How To Manage Negative Or Intrusive Thoughts - Dr Ethan Kross

How To Manage Negative Or Intrusive Thoughts - Dr Ethan Kross

From The Francesca Psychology Podcast by Francesca Tighinean

April 16, 2026 · 42 min

About this episode

Dr. Ethan Kross discusses managing negative and intrusive thoughts and the impact of the inner voice on emotions.

Ethan Kross is an award-winning psychology professor at the University of Michigan, founder of the Emotion & Self-Control Laboratory, and bestselling author of Chatter and Shift. 00:00 Intro 01:45 What is an inner voice 03:44 Intrusive thoughts 07:52 Types of people that have more intrusive thoughts 08:55 Types of chatter and harmful self talk 12:48 How does one develop a harmful inner voice 16:20 How to take control of your inner voice 20:33 How to help someone struggling 23:45 Confident inner voice 27:17 Connection between inner voice and emotions 29:10 The percent of time we experience emotions 31:06 Common myths about emotional regulation 36:50 What are shifters 38:00 How our environment influences our emotions 40:08 The best tool for everyday life

People in this episode

Host: Francesca Tighinean

Guest: Ethan Kross

Topics covered

  • negative thoughts
  • intrusive thoughts
  • self-control
  • emotional regulation
  • inner voice
  • mental health

Keywords

  • intrusive thoughts
  • inner voice
  • emotional regulation
  • self-talk
  • mental health
  • chatter
  • self-control

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Michigan

Books & works: Chatter, Shift

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