World Leading Psychologist: How To Detach From Overthinking & Anxiety: Dr Julie Smith | E122

I can't stop now. I can't- I can't stop doing this.

Dr. Julie Smith, she's a clinical psychologist with more than three million followers. How is she dealing with stress, pressure, burnout, overload?

We're subjected to these kind of ideals. We're trying to do everything perfectly, and it's impossible. All those things that- that we end up doing habitually are the things that work instantly, going to the fridge or grabbing the wine or whatever it is. And actually, the things that tend to work in the long term are hardest in the moment, like sitting with it and feeling it and using skills to get yourself through it. I just love that therapy. It's great for looking at the patterns and the cycles that people tend to feel stuck in in their relationship, and it's incredible how life-changing that can be for people.

Without further ado, I'm Steven Bartlett, and this is The Diary of a CEO. I hope nobody's listening, but if you are, then please keep this to yourself. Could you do me a quick favor if you're listening to this? Please hit the follow or subscribe button. It helps more than you know, and we invite subscribers in every month to watch the show in person. Dr. Julie Smith, I had some time to read as much as I could about your story. And with lot, a lot of my guests, there's often tons of backstory online about their personal lives, their upbringing, their childhood. That didn't seem to be the case with you, and I think one of the things that, from getting further and further down the road with your story, I thought was really wonderful, was typically when people are successful and they- they reach the levels of success that you have in their disciplines, um, we- we tend to want to point to some kind of anomalous childhood where something traumatic or, um, really significant happened that shaped them and made them obsessive or overly dedicated or passionate. Was that the case for you? What was your childhood like? Tell me.

Uh, yeah. So, uh, no, there- uh, there's no, um, sort of, major trauma that- that triggered my kind of mission to do any of this, or even, you know, had... Uh, a few questions recently about, you know, why I was even interested in psychology, and- and actually, I've always been fascinated by people, by humans, and- and I read a lot as a child, but actually everything I read was about normal people in normal life situations and sort of development of how people become who they- who they are, and, um, that's always fascinated me. And- and actually, I- I started studying psychology because I found it really interesting. You know, just, um, there was- there was a new A-level available at my school, my college, and so I thought, well, that sounds okay, that sounds great, let's try it, and I was just fascinated by it. And so I kind of went with that and went to university because everybody else was going and it seemed like that was what you do now, and, um, so psychology felt like, you know, an interesting thing to do. I had no idea really what jobs could be at the end of it. I just kept following my interests all the way along. And- and actually when people ask me advice about new careers and finding your passion and all those things, that's... The only advice I give people really is, you know, uh, follow your interests, do the thing that- that excites you or that inspires you, and you don't have to have this, you know, epiphany moment that transforms your life and makes you passionate about doing what it is you're doing. Um, if you follow your interests, you're much more likely to end up somewhere, um, in- in a job that- that you love.