The SelfWork Podcast

Today’s episode of SelfWork was suggested by the last episode of Ted Lasso, in which Rebecca talked about grief and the messy feelings it can bring with it. Rebecca tells Ted, "We laugh, we hurt, we fall, we get back up. We're a mess. And that is… fantastic. Because being messy just means being alive. And we could all do with being a bit more alive." Or… not. Some people fear this mess...

Dr. Margaret and her TEDx speech coach, Brian Miller, talk about challenging the fear of public speaking and the importance of human connection. "Go out and make a dent in the universe." These are the words I heard from Brian Miller , three years ago, weeks before I was to give my TEDxBocaRaton talk on perfectly hidden depression. Daring to face the fear of public speaking... But why did I...

Today we're talking with two experts on tuning into your own intuition. Sarah Gregg is a psychologist and a published author with over 90,000 copies of her books sold. And Jill Ritchie is a highly sought after intuitive coach who's worked with Olympians, celebrities, and high achieving entrepreneurs to help them really begin learn how to trust their intuition and step into their best selve...

There’s a word for intense fear of change. Metathesiophobia. That’s when your fear of change is so strong and affects your life so intensely that you’ve developed an actual phobia around change. If that has become the case, then you’d avoid any change in your life as much as possible and stay in a constant state of agitation or vigilance about potential change. But change is inevitable. Time bring...

Having a panic disorder is bad enough. You may be able to anticipate it happening; for example, if you tend to panic when you see a spider or a snake. But other times, panic attacks – the sudden onset of intense symptoms of anxiety, such as trouble breathing, your heart racing, feelings of wanting or even needing to flee, tunnel vision, sweating, trembling – these very unwelcome and unexpected fee...

Today we'll focus on how to listen to someone so that they feel truly understood and seen. And it may not be a kind of listening that you know about. It's a method called "affect labeling" - meaning labeling the emotions of the person you're listening to. And our expert today is Doug Noll, who teaches this method all over the world. This episode will teach you this new way of l...

Today I'm focusing on three role models in my own life and the questions you can ask to help you identify your own. Who are they? Dolly Parton. Maya Angelou. And a woman named "Snooky." How does someone become a role model for you? Someone in your life may know that you look up to them, that you want to emulate them in some way. Others role models will never know it. You simply know of...

You may never have been on the inside of a psych ward. In his new book, JaKob Williams takes you there. Or at least, he takes you to his version of a residential psych ward. He's an interesting guy. Brilliant. Sarcastic. Successful. Driven. Creative. Funny. And he has bipolar disorder, which sometimes gets the better of him. He becomes manic, and even psychotic. As he says... "You talk abo...

Dr. Nick Wignall continues as Dr. Margaret's guest this week, as we switch from focusing on emotional fitness to the 100% effective CBT tool for curing insomnia, called sleep compression. It's hard to believe that in ten years of doing SelfWork, I don't remember an episode where we were focusing on insomnia, although I hear about it on a regular basis all the time. We've talked abo...

Dr. Nick Wignall speaks about the vital importance of emotional fitness and becoming the hero of your life. This whole concept is intriguing and suggests that finding and maintaining your own sense of agency - of having some sense of and belief in your ability to have an impact on your life. Understanding emotional fitness is not just about recognizing the feelings we experience but also about act...

This week – in fact to be punctual about it – on August 5 th , 2026 – the first episode of the new Ted Lasso season will be released. Today, we're going to focus on the meaning of so many of Ted Lasso characters having secrets that they're keeping.... and the freedom they discover in the telling of them. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

EMDR Therapy is known for its treatment of trauma. Dr. Laurel Parnell teaches and demonstrates how it can be healing for emptiness and grief - when relationships were never loving and for when they're gone. Order The Perfectly Hidden Depression Workbook - A stand-alone workbook exploring the ten traits of Perfectly Hidden Depression, with guided exercises to help you decide what to keep from y...

Disillusionment is defined in psychology as a "belief collapse." And the grief that that implosion can cause can be very hard to work through. Today's focus will be on how to do just that - get through disillusionment. What is disillusionment? Disillusionment happens when something you desire or believe strongly is true and right – something that you’ve worked hard to create or to buil...

The subject for today is how to talk with a perfectionist about your concern for them. Or if you’re the perfectionist, how to allow someone into your world enough for you to hear that concern. I'll offer five definite approaches that work and you'll learn about the feedback loop that makes perfectionism addictive. Order The Perfectly Hidden Depression Workbook - A stand-alone workbook expl...

Therapy harm is the topic this week, as Dr. Margaret welcomes her guest Dr. Patricia Dixon to SelfWork. What is therapy harm? We talk more openly than ever about the benefits of therapy, but less about the ways therapy can unintentionally cause harm. And harm does happen far too often with therapists who do things or say things that hurt their clients. Maybe it’s over-sharing, being dismissive of...

What's the most recent news for depression sufferers in 2026? That's the question Dr. Margaret researched today. Some new treatments are available now; some are still trying to get FDA approval. But there's a lot of promise out there, especially for what's termed treatment-resistant depression. There's also a new book out, Rethinking Suicide, that points out more recent researc...

Dr. Margaret will focus today on questions and answers that listeners have sent her by either voicemail or email. First topic for today: Is anorexia back "in" as beautiful? Second: Why could you be allowing your mom (with borderline traits) to occupy such emotional space in your life? And third: If I'm openly sad when my son is getting ready to leave home, am I unintentionally setting...

Discover how to interpret the Enneagram in this episode of SelfWork! It's a personality test that's been around for decades. How is it different from other personality scales and what has made it so popular for so many years? Our expert speaker is Courtney Smith , who's a coach, group facilitator, and consultant who works with individuals and Fortune 500 companies to achieve change. Sh...

In this SelfWork episode, Dr. Margaret interviews an expert on medical and mental trauma of chronic illness - Amy Kurtz. 194 million Americans –more than 76 percent of the population–are living with chronic illness. Many eventually stabilize, but what happens when the body heals and you still don’t feel safe inside it? Patient advocate and health coach Amy Kurtz knows this gap in our healthcare sy...

This week we’re sharing a special episode from our friends at How To! , the 2026 Ambie Award-nominated “Best Personal Growth Podcast” that’s back with a new host and new topics to fuel your curiosity.  Each week on How To!, award-winning journalist Mike Pesca tackles a listener’s question – on topics ranging from travel and finance to health and relationships – with help from world-class experts w...

Dr. Margaret focuses today on the vital importance of what’s termed “cultural humility” as she responds to a listener voicemail, pointing out that as she’s a white person, her advice comes from a place of privilege in the US. Do you have to have walked in someone else’s shoes, carried the same load as they have, lived a life very similar to theirs – to truly understand them? Or to offer something...

It’s a little hard to describe Paul Gilmartin. He's worked as a stand-up comic. He makes furniture. And he's a maternal abuse survivor . To add to that, he was one of the first hosts of the TBS show Dinner and A Movie. In fact, he hosted that show for years – and people still recognize him when he’s out and about! But his life has moved in many directions. Since 2011 however, he’s been the...

Emotional martyrdom. What is it? And where does it come from? That's today's SelfWork episode. Recently, I got a comment on the questionnaire blogpost on perfectly hidden depression - from a woman whose every word convinced me that there are too many people in the world who believe it's their job to keep everyone around them happy. So today we're going to look at what's termed...

Today we're focusing on the psychological side of plastic surgery. This interview with renowned plastic surgeon Dr. Rady Rahban answers all your questions about the psychological side of choosing both reconstructive and plastic surgery. Understanding the motivations and emotional impacts of such decisions is crucial for anyone considering these procedures. The intersection of psychology and pl...

Today we’ll focus on what it means to be a licensed mental health professional. How are coaches and influencers different from licensed mental health professionals? And how has the rise of therapists themselves online affected the social media culture, while unlicensed influencers are offering mental health advice? We'll focus on five major concerns of the online presence (and often persistenc...