Ask Kati Anything

How do you actually feel your emotions without being consumed by them? In this episode of Ask Kati Anything, licensed therapist Kati Morton shares practical strategies for processing feelings in a healthy way — and how to compartmentalize without suppressing what you’re going through. Kati also answers listener questions about knowing if your anxiety medication is really working, the difference between dissociation and zoning out, how to cope with burnout-related memory problems, and what to do when starting therapy feels overwhelming because everything is connected. 💧 Today’s episode is sponsored by Liquid I.V. Stay hydrated and energized all day with my favorite electrolyte drink mix 👉 ⁠liquidiv.com⁠ — use PROMO CODE: KATI at checkout for 20% off your order! With neuroscience-backed insights and compassionate guidance, this episode will help you manage your emotions, protect your mental health, and create space to feel without losing control. My new book Why Do I Keep Doing This? is now available for pre-order: https://geni.us/XoyLSQ If you’ve ever felt stuck, this book is for you. I’d be so grateful for your support. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 – Intro 00:44 – How to Feel Emotions Without Being Overwhelmed (Healthy Compartmentalization) 08:05 – How to Know If Anxiety Medication Is Working (Signs & Next Steps) 13:07 – Mild Dissociation vs. Zoning Out: How to Recognize and Stop It 19:06 – Dissociation vs. Derealization Explained (Key Differences) 23:38 – Starting Therapy but Invalidation Your Struggles (Why It Happens) 28:34 – Burnout, Stress, ASD & Memory Issues: What’s Normal vs. Concerning 35:40 – Where to Start in Therapy When Everything Feels Interconnected ⚠️ Trigger Warning (suicidality, trauma, grief) 41:01 – Outro & Homework Ask Kati Anything ep. 276 | Your mental health podcast, with Kati Morton, LMFT BOOKS by Kati Traumatized https://geni.us/Bfak0j Are u ok? https://geni.us/sva4iUY ONLINE THERAPY (enjoy 10% off your first month) While I do not currently offer online therapy, BetterHelp can connect you with a licensed, online therapist: https://betterhelp.com/kati PARTNERSHIPS Nick Freeman | nick@biglittlemedia.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s the real difference between a psychiatrist and a therapist — and how do you know which one you need? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Eric Bender, a psychiatrist, therapist, and media consultant who has worked everywhere from private practice to video game studios. Together we dive into the messy realities of mental health treatment: the truth about psychiatric medication, therapy vs. “med management,” why stigma keeps so many people stuck, and how to know when it’s time to seek help. Dr. Bender shares his journey from teaching and social work into psychiatry, what it’s really like to balance prescribing with therapy, and how he helps patients navigate shame, fear, and medication side effects. We also explore borderline personality disorder, antidepressant withdrawal, genetic testing, and the art of tailoring treatment to the individual. Plus — his fascinating work consulting on Batman and other characters for media projects. This conversation is honest, practical, and full of insights to help you better understand yourself and your mental health journey. Sponsors (Support the Show!) Mint Mobile — Get 3 months of unlimited premium wireless for just $15/month → https://www.mintmobile.com/kati OneSkin — Target aging on 3 fronts with the OS-01 peptide, antioxidants, and non-nano zinc oxide. Get 15% off with code KATI → https://www.oneskin.co/ Timestamps (Ask Kati Anything ep. 277) 00:00 – Introduction: Meet Dr. Eric Bender 00:17 – Psychiatry vs. Psychology: What’s the Difference? 02:09 – Dr. Bender’s Unconventional Path to Becoming a Psychiatrist 07:10 – Working with Children & Parents in Therapy 09:01 – Why He Still Does Therapy (Not Just Medication) 13:16 – Conversations Around Medication & Stigma 17:18 – Antidepressant Withdrawal & Side Effects Explained 23:36 – Treating Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) 29:48 – Therapy, Medication & Insurance Challenges 35:13 – Should You See a Psychiatrist or a Therapist? 43:47 – Offering Hope & Knowing When to Seek Help 47:31 – Psychiatry Meets Pop Culture: Consulting on Batman & Media 52:14 – How Media Shapes Mental Health Stigma 53:04 – Closing Thoughts My New Book (Pre-Order) Why Do I Keep Doing This? → https://geni.us/XoyLSQ If you’ve ever felt stuck, this book is for you. I’d be so grateful for your support. Other Books Traumatized → https://geni.us/Bfak0j Are u ok? → https://geni.us/sva4iUY Connect with Dr. Eric Bender YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.ericbender Website: http://www.doctorericbender.com/ Kati’s Main YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/katimorton Online Therapy (10% off your first month) While I do not currently offer online therapy, BetterHelp can connect you with a licensed, online therapist → https://betterhelp.com/kati Partnerships Nick Freeman | nick@biglittlemedia.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Catastrophizing can make every small problem feel like the end of the world. In this episode, I share practical tools to stop worst-case-scenario thinking and finally calm your anxious brain. SPONSORS: BLISSY - Get better sleep, hair and skin with Blissy and use ASKKATIPOD to get an additional 30% off at https://www.blissy.com/ASKKATIPOD GREEN CHEF - Head to https://www.Greenchef.com/50ASKKATI and get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for 2 months with free shipping!! But that’s not all — this episode of Ask Kati Anything also dives into: • How to handle disrespect and set boundaries without losing your cool • Why opening up about mental health online can feel so exposing • Managing anxiety around aging — for yourself and loved ones • Understanding the cycle of eating disorders and why behaviors return • How to advocate for yourself in medical settings • And more listener questions about therapy, anxiety, and healing Chapters / Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro & what’s ahead 01:00 – “How do I handle disrespect without losing my cool?” 07:16 – “Posting about my mental health online made me feel exposed…” 13:07 – “I just turned 39 and I’m scared of aging.” 20:06 – “My mom is almost 60 and I’m anxious about losing her.” 24:05 – “Why isn’t my body responding to eating disorder behaviors the same way?” 29:29 – “Why are my urges to restrict, purge, and cut coming back?” 32:14 – “How do I advocate for myself when my medication isn’t the right fit?” 35:26 – “My partner and I just discovered we see the same therapist…” 39:23 – “Why would a therapist ask to see my scars?” 43:32 – “Why do therapists ask what we use to self-injure?” 44:24 – “Why does my brain catastrophize and always jump to the worst-case scenario?” My NEW BOOK is available for pre-order! Why Do I Keep Doing This? → https://geni.us/XoyLSQ If you’ve ever felt stuck, this book is for you. I’d be so grateful for your support. MY BOOKS Traumatized https://geni.us/Bfak0j Are u ok? https://geni.us/sva4iUY ONLINE THERAPY (enjoy 10% off your first month) While I do not currently offer online therapy, our sponsor BetterHelp can connect you with a licensed, online therapist: https://betterhelp.com/kati PARTNERSHIPS Nick Freeman | nick@biglittlemedia.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are repressed memories real? Can you recover them — and should you even try? In this episode of Ask Kati Anything, licensed therapist Kati Morton dives into the complex topic of repressed and suppressed memories, why dissociation happens during trauma, and whether it's possible to retrieve lost experiences. If you’ve ever wondered why you remember some painful moments and forget others, or how to talk to a therapist about memory gaps, this video is for you. We also explore: • Why some traumatic memories disappear • The connection between dissociation and memory loss • How to safely work with a therapist to recover memories • Kati’s personal story about grief and emotional overwhelm 📚 Preorder Kati’s new book "Why Do I Keep Doing This?" → https://geni.us/XoyLSQ Ask Kati Anything ep. 263 | Your mental health podcast, with Kati Morton, LMFT Audience questions: 1. Can you talk about suppressed memories? My dad died when I was young, I was in the room, but I'm missing huge gaps in my memory. Why does this occur? And why only parts of the memory instead of the entire memory. 2. I've been going down the journey of realizing I'm autistic for a year now (I'm 40y.o. female) and the navigation of the grief of what I thought were things I could overcome but struggled to do, and now realizing I will never overcome some of my issues ever. 3. What inspired you to become a therapist, and how did you get started? I want to thank you for your incredible work. 4. My question is, how could I know if I have ever been in a dysthymia-like state, provided that I don’t recall myself as a ‘happy’ kid/teenager but someone feeling depressed and suicidal on and off for maybe a year or two? I’m 25 now and in hindsight, my first depressive episode was at age 15, due to an acute stressor. But I tend to think my personality/character hasn’t changed much since a very young age. Through the following years I’ve had quite a few distinct depressive episodes and was diagnosed with MDD, which makes perfect sense. Yet I still somehow find the ‘good’ time in between had a fleeting, almost phantom-like feature. I was happy with my friends, of course, but as soon as we parted, I was back into the default, muted mode, or a tranquil mood but in the sense of ‘tranquilliser.’ 5. How do I ask my therapist for touch to ground me when I dissociate? I have a history of csa that happened from my mom from 6 to 12 and have a fear that I can have a panic attack because I have panic disorder. I tend to dissociate a lot during a session, which makes it hard to progress when I can't stay present. I have bpd which doesn't help as I am attached to my therapist and wish she was my mom. I just don't want her to think I'm weird, disgusting, or dirty for asking for touch. What can I do or say to not feel uncomfortable or weird during my session when asking? 6. I have been in some form of counselling/therapy since I was 12, I'm now 32. 6 years ago I was diagnosed with BPD and I have been having private DBT therapy for the past year, as it is not available on the NHS. I have recently had an in-depth comprehensive psychological formulation assessment (which I paid for privately) and have been told that I have a dissociative disorder as the result of complex childhood trauma. It wasn't a diagnostic assessment so I don't know which dissociative disorder I have. My question is I am still having DBT and although I really like my therapist 🎧 Whether you're on a healing journey or just curious about how the mind protects itself, Kati offers compassion, clinical insight, and hope. 💬 Let us know in the comments: Have you experienced memory gaps after trauma? ONLINE THERAPY (enjoy 10% off your first month) While I do not currently offer online therapy, BetterHelp can connect you with a licensed, online therapist: https://betterhelp.com/kati PARTNERSHIPS Nick Freeman | nick@biglittlemedia.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Ask Kati Anything, Kati Morton, LMFT, answers your deeply vulnerable questions around eating disorder recovery, abandonment, and the grief of losing a therapist. If you’ve ever felt “too much,” stuck in self-sabotage, or rejected by the people who should’ve helped—you are not alone. In this episode: What to do when your therapist wants to cut back sessions but you're not ready How to move forward when your parents knew you were struggling but stayed silent Why ED behaviors change shape—and how to finally stop the cycle How reparenting work can trigger relapse (and what to do instead) Grieving the loss of a therapist you trusted Why your body can’t accept the good things—and how to heal that trauma response 💬 Have a question for Kati? Submit it every Sunday on her YouTube Community Tab. 📚 My New Book is Available for PRE-ORDER Now! Why Do I Keep Doing This? https://geni.us/XoyLSQ 🎙 Subscribe and follow the podcast to never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ballet, burnout, and the hidden mental health battles of a top performer. In this powerful conversation, Sara Mearns — principal ballerina at New York City Ballet — opens up about her journey through a breakdown, therapy, and rediscovering joy in dance. Hear her unfiltered story about pressure, resilience, and the healing power of vulnerability. Ask Kati Anything ep. 279 | Your mental health podcast, with Kati Morton, LMFT Timestamps 00:00 – Introduction: Meet Sara Mearns 01:05 – Why ballet feels new every day 03:40 – The pressure of never feeling “good enough” 04:42 – Mental Health Coalition & Covid struggles 07:12 – The breaking point: burnout and depression 12:14 – Rediscovering balance through therapy 17:14 – The role of storytelling and books like The Midnight Library https://amzn.to/3HRAhsM 22:12 – The intimacy of dance partnerships 30:47 – When the audience goes silent: the ultimate performance high 35:17 – Deciding to become a professional ballerina at 12 39:01 – Why therapy should be part of training for all athletes 45:20 – The small shifts therapy creates over time 50:07 – How going public with her burnout helped others 53:58 – The future of ballet and mental health advocacy Follow along with Sara https://www.instagram.com/saramearns https://www.nycballet.com/ My new book is available for pre-order! Why Do I Keep Doing This? → https://geni.us/XoyLSQ If you’ve ever felt stuck, this book is for you. I’d be so grateful for your support. SPONSORS: To support this podcast, please check out https://www.oneskin.co - use the code KATI for 15% OFF https://www.betterhelp.com/katipod - (enjoy 10% off your first month) MY BOOKS Traumatized   https://geni.us/Bfak0j   Are u ok?    https://geni.us/sva4iUY  PARTNERSHIPS Nick Freeman |  nick@biglittlemedia.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Healing from trauma can feel like an impossible journey, especially when you feel completely numb and disconnected. In this video, licensed marriage and family therapist Katie Morton tackles some of the toughest questions about complex PTSD, childhood trauma, and finding a way to heal. She offers practical tips for rebuilding trust in yourself, managing overwhelming emotions, and navigating the difficult path to recovery. Whether you're feeling stuck, struggling with self-harm, or trying to process grief, this episode provides hope and validation. Ask Kati Anything ep.280 | Your mental health podcast, with Kati Morton, LMFT Please support the podcast by visiting our sponsors: OneSkin Get 15% off your order using the code KATI at https://www.oneskin.co/ Liquid I.V. Use promo code KATI to receive 20% off your order at https://www.liquid-iv.com/ Timestamps 00:46 Q1: Childhood Trauma/PTSD 14:07 Q2: Feeling Stuck in Therapy 20:46 Q3: Reconnecting After Attachment Wounds 26:46 Q4: Self-Harm 29:21 BOOK Recommendation: Traumatized https://geni.us/Bfak0j 31:55 Q5: Pet Grief 37:50 Q6: Kinks and Trauma 42:40 Q7: Living with Chronic Ideation My new book is available for pre-order: Why Do I Keep Doing This? → https://geni.us/XoyLSQ If you’ve ever felt stuck, this book is for you. I’d be so grateful for your support. YOUTUBE CHANNEL https://www.youtube.com/@Katimorton ONLINE THERAPY (enjoy 10% off your first month) While I do not currently offer online therapy, BetterHelp can connect you with a licensed, online therapist: https://betterhelp.com/kati PARTNERSHIPS Nick Freeman | nick@biglittlemedia.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Ask Kati Anything (ep. 225) licensed therapist Kati Morton explains how to stop intellectualizing and actually feel our feelings, and she digs into grief and how we can process it. Then she talks about why we can feel like our mental illnesses are made up or exaggerated because we haven’t had a trauma or big event, ways we can healthily express our anger, and how she defines an eating disorder relapse. Finally, she walks us through the ways she decides what’s the human condition and what’s a symptom of a mental illness. 1. How do I stop intellectualizing my feelings and feel them? 01:23 2. Hey Kati! I was curious if you could talk about grief as an emotion, and how to cope with it and ways to help process it. Before therapy, I could not name any emotions, and I’ve gotten so much better at it. In fact, unbeknownst to me, I’ve actually always been quite the adept feeler of emotions— in the sense that I can find them in my body, I can talk about how they feel and the directions they move within me and through me... 08:27 3. Hello Kati, I often feel my MDD and GAD diagnosis is not warranted and it's 'all in my head' because I have not experienced any major negative life events or traumas. This has prevented me from discussing the things that I believe could be contributing to my symptoms because they don't feel important enough... 25:16 4. Hi Kati, I was wondering if you could talk about healthy ways to express anger. I come from a culture where expressing anger is shameful, especially for women. So my anger is as scary as fire flames for me. However, I have noticed my binge eating is fuelled by my unexpressed anger. So, can you please teach me some techniques about handling anger. Thanks for all your amazing work. 34:13 5. Hi Kati! Hope you’re doing well. I am wondering how a relapse in an eating disorder is defined. Is there a clinical-based definition or is it more of a gray area? Does it mean meeting the diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder diagnosis once again... 40:47 6. How do you figure out what's just 'the human condition' or a personality trait and what's an actual symptom? 55:08 PUBLISHED BOOKS Traumatized https://geni.us/Bfak0j Are u ok? https://geni.us/sva4iUY Join this channel & access more perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzBYOHyEEzlkRdDOSobbpvw/join ONLINE THERAPY While I do not currently offer online therapy, BetterHelp can connect you with a licensed, online therapist: https://betterhelp.com/kati (enjoy 10% off your first month) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Watch Khalyla Kuhn get raw and real with Kati Morton. In this powerful conversation, Khalyla shares untold truths about her very public breakup with Bobby Lee, recovering from Bell’s Palsy, launching her business Ebb Ocean Club during total chaos, becoming a mom in secret, and what it’s really like to deal with toxic internet culture. If you’ve ever felt misunderstood, judged online, or trapped by stress, this episode will hit home. 🌊 From heartbreak to healing, betrayal to boundaries — Khalyla reminds us all that you can rebuild your life on your own terms. My new book is available for pre-order: Why Do I Keep Doing This? → https://geni.us/XoyLSQIf you’ve ever felt stuck, this book is for you. I’d be so grateful for your support. Ask Kati Anything ep. 268 ⏰ Timestamps 00:00 – Intro: Khalyla Kuhn on Ask Kati Anything 02:00 – Bell’s Palsy: The stress that broke her body 07:00 – How TigerBelly actually got started 14:30 – Surviving public judgment & parasocial hate 20:00 – Trolls, takedowns & toxic culture online 26:00 – How heartbreak inspired her new haircare line 32:00 – Secretly becoming a mom: “I didn’t tell anyone!” 38:00 – Escaping the fires & finding safe places 44:00 – Trauma mode, fight-or-flight & healing 48:00 – What’s next for Khalyla Kuhn? More Khalyla https://www.youtube.com/@TigerBelly https://www.youtube.com/@TrashTuesday https://www.instagram.com/khalamityk https://ebboceanclub.com/ ONLINE THERAPY (enjoy 10% off your first month)While I do not currently offer online therapy, BetterHelp can connect you with a licensed, online therapist: https://betterhelp.com/kati PARTNERSHIPS Nick Freeman | nick@biglittlemedia.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices