North Star Conversations Transcript: ERP and Perseverance—Melanie Santos, PsyD
Melanie Santos, PsyD, shares a quote she often offers to clients—“No feeling is final”—as a way to normalize emotional pain and build capacity for persistence. In this clip, she explains how this message supports exposure-based therapy and reminds patients that even paralyzing anxiety can pass.
Brandon Gimbel (00:00)
What is something that you find yourself saying to clients all the time?
Melanie Santos (00:03)
There are so many things, but I've thought about this a little. And there's this quote that I like to share with a lot of clients. And it's a quote by Rilke. And it goes, "let everything happen to you, beauty and terror, just keep going, no feeling is final."
Brandon Gimbel (00:25)
What does it mean to you?
Melanie Santos (00:30)
Life's trials and tribulations are gonna throw things your way. As humans, inevitably, we're gonna feel and we're gonna feel things that are really uncomfortable and to keep persisting and moving through to live the fulfilling life that you wanna live. So you won't be stuck in a feeling. Anxiety can feel very paralyzing. It's very scary. But in the end, no feeling is final.
Brandon Gimbel (00:58)
Reminds me the Buddhist concept of impermanence, that everything is impermanent, including emotions.