What If I Made the Wrong Decision?

ShrinkChicks

Jennifer Chaiken, LMFT and Emmalee Bierly, LMFT

Health & Fitness, Society & Culture, Education, Self-improvement, Mental Health, Relationships

4.9 • 755 Ratings

🗓️ 25 August 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen dive headfirst into the murky waters of regret—why we feel it, how it shows up, and what it does (and doesn’t) mean about the choices we’ve made. From big life decisions to parenting fears and the spiral of overthinking in the shower, they explore why the fear of regret can be more paralyzing than regret itself, and how to move through it with compassion and clarity. They unpack the difference between regret, guilt, and shame, reflect on why “right” doesn’t always mean “easy,” and share why it’s perfectly normal to question even the biggest, most meaningful decisions like becoming a parent. Regret, it turns out, is often about lost possibilities, not wrong turns. Tune in to gain insight, awareness, and action! PS: Fast forward to around 8:45 to skip the intro and get straight to today’s content. Get Matched With One of Our Therapists⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at The Therapy Group! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ShrinkChicks on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Know Yourself Grow Yourself Journal⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!! Check out ShrinkChicks on YouTube by subscribing here! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/channel/UCrxuhDqoL4ML3UE8b2J2BBg⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ A special thank you to this week's sponsors for supporting ShrinkChicks! We have these exclusive offers for our listeners: Wildgrain: Get $30 off your first box - PLUS free croissants in every box - when you go to⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Wildgrain.com/SHRINKCHICKS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to start your subscription or use code SHRINKCHICKS at checkout Quince: Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠quince.com/shrinkchicks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for free shipping and 365-day returns on your next order Greenlight: Start your risk-free Greenlight trial today at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠greenlight.com/shrinkchicks⁠ Mabē: Visit ⁠mabeproducts.com⁠ and use code: SHRINKCHICKS for an automatic $10 discount on your first purchase Green Chef: Head to⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Greenchef.com/50SHRINKCHICKS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use code 50SHRINKCHICKS to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping goPure: For a limited time, our listeners get 25% off at ⁠gopurebeauty.com⁠ with code SHRINKCHICKS at checkout

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This podcast is brought to you by Podcast Nation.
0:05.0	Thoughts on being fearful of future regrets that trigger decision paralysis.
0:11.9	I'm so scared I'll regret having kids so I can't make the decision to actually have them.
0:17.0	And I think that this is really important to remember is that we imagine the pain of future regret more vividly than the pain of current discomfort.
0:28.1	So that emotion is so much stronger for us that anticipated regret than the discomfort that we feel. And that's kind of what keeps us in this paralysis
0:39.8	of this is, like, anticipating this is so painful for me that it's keeping me from making
0:47.8	any movement.
1:01.3	Music Welcome back to another episode of shrink chicks.
1:06.5	Take a seat on our virtual therapy couch and get ready to learn all about well you.
1:07.6	I'm Emily Beirley.
1:08.8	And I'm Jennifer Chakin.
1:12.8	And we're both licensed, marriage and family therapist and relationship experts. We're the owners and founders of the therapy group, a nationwide psychotherapy practice with down-to-earth therapists just like us.
1:20.3	Your session is starting.
1:21.7	So get ready to know yourself and grow yourself.
1:27.5	I am.
1:28.4	Hey, Jen.
1:29.6	Was I supposed to start that?
1:30.9	I started it out.
1:32.5	I like to surprise you.
1:34.4	Ooh, you should switch it up.
1:35.9	She's crazy.
1:36.8	She's out of control.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jennifer Chaiken, LMFT and Emmalee Bierly, LMFT, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Jennifer Chaiken, LMFT and Emmalee Bierly, LMFT and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.