Episode 25 - Dr. Margaret Rutherford
Developing a strong sense of self-worth and acceptance can be a long and difficult journey for many people. It is often particularly difficult for those who struggle with depression and anxiety. Often times, people who struggle with mental health strive for unachievable levels of perfection, which only leaves them more discouraged. Today’s guest, Dr. Margaret Rutherford, is a clinical psychologist and author of Perfectly Hidden Depression..
In this interview, Dr. Margaret shares her exploration of anxiety, depression, and perfectionism, and how you can learn to change some of the habits that are holding you back from vitality. She discusses the difference between depression and anxiety, as well as signs to identify someone who is struggling, and her methodology for a framework to change perfectionist habits.
Join Danny Bader in this deeply educational and enlightening conversation to learn more about how you can tap into your emotions and cultivate the life you want.
Show Highlights:
· Dr. Margaret shares how she shifted her career to discover her passion
· Life circumstances often don’t bring out the best of us and sometimes we have to explore outside of our comfort zone to find our passion
· Depression is more complex than a definition, but Dr. Margaret shares the symptoms and categories of depression to identify it
· Dr. Margaret shares what motivated her to write a book and further explore depression and perfectionism tendencies
· Anxiety is the number one mental health problem but depression is increasingly effecting middle-aged men and women
· How to differentiate between anxiety and depression
· Self-acceptance is being proud of what you do but also understanding there is room for self-improvement
· There are different stages to overcome anxiety and becoming aware is the first step to move through those stages
· Committing to treatment is necessary to change how you interact with perfectionism
· Human connection is heavily impacted by emotions and past trauma’s and you often have to work through those in order to develop relationships
· Behavior change is the only hopeful solution to work through perfectionism
· Developing a mantra is important for self-development
· Spirituality can effect individual’s feelings of greater purpose and success
· People can tap into a power to get through things that feel impossible
· We can learn how to work through sadness in a healthy and powerful way
· Taking responsibility for your own actions is the first step to overcome bitterness and avoid a victim mentality
Links: https://www.dannybader.com
Contact Dr. Margaret: https://drmargaretrutherford.com
The Self Work Podcast - https://drmargaretrutherford.com/selfwork/
Get Perfectly Hidden Depression: https://drmargaretrutherford.com/perfectlyhiddendepressionbook/
Facebook Group: https: //www.facebook.com/groups/selfwork
Quotes:
“If you set your sights on something and your passions in it and your hearts in it [you can do it]” – Dr. Margaret
“Depression doesn’t have just one definition” – Dr. Margaret
“Anxiety is the number one mental health problem in the United States and internationally” – Dr. Margaret
“Anxiety is a disorder based on fear and hyper-arousal” – Dr. Margaret
“As we are all living, we don’t always have control” – Dr. Margaret
“I think self-acceptance comes when you realize that those competencies, those strengths, don’t define you any more than those vulnerabilities do” – Dr. Margaret
“Trauma literature has big T’s and little t’s” – Dr. Margaret
“Where you get hope is from behavior change” – Dr. Margaret
“One of the issues a lot of people of faith have is they believe that if they admit depression than they are failing in their faith” – Dr. Margaret
“The human spirit is hardly human” – Danny
“I don’t think you get hope from insight, you have to risk challenging your fear” – Dr. Margaret
“Don’t run away from being afraid or being sad” – Dr. Margaret
“I think the most damaging emotion is bitterness” – Dr. Margaret