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

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Feb 5, 2026

Explores how the personal stories your mind invents shape what you notice and how you react. Uses real-life examples to show how different narratives produce opposite emotions. Identifies common unhelpful story patterns that trap people in anxiety, anger, or low mood. Offers four practical skills to find, label, evaluate, and replace those stories with experiments and a worksheet.

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ANECDOTE

High School Soccer That Shaped A Story

Emma McAdam describes trying out for her high school soccer team and being cut despite hard work.
She carried a victim story for 25 years that shaped her willingness to try again.

INSIGHT

Ask Which Story Is Helpful

Emma argues we ask which story is helpful rather than which story is true.
Helpful stories are resourcing and increase options, energy, and connection.

INSIGHT

We React To Stories, Not Events

Emma explains we react to our stories, not events, and those reactions shape emotions.
Our emotional life depends on our interpretation of situations more than the situations themselves.

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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.