Use These Science-Backed Strategies to Instantly Reduce Anxiety, Boost Confidence, & Feel Your Best - With Amy Morin

Summary of Use These Science-Backed Strategies to Instantly Reduce Anxiety, Boost Confidence, & Feel Your Best - With Amy Morin

by Shawn Stevenson

1h 3m•July 8, 2026
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Overview of The Model Health Show with Amy Morin

In this episode, Shawn Stevenson talks with psychotherapist and mental strength trainer Amy Morin about her new mental strength playbook—a practical guide for handling anxiety, boosting confidence, reducing dread, and making better decisions under pressure. The core message is that mental strength is not about suppressing emotions or “acting tough”; it’s about learning how to respond skillfully to stress, use the right tool for the moment, and access your own wisdom when life feels overwhelming.

Main Takeaways

  • Mental strength is not emotional suppression. Being strong means being able to admit struggle, ask for help, and recover effectively—not pretending nothing is wrong.
  • Stress is inevitable, but suffering doesn’t have to be amplified. A major theme is that our perception of stress matters just as much as the stressor itself.
  • Different problems need different “plays.” Amy’s book is framed like a sports playbook: pause, pick a strategy, and try it. If one tactic doesn’t work, choose another.
  • Behavior can change feelings. Several strategies work by shifting the body or behavior first, which then influences mood, focus, and confidence.
  • Self-talk and the questions we ask ourselves shape outcomes. The brain naturally tries to answer the questions it’s given, so changing the question can change the result.

Strategies Discussed

Anxiety Alleviators

These tools are designed to help calm the nervous system and interrupt spiraling thoughts.

  • Change the channel in your brain

    • Interrupt rumination by shifting attention to a task that requires some focus.
    • Examples: clean for 5 minutes, do a crossword, move rooms, call a friend about something unrelated.
    • Key point: distraction is sometimes healthy when it prevents repetitive overthinking.

  • Hum, sing, chant, or gargle

    • These actions stimulate the vagus nerve and can help activate the parasympathetic nervous system.
    • They can lower stress in real time and require no equipment.
    • Examples: hum while walking into a meeting, sing in the car, gargle for 60 seconds during a break.

Insight Igniters

These strategies help when you’re stuck, overwhelmed, or need better decision-making.

  • Get psychological distance

    • Step back from the problem so emotions don’t dominate logic.
    • Techniques:
      • Ask, “What advice would I give a friend?”
      • Time-travel: “What would I want to have done in five years?”
      • Use your own name in self-talk: “Amy, what do you need to do?”
      • Ask, “What would a hotshot do?”

  • Question your question

    • The first question you ask often determines the solutions you can see.
    • Example: instead of “How do I get rid of my anxiety?” ask, “How can I pursue my goal even with anxiety?”
    • Writing the question down can help reveal assumptions and open up new options.

Confidence Catalysts

These plays are meant to restore self-belief when doubt or rejection hits.

  • Act as if

    • Don’t “fake it”; instead, behave like the most confident version of yourself.
    • Confidence can begin with posture, eye contact, and movement before the feeling fully arrives.
    • This is useful before speeches, interviews, calls, or any high-pressure moment.

  • Visit your victory vault

    • Create a list of personal wins and what they taught you.
    • Include both big and small victories, plus the lessons attached to them.
    • Revisit the list when you feel inadequate, rejected, or stuck.
    • The point is to remember evidence of your capability and resilience.

Dread Diffusers

These tools help when avoidance and anticipation are making a task feel bigger than it is.

  • Go on a curiosity quest
    • Curiosity and dread cannot coexist in the same way.
    • Ask: “What could I learn from this?”
    • This shifts focus from avoidance to growth and can reduce the emotional weight of the task.

Amy Morin’s Personal Story and Why This Matters

Amy shares that her work became deeply personal after she experienced multiple devastating losses:

  • Her mother died suddenly from a brain aneurysm when Amy was 23.
  • Years later, her husband died of a heart attack.
  • Soon after remarrying, her father-in-law was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Those experiences shaped her understanding of grief, resilience, and mental strength. She emphasizes that healing is not about avoiding pain—it’s about going through it, learning from it, and finding ways to keep moving forward.

Practical Applications

  • Use humming or gargling when you need immediate calming.
  • Use psychological distance when emotions are high and decisions feel clouded.
  • Use question reframing when you feel stuck in a problem-solving loop.
  • Use acting as if before interviews, presentations, or other confidence-demanding situations.
  • Build a victory vault to remind yourself of past wins when self-doubt appears.
  • When facing dread, switch from avoidance to curiosity.

Final Message

The episode’s central lesson is that you do not have to wait to “feel ready” or “feel strong” before taking action. Mental strength is something you can practice in the moment with simple, repeatable tools. Amy Morin’s playbook gives listeners a concrete way to reduce anxiety, increase confidence, and respond to life’s challenges with more clarity and control.