Mentally Stronger with Therapist Amy Morin 294 — Dreading Something? Here’s Exactly What You Need to Do to Stop the Dread Spiral
How often do you find yourself dreading something so much that it’s hard to think about anything else? Maybe you’ve avoided doing something important—like applying for a new job—because the thought of waiting for a rejection letter felt unbearable. You are not alone. Dread is a powerful emotion that can hijack your decisions.
But you don’t have to let dread control your life. In today’s episode, I’m diving into the science of "dread aversion" and sharing how to stop letting the fear of waiting sabotage your success.
Some of the things I talk about are:
- Why waiting often feels worse than getting bad news
- The surprising ways dread can trick you into making bad decisions
- A fascinating study that reveals why your brain weighs future pain more heavily than future pleasure
- How dread and procrastination go hand-in-hand—and what to do about it
- The science behind why people would rather face pain now than wait for the unknown
- How to use counterfactual thinking to stop catastrophic "what-if" thoughts
- A 4-step "What-If Workout" to break free from the dread spiral
- Why taking action is the ultimate antidote to dread
- How to reframe uncertainty so it doesn’t feel so overwhelming
Subscribe to Mentally Stronger Premium for exclusive content like weekly bonus episodes, mental strength challenges, and office hours with me.
Related Episodes
Connect with the Show
Pre-order The Mental Strength Playbook
Buy a copy of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do
Connect with Amy on Instagram — @AmyMorinAuthor
Visit my website — AmyMorinLCSW.com
Sponsors
Quince — Go to Quince.com/stronger for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns!
AirDoctor — Head to AirDoctorPro.com and use promo code STRONGER to get UP TO $300 off today!
Function Health — Visit functionhealth.com/stronger or use gift code STRONGER25 for a $25 credit toward your membership.
One Skin — Go to oneskin.co/STRONGER and use code stronger to get 15% off using code STRONGER
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices