Emily Polak, PhD

02/10/2024

I recently read and appreciated this idea: There’s no such thing as a bad emotion—only bad reactions to emotions.

Don’t make yourself wrong for having a feeling. Recognize that you didn’t choose the feeling but you can choose how you respond to it.

04/29/2023

Anxiety stressing you out? Try telling yourself that the thing you're afraid of WILL happen and then reassure yourself that you can handle it. That takes away the energy from the worrying and ‘what ifs’.

Anxiety decreases when you remember that you're a capable person.

04/15/2023

I heard the idea recently that curiosity is a cure for social anxiety. When you’re focused on discovering who the other person is, you get to stop worrying what they think about you. This conscious change of focus has the potential to alter the dynamic of any interpersonal interaction. Try it out and let me know how it goes!

04/08/2023

"Every time you’re given a choice between disappointing someone else and disappointing yourself, your duty is to disappoint that someone else. Your job, throughout your entire life, is to disappoint as many people as it takes to avoid disappointing yourself."
Glennon Doyle to her daughter

This quote just came back to me via Tim Ferriss' weekly email and reminded me that this an important lesson that many of us never internalize. We spend our lives trying not to disappoint others in order to be liked and accepted, but we aren't aware of how often we don't prioritize our own needs.

So here's a challenge: Practice disappointing someone. It may feel hard and scary but the only way to strengthen a muscle is to use it. You got this! 💪🏼

08/02/2022

Excited to share some thoughts on how to make mental health a priority at work

Talking about mental health, especially at the office, used to be taboo. However, in the last few years, discussing emotional wellbeing and stress management has (thankfully) become much more common, both in and out of the workplace.