Emotional Fitness for Real Life with Dr. Emily Anhalt | 371
This Is Woman's Work with Nicole Kalil
Handling Defensive Reactions
Emily advises pausing, naming feelings, and asking questions to move from defensiveness to curiosity with feedback.
Friend, we obsess over steps, macros, and workout streaks… but when was the last time you checked in on your emotional fitness? In this episode, Nicole sits down with clinical psychologist, emotional fitness expert, and Coa co-founder Dr. Emily Anhalt to talk about what it actually looks like to “train your brain” — no toxic positivity, no “just meditate more,” and definitely no pretending everything’s fine when it’s very much not.
Emily breaks down her 7 traits of emotional fitness (think mindfulness, curiosity, boundaries, resilience, empathy, communication, and play) and how to build them like muscles over time — one emotional push-up at a time. We get into why empathy without boundaries will burn you all the way out, how to ask for feedback without spiraling into defensiveness, and why trusting your future self might be the most confidence-building thing you do this year.
If you’ve ever felt resentful because you said “yes” when every cell in your body wanted to say “no,” if you’re tired of carrying everyone else’s emotions like luggage, or if anxiety and uncertainty have been driving the bus lately, this one’s for you. Emotional fitness won’t stop life from throwing heavy shit your way — but it will make you strong enough to carry it, move it, and eventually put it down.
We explore:
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What emotional fitness actually means (and how it’s different from “fixing yourself”)
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The 7 traits of emotional fitness — and why you don’t have to master all of them at once
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How to spot the cost of avoiding discomfort (hello, resentment and burnout)The “emotional push-up” exercise you can start doing today
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How to hold empathy and boundaries so caring for others doesn’t drain you dry
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The best advice Emily ever got for dealing with anxiety and uncertainty
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Why trusting your future self is a deeply confident way to live
Because when you trust your future self, you stop living in panic about what might happen and start living with confidence in who you’re becoming — and that shifts everything.
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Connect with Emily:
Website: https://www.dremilyanhalt.com/
Book: https://a.co/d/couFOLN
IG: https://www.instagram.com/dremilyanhalt/
X: https://x.com/dremilyanhalt
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dremilyanhalt/
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