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Hello, I am a marital therapist, communications trainer and author. I have thirty-five years helping couples and individuals make better relationships. I have written twenty-plus self-help books which include the international best-sellers ‘I love you but I’m not in love with you’ and ‘How can I ever trust you again?’ My books have been translated into twenty languages. I trained with RELATE the UK’s largest counselling charity. Perhaps it has been turning sixty but I have become interested in spiritual as well as psychological questions. Who am I? What are my values – as opposed to my parents, my teachers and the wider society? What makes my life meaningful? What do I believe about life, the universe and everything? Although my clients might come to me because of destructive arguments, falling out of love and infidelity, they are also interested in having more meaningful relationships and a more meaningful life. So what is the meaningful life? Why do we so easily lose our way and get lost in depression, anxiety, doubt, addictions and obsessions: the swamplands of the soul? One thing I know for sure is that there is not one answer. Each of us has to find out for ourselves what makes our life meaningful. But we can learn from each other, share our experiences of how to navigate the journey, how to endure and learn from the swamp, and finally how to find solid ground. I have decided to use my original training in radio and journalism to interview witnesses for what makes life meaningful. Each week, I invite someone who is a therapist, academic, self-help coach or who has an enlightening personal story to share their knowledge or experiences. I hope our discussions will help you discover what makes your life meaningful and find more purpose and contentment.
Episodes
Monday Jul 22, 2024
Monday Jul 22, 2024
Would you like your life to be less focused on others’ reactions and more informed by your own principles? Would you like to stop feeling responsible for the experiences of others?
This week I talk to therapist and author Dr Kathleen Smith about how to stop pleasing other people, find your authentic self, and, in the process, become less anxious and develop richer relationships.
We cover:
- Identifying relationship patterns that keep you stuck.
- Relying less on praise and approval from others.
- Building a solid sense of self in anxious times.
- Building more authentic and rewarding relationships.
Subscriber Content This Week
If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:
- What is your anxiety language?
- AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees.
Follow Up
Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things
Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools
Read Kathleen Smith’s new book True to You: A Therapist’s Guide to Stop Pleasing Others and Start Being Yourself
Read Kathleen Smith’s other books, Everything Isn't Terrible: Conquer Your Insecurities, Interrupt Your Anxiety, and Finally Calm Down and The Fangirl Life: A Guide to All the Feels and Learning How to Deal.
Read and/or subscribe to Kathleen Smith’s Substack, The Anxious Overachiever
Take a look at Kathleen Smith’s website
Follow Kathleen Smith on Twitter @fangirltherapy and on Facebook @kathleensmithwrites
Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall
Monday Feb 14, 2022
Monday Feb 14, 2022
If you could write a letter to your own anxiety, what would it say? This is just one of the ways therapist Dr Kathleen Smith befriends her anxiety and in the process, moves it into the back seat of her life.
If you can’t sleep, can’t focus and are constantly pushing down the frustrations you experience in your relationships, you will know that you probably need to deal with your anxiety.
In this episode, Andrew and Kathleen discuss how to go about doing this, and the paramount importance of observing and understanding before leaping into action.
Kathleen Smith is a therapist and author from Washington D.C. She writes the Anxious Overachiever newsletter on Substack, and is the author of Everything Isn’t Terrible, a new book about anxiety. She is a graduate of Harvard and George Washington Universities, and has written for publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post and Psychology Today. Kathleen has a private therapy practice in Washington, DC, and is the host of the TV show Family Matters, produced by the University of the District of Columbia.
Follow Up
Join our Supporters Club to access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50.
Buy Kathleen Smith’s book Everything Isn’t Terrible: Conquer Your Insecurities, Interrupt Your Anxieties and Finally Calm Down
Take a look at Kathleen Smith’s website
Read Kathleen Smith’s Substack newsletter The Anxious Overachiever
Follow Kathleen Smith on Twitter @fangirltherapy and on Facebook @kathleensmithwrites
Read Andrew’s blog on how keeping a journal can improve your life: Top Twelve Benefits of Journaling
If anxiety is a topic of interest, you may also enjoy Andrew’s conversation with Richard Paterson: No More Overthinking
Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall