Savvy Psychologist

581. Feeling low and wondering whether your diet could be part of it is more common than you might think. A new study out of UC San Francisco found that cutting ultra-processed food for four weeks produced moderate to large improvements in depression symptoms. Not a little better. Measurably, significantly better. This week, Dr. Judy Ho breaks down the evidence-based psychology behind the gut-brain connection, why these results make sense once you understand it, and three practical ways to shift your diet in ways your brain will notice.

Have a mental health question? Email Dr. Judy's team at [email protected]

Find Savvy Psychologist on Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter for more psychology tips.

Watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@SavvyPsychologist

More from Dr. Ho on her other channels:

Dr. Ho's website, Substack, LinkedIn.

Savvy Psychologist is a part of Quick and Dirty Tips. Find a transcript at QuickandDirtyTips.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

580. The end of a close friendship can hurt just as much as a romantic breakup — and in some ways, more. This week Dr. Judy Ho unpacks the psychology of friendship loss: why it’s so hard to grieve, what makes it different from other kinds of endings, and three evidence-based ways to actually move through it.

Have a mental health question? Email Dr. Judy's team at [email protected]

Find Savvy Psychologist on Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter for more psychology tips.

Watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@SavvyPsychologist

More from Dr. Ho on her other channels:

Dr. Ho's website, Substack, LinkedIn.

Savvy Psychologist is a part of Quick and Dirty Tips. Find a transcript at QuickandDirtyTips.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

579. Some people can calm a room full of hostile foreign ministers and still go quiet at their own dinner table. On “The Diplomat,” Kate Wyler is that person, and the pattern is more common than it looks. Dr. Judy Ho explains why people who are excellent at reading others often struggle with closeness at home, how emotional labor uses up the same self-regulation that intimacy needs, and why this is a depletion pattern rather than a lack of caring. Then she shares three short, actionable, evidence-based tools: a transition ritual, practicing emotional disclosure on purpose, and catching yourself when you start strategizing with your partner instead of asking a real question.

Have a mental health question? Email Dr. Judy's team at [email protected]

Find Savvy Psychologist on Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter for more psychology tips.

Watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@SavvyPsychologist

More from Dr. Ho on her other channels:

Dr. Ho's website, Substack, LinkedIn.

Savvy Psychologist is a part of Quick and Dirty Tips. Find a transcript at QuickandDirtyTips.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

578. You've built something. You've achieved things. And you still can't seem to sit down and focus on one task without your brain bouncing off the walls. This week Dr. Judy Ho explores what ADHD actually looks like in high achievers — the patterns that hide behind success, the strengths that almost never get named, and three tools for working with this brain rather than fighting it.

Have a mental health question? Email Dr. Judy's team at [email protected]

Find Savvy Psychologist on Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter for more psychology tips.

Watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@SavvyPsychologist

More from Dr. Ho on her other channels:

Dr. Ho's website, Substack, LinkedIn.

Savvy Psychologist is a part of Quick and Dirty Tips. Find a transcript at QuickandDirtyTips.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

577. You know doomscrolling is bad for you. You do it anyway. And if you're honest — in the moment, it kind of feels like it's helping. Today Dr. Judy Ho explains why that feeling is real, why it's also making everything worse, and three genuinely practical ways to interrupt the cycle that have nothing to do with deleting your apps.

Have a mental health question? Email Dr. Judy's team at [email protected]

Find Savvy Psychologist on Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter for more psychology tips.

Watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@SavvyPsychologist

More from Dr. Ho on her other channels:

Dr. Ho's website, Substack, LinkedIn.

Savvy Psychologist is a part of Quick and Dirty Tips. Find a transcript at QuickandDirtyTips.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

576. You pick up your phone to check one thing and 45 minutes disappear. You try to read a book and can't get through a page. You sit in a meeting and your mind keeps reaching for something it can't name. Brain rot isn't just a meme — it's Oxford's 2024 Word of the Year and a now well-documented neurological phenomenon. This week Dr. Judy Ho breaks down what scrolling is actually doing to your brain, why the usual advice doesn't work, and three genuinely surprising ways to retrain your attention.

Have a mental health question? Email Dr. Judy's team at [email protected]

Find Savvy Psychologist on Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter for more psychology tips.

Watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@SavvyPsychologist

More from Dr. Ho on her other channels:

Dr. Ho's website, Substack, LinkedIn.

Savvy Psychologist is a part of Quick and Dirty Tips. Find a transcript at QuickandDirtyTips.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

575. You’re functioning. You’re achieving. Nothing has gone dramatically wrong. And you wake up one morning and realize you genuinely can’t remember the last time something felt worth doing. A lot of people describe this as a feeling of emptiness. This week Dr. Judy Ho unpacks existential depression — the kind with no obvious cause, rooted in the collision with life’s biggest questions — what it is, why it hits the most thoughtful and high-achieving people hardest, and three ACT-based tools for moving toward meaning even when meaning feels absent.

Have a mental health question? Email Dr. Judy's team at [email protected]

Find Savvy Psychologist on Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter for more psychology tips.

Watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@SavvyPsychologist

More from Dr. Ho on her other channels:

Dr. Ho's website, Substack, LinkedIn.

Savvy Psychologist is a part of Quick and Dirty Tips. Find a transcript at QuickandDirtyTips.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

574. It doesn't start with a bruise. It starts with devotion that slowly becomes suffocation. The Netflix documentary Death of the Pastor's Wife, released August 26, 2026, has put coercive control back into the national conversation — a pattern of behavior that is now more commonly reported than physical abuse in many contexts and that carries some of the most severe mental health consequences in the intimate partner violence literature. This week Dr. Judy Ho unpacks what coercive control actually is, what drives someone to do it, how trauma bonding keeps people in it, and three evidence-based tools for recognizing it, navigating it, and helping someone you love who may be living it.

Have a mental health question? Email Dr. Judy's team at [email protected]

Find Savvy Psychologist on Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter for more psychology tips.

Watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@SavvyPsychologist

More from Dr. Ho on her other channels:

Dr. Ho's website, Substack, LinkedIn.

Savvy Psychologist is a part of Quick and Dirty Tips. Find a transcript at QuickandDirtyTips.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

573. You have a full life. People who love you. A calendar that barely has room to breathe. And somehow, underneath all of it, you still feel alone. Today Dr. Judy Ho unpacks the loneliness that nobody talks about — the kind that lives inside a full life — why it happens, what it's actually doing to your body, and three simple, evidence-based things you can start doing today to feel genuinely more connected.

Have a mental health question? Email Dr. Judy's team at [email protected]

Find Savvy Psychologist on Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter for more psychology tips.

Watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@SavvyPsychologist

More from Dr. Ho on her other channels:

Dr. Ho's website, Substack, LinkedIn.

Savvy Psychologist is a part of Quick and Dirty Tips. Find a transcript at QuickandDirtyTips.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

572. If you were ever told you were too sensitive, too intense, or that you feel things too much — this episode is for you. The Highly Sensitive Person trait affects 15–30% of the population, shows up in over 100 animal species, and has measurable differences on brain scans. It is not a flaw. This week Dr. Judy Ho breaks down what HSP actually is, what makes the HSP brain genuinely different, the strengths that almost never get named, and three tools for thriving as an HSP rather than just surviving.

Have a mental health question? Email Dr. Judy's team at [email protected]

Find Savvy Psychologist on Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter for more psychology tips.

Watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@SavvyPsychologist

More from Dr. Ho on her other channels:

Dr. Ho's website, Substack, LinkedIn.

Savvy Psychologist is a part of Quick and Dirty Tips. Find a transcript at QuickandDirtyTips.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.