How Healthy Is Your Phone Use? A Psychologist’s Guide to Rebalancing Your Digital Life
Release Date: 11/21/2025
The VISOR Method: A Values-Led Framework for Meaningful Goal-Setting
Ditch the Couch Podcast
Most of us don’t struggle with setting goals, we struggle with sticking to them. And when that happens, it’s easy to assume the problem is us: a lack of discipline, motivation, or follow-through. But often, the issue isn’t the person, it’s the approach. In this episode, I’m sharing the VISOR Method, a values-led framework I use to set goals that actually feel aligned, sustainable, and supportive of real life. Instead of pushing harder or doing more, VISOR helps you slow down, get clear, and create goals rooted in self-respect rather than pressure. This episode is for you if...
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Irritable and Angry Women, This one is for You
Ditch the Couch Podcast
Link to anger management handout mentioned in this episode: You know those days when everything feels like too much? the email that lands wrong, the partner who says they’re “fine,” the to-do list that never ends. You tell yourself you’re overreacting… but what if you’re not? In this episode, we’re talking about anger, especially the kind that shows up as irritability, frustration, or quiet resentment. The kind so many high-functioning women carry while telling themselves they should “handle it better.” Instead of trying to fix or suppress anger, we’re reframing...
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The Hidden Link Between People-Pleasing, Perfectionism, and Over-Apologizing
Ditch the Couch Podcast
People-pleasing. Perfectionism. Over-apologizing. On the surface, they can look like kindness, high standards, or self-awareness. But underneath, they often have something powerful in common. In today’s episode, we’re unpacking how these behaviors are actually different strategies for avoiding discomfort. Avoiding conflict, failure, rejection, or being fully seen. While they may help us feel safer in the short term, they don’t work long-term and often leave us exhausted, resentful, and disconnected from ourselves. If you’ve ever said “sorry” when you didn’t need to, struggled to...
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Burnout, Perfectionism, and the Myth of Productivity: What’s Really Going On
Ditch the Couch Podcast
Most of us are drowning in productivity hacks, new planners/notebooks, color-coded systems, and the pressure to constantly “optimize," yet we still feel overwhelmed, stuck, or convinced something is wrong with us. In this episode, we’re digging into why the productivity-obsessed culture we live in is actively working against our brains. I break down the science behind the productivity paradox, why motivation is actually a mood (not a personality trait), and how stress, perfectionism, and chronic self-criticism shut down the very parts of the brain we need to focus, create, and follow...
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How Healthy Is Your Phone Use? A Psychologist’s Guide to Rebalancing Your Digital Life
Ditch the Couch Podcast
**You can download the free Phone Use Audit mentioned in the episode here: In this episode of Ditch the Couch, we’re exploring a topic almost everyone struggles with but rarely names for what it is: our relationship with our phone. As a clinical psychologist specializing in trauma and mood disorders, I see the impact of phone use on mental health every single day, not because technology is “bad,” but because how we use it can either support our growth or quietly chip away at our well-being. From avoidance scrolling to missing meaningful moments with people we love, our...
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The Myth of Why: Why Understanding Doesn't Always Equal Change
Ditch the Couch Podcast
We all want to understand why we are the way we are—but what if chasing “why” keeps you stuck? Dr. Jamie Trefethen unpacks how overanalyzing holds us back and how to move from self-awareness to real change. (Keywords: understand yourself, overthinking, self-awareness, mindset shift)
info_outline**You can download the free Phone Use Audit mentioned in the episode here: Phone Use Audit
In this episode of Ditch the Couch, we’re exploring a topic almost everyone struggles with but rarely names for what it is: our relationship with our phone. As a clinical psychologist specializing in trauma and mood disorders, I see the impact of phone use on mental health every single day, not because technology is “bad,” but because how we use it can either support our growth or quietly chip away at our well-being. From avoidance scrolling to missing meaningful moments with people we love, our devices can become an invisible barrier in our emotional lives if we don’t pause to evaluate the role they’re playing.
I’ll walk you through what healthy phone use actually looks like, the subtle signs that your habits may be holding you back, and a practical, step-by-step process to help you assess and rebalance your relationship with technology. By the end of this episode, you’ll have simple strategies you can start using right away. Plus access to a free, comprehensive assessment tool linked above to help you get started!