Mental Health Today Show | Mental Wellness & Overthinking

Loneliness and anxiety often trap overthinkers in a cruel paradox that creates mental barriers: you crave connection but fear it. In this episode, John Cordray, LPC, breaks down the connection crisis and reveals evidence-based anxiety coping skills and CBT techniques to rebuild for burnout, managing stress, relationships, and emotional wellness without triggering anxiety spirals. Perfect for stress coping strategies on your morning commute or gym workout.

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Host, John Cordray, LPC www.johncordraylpc.com

Adolescent boys face a hidden anxiety crisis, yet are 3x less likely than girls to seek help. On Mental Health Today Show, John Cordray, LPC, talks with Jarrod Hoffman about teen mental wellness, and they explore practical coping skills, emotional resilience techniques, and anxiety management strategies for teen boys and young adults. Learn how to break through socialization barriers and build emotional wellness before anxiety escalates.

A little about Jarrod: I've experienced grief, anxiety, depression, addiction, job loss, purposelessness, and isolation. My parents divorced when I was 10. I found porn at age 11. I found healing through counseling at 25. I help children, teens, and families who are dealing with challenging life circumstances, young adults looking for life direction, and those in recovery because therapy helped me. My life experiences are what led me to become the therapist I am today.

To find out more about what we talked about on this episode, visit Jarrod's website jarrodhoffman.com

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Host: John Cordray, LPC johncordraylpc.com

Explore how AI and technology can support anxiety management and emotional wellness, without replacing human therapy. In this episode, John Cordray, LPC, breaks down the evidence-based mental wellness tools helping professionals manage anxiety, shares which anxiety coping strategies work best with AI assistance, and reveals where technology falls short. Perfect for overthinkers seeking practical mental health solutions, cognitive techniques, and burnout.

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Host, John Cordray, LPC www.johncordraylpc.com

Sources:

• Sohn et al. (2026) — Systematic review and meta-analysis of chatbots in the management of depressive and anxiety symptoms. npj Digital Medicine. Published March 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41746-026-02566-w. This covers the Hedges’ g effect sizes (0.31 for depression, 0.28 for anxiety) across nearly 7,400 participants.
• Feng et al. (2025) — The Effectiveness of AI Chatbots in Alleviating Mental Distress and Promoting Health Behaviors Among Adolescents and Young Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 27:e79850 (2025). DOI: 10.2196/79850. This includes the standard mean differences for anxiety (-0.37), stress (-0.41), and psychosomatic symptoms (-0.48).
• Heinz et al. (2025) — Randomized Trial of a Generative AI Chatbot for Mental Health Treatment (Therabot). NEJM AI (2025). This is the first RCT showing clinically significant reductions in MDD, GAD, and related symptoms, with therapeutic alliance ratings comparable to human therapists.
• Cachia et al. (2025) — AI for Proactive Mental Health: A Multi-Institutional, Longitudinal, Randomized Controlled Trial (Flourish app). Harvard University working paper / arXiv preprint (2025). This covers improvements in positive affect, resilience, belonging, and protective effects against stress.
• OpenAI & MIT Media Lab (2025) — Studies on affective use and emotional well-being with ChatGPT (including voice mode). These show mixed effects on loneliness, with voice interactions sometimes reducing it at moderate use but increasing isolation with heavy daily reliance.
• Wysa-related studies (multiple, including 2025 updates) — Various trials showing reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms (e.g., up to 22% in some cohorts) with CBT/mindfulness integration.
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• Stanford University studies (2025) — Multiple papers and reports on AI mental health tools, including risks of stigma, crisis mishandling, parasocial bonds, and inappropriate responses. Key examples include work on LLM safety in therapy contexts and Common Sense Media collaboration with Stanford’s Brainstorm Lab.
• Frontiers in Psychiatry (2025) — Reviews noting that while chatbots are feasible and acceptable short-term, evidence for long-term safety and efficacy (especially in moderate-to-severe cases) remains limited.
• Character.AI-related tragedies (2024–2026) — Lawsuits and settlements involving families alleging harm from companion-style chatbots (including role-play scenarios leading to isolation or escalation). Google/Character.AI reached settlements in early 2026 with multiple families. Similar patterns noted in lawsuits against other platforms involving crisis responses.
• American Psychological Association (APA) advisory (late 2025) — Caution on generative AI chatbots and wellness apps for mental health, citing insufficient evidence and regulation for safety in emotional support or crisis situations.

Join Sunita Yousuf on a journey of mindful cooking designed to combat burnout and anxiety. Learn actionable stress coping skills and wellness tips to transform your mental health with the healing power of food.

Listeners are encouraged to start a 15-day habit challenge involving cooking and journaling daily, practice mindful cooking by engaging their senses, and prioritize nutritious eating as a foundation for emotional health. This episode delivers valuable wellness expert insights on using cooking as a therapeutic technique that supports mental health coping and burnout prevention in fast-paced environments.

• Subscribe and leave a review if this episode resonated with your own journey toward trauma recovery or better coping skills. Rate The Show

• To learn more about The Wannabe Cook, visit thewannabecook.com

Host: John Cordray, LPC www.johncordraylpc.com

Imposter syndrome and high achiever stress create a vicious anxiety loop. In this deep-dive, John Cordray, LPC, reveals the cognitive distortions fueling "never good enough" feelings and shares evidence-based coping strategies to rewire perfectionist thinking. Learn how to distinguish imposter syndrome from legitimate growth opportunities, prevent burnout before it starts, and use your analytical mind as your recovery tool. Essential listening for overthinkers in high-pressure careers. Turn your mental barriers into mental wellness.

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Host: John Cordray, LPC johncordraylpc.com

Dr. Dhruva Gulur presents trauma-informed Mind Hygiene® methods to strengthen anxiety coping skills and emotional resilience. This episode covers CBT techniques, stress management, and mental rewiring approaches to combat workplace anxiety and support mental wellness. Discover how trauma-informed care is becoming essential in mental health treatment, helping individuals break mental barriers and manage anxiety with therapeutic techniques such as writing exercises and mindfulness anxiety interventions. Whether you're seeking help for trauma recovery, emotional health, or managing stress in high-pressure environments, this conversation offers actionable tools and counselor tips you can use immediately.

Join us to learn about cultivating cognitive resilience and stress wellness with techniques rooted in CBT and emotional health expertise, empowering you to move beyond reactive coping and toward proactive mental self-management skills for long-term wellness.

Suggested Calls to Action:

• Subscribe and leave a review if this episode resonated with your own journey toward trauma recovery or better coping skills. Rate The Show

• Download Dr. Dhruva’s free Mind Hygiene resources https://dhruvamd.com/

Financial anxiety can impact your mental wellness profoundly. Learn effective coping skills and cognitive distortion interventions that help reframe stress around finances, reduce burnout risk, and build lasting emotional resilience.

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Catastrophizing is a powerful cognitive distortion driving anxiety and stress. John Cordray explores CBT techniques and mental rewiring exercises designed to build emotional resilience and equip listeners with strong coping skills for mental wellness.

Show Notes:

Welcome to this empowering episode where we tackle the common cognitive distortion of catastrophizing—when your mind leaps to the worst-case scenarios. You’ll learn how catastrophizing can increase anxiety and stress and how it might be holding you back from emotional wellness.

In this episode, we break down:

• What catastrophizing is and how it affects your thoughts and feelings
• The science behind emotional resilience and why it matters for mental health
• Practical CBT techniques and mental rewiring exercises you can do at home
• Tips for building strong coping skills to manage stress and anxiety
• Real-life examples illustrating how small mindset shifts can make a big difference

Whether you’re new to mental health concepts or looking for actionable tools to support your journey, this episode provides clear strategies to help you rewire negative thinking and build lasting emotional strength.

Don’t forget to subscribe and share if you find value in this content. Join us next time for more insights on mental wellness and coping skills!

Thank you for listening,

John Cordray, LPC (Host)

johncordray.com

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This true crime episode examines the Lauren Owens case through the lens of anxiety and stress management. Discover grounding exercises, cognitive reframing strategies, and emotional resilience techniques to help cope with betrayal and rebuild trust.

This true crime psychology episode reviews new developments in the case of Lauren Owens, an Arizona woman accused of faking multiple pregnancies, forging ultrasound images and lab results, and committing perjury in court to keep men, including former Bachelor contestant Clayton Eckard, tied to her, culminating in 14 felony counts, a trial set for July 29, 2026, and a plea offer from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office extended in late February 2026 that expires April 24, 2026 (with a status hearing April 9). The host, a Licensed Professional Counselor, offers speculative, non-diagnostic clinical analysis based on public facts, discussing patterns such as pathological lying, anxious-preoccupied attachment and abandonment fear, fictitious-behavior dynamics, narcissistic traits, gaslighting, and relational trauma affecting victims. A comparable case (Kaitlyn Braun in Ontario) is cited to illustrate similar pregnancy-fabrication patterns for attention and caretaking.

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Host: John Cordray, LPC johncordray.com

In this insightful episode, John Cordray dives deep into the challenges of overthinking and coping with anxiety, a common mental health issue that hinders anxiety management and mental wellness, especially among high achievers. He explains how overthinking traps individuals on a mental treadmill of rumination and stress, fueled by cognitive distortions such as catastrophizing and perfectionism. Listeners will gain valuable anxiety coping skills and stress coping strategies, including structured worry time, cognitive reframing, and self-compassion techniques that promote emotional health. John shares powerful counselor tips and therapeutic techniques designed to help break the cycle of overthinking and enhance cognitive resilience. Whether you're battling workplace anxiety, decision fatigue, or burnout, this episode offers practical mental wellness tools that empower you to take control and achieve lasting calm.

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