Have you ever known exactly what you should do and not done it anyway?

Or made a decision you immediately regretted and found yourself asking, why do I keep doing this?

Maybe you've watched yourself pull back right when something good was getting started, blow up something that was working,

or just not try because some part of you quietly convinced yourself that it wasn't worth it.

If that sounds familiar, I want you to know that this is not a character flaw. That is not a sign

that something is fundamentally wrong with you. It's one of the most universal human experiences

there is. And today, we're going to talk about exactly why it happens and what to do about it.

Hi, I'm Dr. Judy Ho, clinical and forensic neuropsychologist, professor, author, and your host

here on the Savvy Psychologist podcast. This show exists because I believe

everyone deserves access to real psychology, not watered down, not buried in jargon,

just honest, size-back insights you can actually use in your everyday life. We'll help you face

life's challenges with an evidence-based approach, a sympathetic ear,

and zero judgment. Each episode, we're going to break something down together, what a psychological

phenomena actually is, why it's happening to you, and what you can do about it starting today.

Whether you're navigating a hard season, trying to understand yourself a little better, or just

curious about what's going on in that incredible brain of yours, this podcast is for you.

Today, we're diving into self-sabotage, drawing directly from my book, Stop Self-Sabotage.

We're going to cover what self-sabotage really is, why our brains are wired

for it, what makes some people more prone than others, and three evidence-based tools you can

start using immediately to break the cycle. So let's get into it. Let's start at the beginning,

not with the definition of self-sabotage, but with the biology underneath it.

Because once you understand what's actually driving this, the behavior stops looking like

...