#792 Can Personalities Change? - Olga Khazan

#792 Can Personalities Change? - Olga Khazan

From Mental Illness Happy Hour by Paul Gilmartin

March 20, 2026 · 1h 15m

About this episode

Olga Khazan discusses her journey to change her personality traits and her experiences with anxiety.

Olga Khazan is an author and staff writer for The Atlantic. Today she talks about the experiments she undertook to change her own personality traits over the course of a year, which inspired her new book, Me, But Better. She also shares her good and bad experiences with anxiety--and why she has an attachment to the condition.  More about Olga Khazan:  Her Substack writing: https://olgakhazan.substack.com/ Her IG. www.Instagram.com/olganator Her book/website: www.OlgaKhazan.com This episode is sponsored Quince . Go to www.Quince.com/mental for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too. This episode is sponsored by Alma . Search their directory of over 20,000 therapists with different specialities, life experiences, and identities, and 99% of them take insurance. Go to www.HelloAlma.com/happyhour This episode is sponsored by The Jordan Harbinger Show . Learn more about the world, improve your critical thinking skills and be entertained! Listen or subscribe here:   jordanharbinger.com/subscribe   Apple Podcasts:  jordanharbinger.com/itunes Spotify:  jordanharbinger.com/spotify Here are the two…

People in this episode

Host: Paul Gilmartin

Guest: Olga Khazan

Topics covered

  • personality change
  • anxiety
  • self-improvement
  • mental health
  • personal experiences

Keywords

  • personality change
  • anxiety
  • self-improvement
  • Olga Khazan
  • Me, But Better

Sponsors

Quince, Alma, The Jordan Harbinger Show

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Atlantic

Books & works: Me, But Better

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