How to Rewrite the Stories That Make You Anxious, Angry, or Depressed

Therapy in a Nutshell

Therapy in a Nutshell -Emma McAdam

Mental Health, Education, Health & Fitness:mental Health, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 658 Ratings

🗓️ 5 February 2026

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Learn how the stories you tell yourself fuel anxiety, depression, and triggers—and discover practical skills like cognitive defusion to rewrite your life. Free worksheet: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/opt-in-4a614f1a-99a9-46dd-b2e4-69e58990c7ea Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership In this episode, you’ll learn the hidden thought pattern that fuels anxiety, depression, anger, and emotional reactivity — and how to break free from it. Our brains create stories to protect us, but sometimes those stories become prisons. They shape what we notice, how we feel, and the choices we make… often without us realizing it. Looking for affordable online counseling? My sponsor, BetterHelp, connects you to a licensed professional from the comfort of your own home. Try it now for 10% off your first month: https://betterhelp.com/therapyinanutshell FREE Mental Health Resources: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/free-resources Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health. In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger Institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction. And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services. Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to another episode of the Therapy in a Nutshell podcast. I'm Emma McAdam and I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist.
0:07.0	And this podcast is all about taking the life-changing, but usually kind of complicated topics of therapy and boiling them down into simple, easy-to-understand concepts that you can use in your daily life.
0:18.8	If you find today's episode as helpful to you,
0:21.0	please pass it on to someone else who could benefit from it as well. Each podcast episode
0:24.8	comes from a corresponding video you can find on the Therapy in a Nutshell YouTube channel.
0:29.2	Also, these podcasts are educational and don't replace the advice or direction you may be
0:33.7	receiving from a therapist or other health professionals. Now please enjoy the episode.
0:38.3	What if the biggest thing keeping you stuck isn't your circumstances, but the story you're
0:43.8	telling yourself about them?
0:45.3	Let's go meta for a moment because I've got a story about my stories.
0:49.3	When I was a teenager, soccer was my life.
0:52.3	I had the shirt and everything. Before my freshman year of high school, I worked super hard to make the high school soccer team.
0:59.0	More than 50 freshmen tried out, and I was one of only four who made the cut.
1:03.0	And I was so proud to be on the Skyview High School soccer team.
1:07.0	I worked really hard in practice, but I did not get much playing time. And my biggest struggle was with my teammates, especially Julie.
1:15.6	Julie was a sophomore, and she and her 13 friends on the team really didn't like me.
1:21.6	They made fun of me and made fun of my religion and called me names.
1:25.6	And even worse, Julie was the JV coach's daughter.
1:30.3	Now, you guys, I was pretty good at the game of soccer,
1:33.3	but I was pretty clueless about playing the game of popularity.
1:37.3	So I did what I always did, I just withdrew, went quiet, tried to avoid attention.
1:43.3	Anyways, fall season ended, and I made it onto a prestigious club team for the spring season.
	...

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