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The SelfWork Podcast

Margaret Robinson Rutherford PhD
Latest episode

573 episodes

  • The SelfWork Podcast

    523 SelfWork: Parental Remorse and Regret: Healing Unhealable Wounds

    06/11/2026 | 21 mins.
    Dr. Margaret focuses today on feelings of remorse and regret that parents carry over either their actions or their lack of action with the children they were meant to love and protect.
    Sexual abuse, incest, and alcoholism are also discussed, so please listen carefully.
    Today’s episode is focused on two very distinct listener appeals. One is a letter from an inmate within the Arkansas penal system who raped his oldest daughter. The second is a voicemail from a woman who was or is an alcoholic; that’s a little unclear. She was an irresponsible mother, and her oldest daughter became an alcoholic herself and died from that problem or the consequences of her addiction.
    They both express intense remorse over their actions or their lack of action. They are asking what they can do now. How do they live with themselves? How do they cope with the consequences of their action or inaction?
    Order The Perfectly Hidden Depression Workbook - A stand-alone workbook exploring the ten traits of Perfectly Hidden Depression, with guided exercises to help you decide what to keep from your drive and perfectionism, and what to let go.
    Be a part of the conversation and join Dr. Margaret’s newsletter for one weekly email featuring the latest blog post and podcast episode.
     Have a question or comment? Send a voice message for possible use on the podcast. By recording, you give permission for your voice to be used on SelfWork!

    Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
  • The SelfWork Podcast

    522 SelfWork: Unlocking the Secret to Finding Your Purpose

    30/10/2026 | 25 mins.
    Finding your purpose. Is that easy? Hard? With the help of the highly-respected Dr. Terrence Roberts, Dr. Margaret repeats his question, "Why are you?"
    I was lucky enough to have a very special experience this past week. I heard Dr. Terrence Roberts, who was one of the Little Rock Nine, nine African-American students who had the courage to enter an all-white segregated school - Central High School - in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. They had police escorts, and I'm sure it took immense courage, resolve, and resilience. He spoke at the fall convention of the Arkansas Psychological Association.
    I expected him to talk about that experience. But that wasn't the message he wanted to convey. Instead, he asked us all this question: "Why are you?" How would you answer that question?
    Order The Perfectly Hidden Depression Workbook - A stand-alone workbook exploring the ten traits of Perfectly Hidden Depression, with guided exercises to help you decide what to keep from your drive and perfectionism, and what to let go.
    Be a part of the conversation and join Dr. Margaret’s newsletter for one weekly email featuring the latest blog post and podcast episode.
     Have a question or comment? Send a voice message for possible use on the podcast. By recording, you give permission for your voice to be used on SelfWork!

    Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
  • The SelfWork Podcast

    521 SelfWork: What Does "Asking For Help" Truly Mean?

    23/10/2026 | 21 mins.
    Today, Dr. Margaret focuses on what "asking for help" in the context of mental health... actually means.
    So many will tell you that asking for help reflects weakeness.
    I’d like to challenge that thought. And I’ve got great help from the little book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy.
    Here’s the quote itself:
    The Boy asks: “What is the bravest thing you’ve ever said?”
    The Horse answers: “Help.”
    The Horse adds: “Asking for help isn’t giving up. It’s refusing to give up.”

    Order The Perfectly Hidden Depression Workbook - A stand-alone workbook exploring the ten traits of Perfectly Hidden Depression, with guided exercises to help you decide what to keep from your drive and perfectionism, and what to let go.
    Be a part of the conversation and join Dr. Margaret’s newsletter for one weekly email featuring the latest blog post and podcast episode.
     Have a question or comment? Send a voice message for possible use on the podcast. By recording, you give permission for your voice to be used on SelfWork!

    Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
  • The SelfWork Podcast

    520 SelfWork: The Exhilarating Messiness of Grief

    16/10/2026 | 21 mins.
    Today’s episode of SelfWork was suggested by the last episode of Ted Lasso, in which Rebecca talked about grief and the messy feelings it can bring with it.
    Rebecca tells Ted, "We laugh, we hurt, we fall, we get back up. We're a mess. And that is… fantastic. Because being messy just means being alive. And we could all do with being a bit more alive."
    Or… not. Some people fear this messiness – they much prefer staying in control. And I understand and respect that.
    And yet… if you’re one of those people, if you’ve never allowed yourself to feel all of what you can feel, I’d like to propose the idea that if fear is keeping you away those emotions, then that can become its own trap.

    Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
  • The SelfWork Podcast

    519 SelfWork: Daring to Face the Fear of Public Speaking (And Other Anxieties)

    09/10/2026 | 41 mins.
    Dr. Margaret and her TEDx speech coach, Brian Miller, talk about challenging the fear of public speaking and the importance of human connection.
    "Go out and make a dent in the universe." These are the words I heard from Brian Miller, three years ago, weeks before I was to give my TEDxBocaRaton talk on perfectly hidden depression.
    Daring to face the fear of public speaking...
    But why did I ask Brian to be on SelfWork? Probably not many of you give actual speeches, although some of you might. You may make presentations at work. You may be helping your child with a project they're doing. You may be on a committee where you're leading people.
    Or you may avoid those things like the plague.
    One reason is that the fear of public speaking is the most common anxiety or fear that any of us can have. It beats out a fear of spiders or heights - or even death itself. It belongs in a similar realm as social anxiety, which is its close cousin.
    But I think Brian's message is much more than about making speeches. It's about human connection. It's about getting out of your own need to be successful at whatever you're doing and to care instead about how to serve and connect with others.
    It's about accepting the challenge - that you can be the person who makes that dent - however you want to do it.
     

    Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
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About The SelfWork Podcast
I'm Dr. Margaret, a psychologist for over 30 years, TEDx speaker, and the author of Perfectly Hidden Depression. I created The SelfWork Podcast in 2016 to explain mental health treatment and to give you the chance to consider therapy without thinking it's weird or that it somehow suggests you can't fix your own problems. My team is very honored that nine years later, SelfWork has earned nearly 5 million downloads! Each episode features the popular listener question as well as interviews with outstanding guests, authors, and experts, adding to the wide diversity of topics listeners so appreciate. Regularly rated as one of the top mental health/depression podcasts out there (ranked as a top .5% internationally) I keep it short, casual, and focused on "what you can do about it." I'd love to hear from you. Please join me.
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