Mentally Stronger with Therapist Amy Morin

Latest Episodes:

343 — The Real Reason You Keep Doing the Thing You Swore You'd Quit (And How to Break the Shame Spiral) with Dr. Frank Spinelli Aug 17, 2026

Show notes

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 of clinical experience. He's also survivor of childhood sexual abuse and a shame expert who now works with hundreds of clients who working through shame.

Some of the things we discuss are:

The difference between guilt and shame
The four archetypal shame responses (avoid, attack self, attack other, withdraw)
Why shame lives in silence
The connection between shame and the behaviors we can't stop (drinking too much, secret eating, doomscrolling, the habits we swear we'll quit)
What "shame literacy" is — and why most of us were never taught it
Why the internal script "what's wrong with me?" makes shame worse
The unexpected forms of shame
Why "I should be over this by now" is one of the most damaging things we say to ourselves
The Therapist's Take: My top three strategies for breaking the shame spiral starting today

⁠⁠64 – Heal From Shame and Transform Your Self-Worth with Therapist Sheila Rubin

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠124 — Stop Self-Sabotage: 7 Reasons You Are Holding Yourself Back and How to Stop Once and For All

Links & Resources

The Shame Compass

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342 — 5 Reasons You've Got a Short Fuse Lately (and How to Lengthen It) Aug 14, 2026

Show notes

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 are also many ways to lengthen it once you know how.

Some of the things I talk about are:

Why a short fuse is a gauge—and what it's actually trying to tell you.
How to recognize when your fuse is getting short.
What one night of bad sleep does to the alarm center of your brain
The "file folder" of small things you never said out loud and what happens when it's full.
Why open loops drain your patience—and the surprising fix.
The voodoo-doll study on married couples that reveals a surprising reason you might snap at your partner.
How suppressed anger often comes out.
How to lengthen your fuse.

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341 — How to Overcome Your Fear of Rejection: What 100 Days of Rejection Therapy Taught Jia Jiang Aug 10, 2026

Show notes

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 of Rejection, where he set out to get rejected on purpose every single day for 100 days straight. He's the author of Rejection Proof, and his new book Easy Discipline is coming out soon.

Some of the things we discuss are:

What Jia learned from asking a stranger for $100, requesting a burger refill, and knocking on random doors to ask if he could play soccer in the yard
The Krispy Kreme Olympic donuts story that went viral (and briefly moved the company's stock)
The mental script that runs in your head before you ask for something — and why it's almost always wrong
The single shift that turns you from someone who mirrors other people's energy into someone whose energy sets the tone
Why "no" isn't the end of a conversation — it's the start
The one line that lowers the temperature on any high-stakes ask (and gets you more yeses)
The story of Mike, whose fear of rejection nearly cost him the ability to advocate for his wife when she was diagnosed with cancer
Why "you either get a yes or an epic story" might be the most freeing thing you'll hear all week
The Therapist's Take: My top three strategies for becoming more rejection-proof starting today

Links & Resources

⁠⁠Rejection Proof

Easy Discipline

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340 — How to Calm Health Anxiety and Stop Googling Your Symptoms Aug 07, 2026

Show notes

Do you ever feel really anxious about a potential health issue? Maybe you Google your symptoms frequently. Or maybe you ask for constant reassurance or just keep checking on the same spot that hurts to see if it feels better.

Health anxiety is a common problem but sometimes people are embarrassed to talk about. But, there are some strategies that can help you regain control over your time and mental energy so you stop worrying about your health.

Some of the things I talk about are:

The four ways health anxiety shows up
"Cyberchondria," and the research showing how quickly an everyday symptom turns into something rare and terrifying in your search results.
Why the relief you get from reassurance backfires
Why you shouldn't suppress your anxiety and what you should do instead

208 — Coping With Anxiety: An Anxiety Toolkit for Fast Relief

253 — How Hypnosis Could Help You Break Bad Habits, Reduce Anxiety, and Relieve Your Pain with Dr. David Spiegel

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339 — Your Happiness Doesn't Have to Bottom Out at 47. Here's How to Make Midlife the Best Time of Your Life With Top Midlife Researcher Dr. Margie Lachman Aug 03, 2026

Show notes

Have you been bracing for a midlife crisis? Maybe you've believed that once you hit 40 or 50, you're supposed to hit a wall — get restless, buy the sports car, blow up your life, or slide into a slow decline. And even if you haven't hit that wall yet, part of you might be waiting for it.

But my guest today has spent more than 30 years studying midlife, and she says most of what you've heard is wrong. In fact, treating midlife like a decline might turn it into one. Your sense of control, your self-esteem, and your life satisfaction can actually peak in midlife.

My guest is Dr. Margie Lachman, a psychology professor at Brandeis University who directs the Lifespan Lab and is one of the leading researchers on adult development in the country.

Some of the things we discuss are:

The truth behind the famous "happiness dips at 47" claim — and why the researchers behind it are now walking it back
Why the millennial midlife crisis might not actually be about midlife at all
Why your personality isn't locked in the way you were taught — and how to change it in your 40s, 50s, and beyond
The midlife review: three questions that can help you figure out what you actually want next
The "shelve it" approach
Why "sense of control" might be the single most important mindset in midlife (and how it lowers inflammation and dementia risk)
Why childhood struggles sometimes resurface in midlife — and what to do about it
The Therapist's Take: My top three strategies for making midlife your prime starting today

⁠296 — 5 Ways to Build Emotional Strength When Life Keeps Knocking You Down

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠336 — The "Social Clock" That's Making You Feel Behind—and How to Stop

Links & Resources

⁠Primetime: A New Vision for Midlife⁠

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338 — How to Break a Bad Habit Without Any Willpower at All Jul 31, 2026

Show notes

Pick up a copy of The Mental Strength Playbook.

Do you think you lack willpower? Whether you can't stop snacking or you keep checking your ex's Instagram, bad habits can be tough to break.

But what if willpower isn't your problem? What if it's an environmental problem that you can actually fix?

Some of the things I talk about are:

Why willpower is a limited resource—and how you burn through it hundreds of times a day without realizing it.
The 2025 Microsoft study on how many times the average worker gets interrupted in a single day.
Why the people who break bad habits don't actually have more discipline than everyone else.
The simple friction tricks that make temptation harder to reach—from the cookie shelf to your saved credit card.
How I keep my own phone from hijacking my writing (and why it's not about discipline at all).
My client who was sure she had ADHD—and the creative 15% solution that changed her whole workday.
The three simple steps to build a temptation blocker for whatever is draining your energy.
Why fixing your environment is about being more present in the moments that matter.

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337 — Overwhelmed by Self-Improvement Advice? 5 Strategies From a Guy Who's Interviewed 700 Top Performers with Ryan Hawk Jul 27, 2026

Show notes

Are you overwhelmed by all the self-improvement advice out there? Every book, every podcast, every social media post is telling you a different thing you should be doing and all those things might leave you feeling exactly the same as when you started.

My guest today has spent the last decade interviewing more than 700 top performers to figure out what actually moves the needle. His book has hundreds of strategies, but I picked out the five that work best for anyone who wants to build confidence, reduce anxiety, or become a stronger version of themselves.

My guest is Ryan Hawk, host of The Learning Leader Show and USA Today bestselling author. His new book is The Price of Becoming.

Some of the things we discuss are:

Why confidence comes from evidence and how it transfers to every other area of your life
Why it's okay to copy other people when you're starting out (and the surprising fact about The Beatles that proves it).
Curiosity as a skill disguised as a personality trait and why Ryan says it might be his number one love language.
The line Ryan's dad said that reframes almost every anxious thought
The Adam Sandler story about the professor who told him he'd never make it and the surprising way Sandler chose to remember him
The difference between "clean fuel" and "dirty fuel"
The three journaling prompts Ryan uses every night to compound growth over time
The Therapist's Take: M quick take on how to apply each strategy starting today

248 — The 3 Words That Will Make You Mentally Stronger

⁠⁠⁠⁠330 — The Real Reason Your Coping Skills Aren't Helping (It's Not You)

Links & Resources

The Price of Becoming

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336 — The "Social Clock" That's Making You Feel Behind—and How to Stop Jul 24, 2026

Show notes

Do you ever feel like everyone else is a few steps ahead of you? Maybe you thought you'd have the job, the house, the relationship, or the retirement account figured out by now—and the fact that you don't feels like proof you've fallen behind.

It's easy to feel like everyone else is doing better and you can't catch up. But there are some strategies that can help you feel better about wherever you are right now.

Some of the things I talk about are:

Why the word "behind" is the thing that trips us up—and the question that changes everything.
The "social clock" researchers have identified, and the surprising finding about what actually causes people distress.
The moment that completely shattered the timeline for me—and left me feeling fifty years ahead of schedule.
The first move to make when you feel behind
The Holocaust survivor who published her first book at 89, her second at 92, and kept going until 96.
Why there's no single racetrack—and what to ask yourself the next time the feeling creeps back in.

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335 — "I Know Better — So Why Do I Keep Doing It?" Here's the Loop You're Actually Stuck In With Dr. Elisha Goldstein Jul 20, 2026

Show notes

Have you ever caught yourself thinking, I know better than this — so why do I keep doing it? Whether you stay up too late scrolling or you snap at people you leave, we all do things that don't help sometimes.

Most of us assume we need to create a lifestyle overhaul to fix the issue. But my guest today says that's exactly why so many of us stay stuck. He says a series of tiny shifts is the key to breaking free from emotional loops.

My guest is Dr. Elisha Goldstein, a clinical psychologist and the host of the Emotional Longevity podcast. His new book is Tiny Shifts.

Some of the things we discuss are:

What an emotional loop is — and how the four parts of it (thoughts, emotions, sensations, actions) trap you before you notice
Why your most convincing thoughts are often the least accurate — and how your brain evolved to make it that way
Why overhauling your life almost never works — and what "tiny shifts" do instead
The 4R method and how Dr. Goldstein used it in real time when he got scammed on Facebook
Why overthinking is a nervous system problem
Why shame is baked into our culture and how to work with it instead of getting trapped by it
The "slippery moment" when one loop turns into another and you assume nothing's working
Why healing your childhood wounds doesn't require years of therapy
The Therapist's Take: My top three strategies for making tiny shifts starting today

305 — How to Make the Biggest Changes With the Smallest Steps With Author Eric Zimmer

⁠194 — The Science of Small Wins: Why They Matter More Than Big Goals

Links & Resources

⁠Tiny Shifts⁠

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334 - Change Is Great. But So Is Everything About You That Never Changed. Jul 17, 2026

Show notes

I've spent my whole career helping people change. Someone walks into my therapy office stuck in a pattern they don't want, and together we figure out how to get them unstuck. I've written books about it. This whole podcast is about it.

But after almost 25 years as a therapist, here's what strikes me: how much we actually stay the same. The things that made you light up at 5 are probably the same things that light you up at 55. The impulses you had at 7 are still there at 47. We change in real ways—but underneath, something steady keeps us being us.

Today's episode is a little different. Instead of a mental strength play to change your life, I want to talk about the parts of you that were never going to change—and why that might be one of the more beautiful things about being a person. We live in a world constantly telling you to become a new version of yourself. But sometimes there's no problem to fix. Sometimes it just means there's a reliable part of you that's been there all along.

Some of the things I talk about are:

The daily habit I've kept for years—and the moment I realized I've been playing the exact same game since I was five years old.
What happened when I asked my Instagram audience what they loved as a kid and still love today (the list is oddly comforting).
Why so much of the self-improvement world gets this wrong—and why "always upgrade yourself" isn't the whole story.
The crucial difference between an impulse and a response—and why you don't have to fix the impulse to change your life.
What I still do when a speaker asks for a volunteer from the audience, almost 40 years after I was the shy kid dreading book report day.
The question I ask therapy clients who feel like they've lost themselves—and why no one has ever failed to answer it.
Why recognizing what's stayed the same can be one of the most healing moments in a whole stretch of therapy.
The question I want you to sit with this week—and why you don't have to fix the answer.