news, a disagreement with a loved one, or a tough rejection—what do you actually reach for to cope? Most of us have one move. We drink, we scroll, we run, we clean, we call someone. And it probably works—which is why we keep doing it. But my guest today says that's where the trouble starts. Every coping strategy you have began as your best attempt at getti...

Have you ever sent a text and expected a fun response but all you got was a word one answer and then you spent the rest of the day wondering what you did wrong? Or heard a comment in a group chat and felt it was aimed at you? Most of the time, the thing you're taking personally has almost nothing to do with you—but your brain will work hard to convince you otherwise. I've done this too, during the...

You've probably been told that anxiety is a reaction to what's happening in your life. But my guest today says that's not the whole story. Most of your anxiety isn't a reaction to what's actually happening — it's a reaction to what you're imagining might happen. You get an email that says "can we talk tomorrow?" and your mind writes an entire disaster. Your brain then releases the same stress horm...

Have you ever achieved something big and, instead of feeling proud, felt like an imposter? Imposter syndrome is common, yet no one wants to talk about it. But imposter syndrome isn't necessarily a bad thing. And there are steps you can take when you experience it to ensure that it doesn't become an obstacle. Some of the things I talk about today are: The invitation-only event I earned my way into—...

Have you ever done something you swore you wouldn't do again? Maybe you had too many drinks, ate the whole thing when you meant to have a bite, or started texting that ex you swore you wouldn't talk to again. And then instead of feeling bad for a minute and moving on, you spiral into a cycle of shame, secrecy and self-destruction. My guest is Dr. Frank Spinelli, a physician with more than 20 years...

Have you lost your cool lately over something small? Maybe you snapped at your partner about the dishes in the sink. Or maybe you didn't say a word—you just let a coworker's question irritate you all day—and afterward you thought, "What's wrong with me? This isn't who I am." If this sounds familiar, today's episode is for you. There are many reasons we can develop a short fuse. Fortunately, there...

Have you ever been afraid to ask for something because you were afraid you'd get rejected? Whether you want to invite someone on a date or ask for a raise, the fear of hearing "no" can keep you from trying. But according to my guest today, the sting of rejection probably isn't as painful as you think. But the cost of avoiding rejection might be worse. My guest is Jia Jiang, the founder of 100 Days...