Joanna Hardis, LISW, LLC

Joanna Hardis, LISW, LLC Joanna Hardis, LISW-S, is a licensed therapist, author and speaker who helps people do hard things.

Her second book, “Just Do Nothing (for Parents): How to Parent Better by Doing Less,” guides parents on building distress tolerance.

Many people assume their problem is overthinking.And while the behavior can keep you stuck, it’s often driven by trying ...
04/28/2026

Many people assume their problem is overthinking.

And while the behavior can keep you stuck, it’s often driven by trying to get away from the intensity of what you’re feeling.

Uncertainty. Guilt. Embarrassment. Fear of getting it wrong.

So the mind tries to solve it. Replay the conversation, ask for reassurance, figure out what it meant.

But those behaviors don’t resolve the feeling. They often make it more intense.

Just Do Nothing™ teaches a different approach.

Instead of trying to fix the feeling, you learn to allow it and shift your attention elsewhere.

When you stop engaging with it, the intensity comes down and you can return to the situation with more clarity.

When your brain tells you something is wrong, the urge to figure it out immediately can be intense.Your mind starts sear...
04/21/2026

When your brain tells you something is wrong, the urge to figure it out immediately can be intense.

Your mind starts searching for explanations, scanning for danger, and trying to resolve the discomfort as quickly as possible.

But reacting to every spike teaches your brain that the alarm was correct and to keep ringing.

This is where it can be helpful to PAUSE.

Not to ignore what’s happening, but to wait long enough to see whether action is actually needed.

This is what it looks like to practice Just Do Nothing™.

Waiting in line. Sitting in traffic. Standing in an elevator.Most of us instinctively reach for our phones.Not because w...
04/16/2026

Waiting in line. Sitting in traffic. Standing in an elevator.

Most of us instinctively reach for our phones.

Not because we need information. Because we’re trying to escape feeling bored, awkward, etc.

In my newest Psychology Today article, I explore how small moments like this reveal how difficult it can be to tolerate discomfort and why distress tolerance is essential for lasting change.

🔗 Read the full article at the link in my bio.

Last week I saw someone wearing a sweatshirt that said “Be Fearless.”It’s a popular message, but it sets an unrealistic ...
04/14/2026

Last week I saw someone wearing a sweatshirt that said “Be Fearless.”

It’s a popular message, but it sets an unrealistic goal.

Fear isn’t the problem. In fact, it’s useful when we’re actually in danger. The bigger problem is that we often react to discomfort as if it were danger.

Fear is a normal emotion, and most of the time we don’t control whether it shows up. What we do control is how we respond when it does.

Trying to eliminate fear usually backfires. A more realistic goal is learning how to function while feeling scared.

Real courage isn’t eliminating fear. It’s learning how to function through it.

Each of these moments starts the same way:Something feels uncomfortable. And then there’s an urge to do something to mak...
04/07/2026

Each of these moments starts the same way:

Something feels uncomfortable.
And then there’s an urge to do something to make that feeling go away.

Defend. Explain. Reassure. Figure it out.

Just Do Nothing™ is the practice of allowing the discomfort and not immediately engaging in those behaviors.

It creates enough space to decide whether action is actually needed.

Which one do you notice most often?👇

Regardless of how you feel about the idea of “let them.”Letting them be upset.Letting them misunderstand.Letting them m...
04/02/2026

Regardless of how you feel about the idea of “let them.”

Letting them be upset.
Letting them misunderstand.
Letting them make their choices.

What often gets overlooked are the emotions that come with it. When you practice letting them, you’ll have to accept the urges that'll pop up in their place.

03/31/2026

Reasons “their pain is my pain” is problematic:

👉🏼 For kids, we don’t want them to grow up thinking that other people’s pain is their problem to solve.

It sends a message that their distress is a problem (reinforcing the belief that challenging emotions are problems to solve instead of something to move through).

👉🏼 The person on the receiving end may not want your advice or attempts at problem solving.

It often propels us into action instead of giving them the space to solve it themselves.

👉🏼 It puts the other person in the position of taking care of your distress or learning that if I’m upset, you fall apart.

When someone else is upset, the ideal response is to be a steady presence who can acknowledge their pain without feeling compelled to fix, eliminate, or absorb it.

When your child is struggling, your instinct is to make it better. I get it. That instinct is intuitive.But moving too q...
03/26/2026

When your child is struggling, your instinct is to make it better. I get it. That instinct is intuitive.

But moving too quickly impacts both you and them.

If we react to non-urgent things as emergencies (being late for school, a fall that startled them, something they forgot at home ) what message are we sending them?

What skill set do we rob them of developing when we swoop in and do it for them?
What message does it send when we solve their problems for them?

When we can learn to PAUSE before acting, we build the capacity to respond instead of react. That's what learning to Just Do Nothing helps us do.

That’s how capacity is built — theirs and yours.

Overthinking can feel productive.It can feel like if you just stay with it a little longer, you’ll finally land on the r...
03/24/2026

Overthinking can feel productive.

It can feel like if you just stay with it a little longer, you’ll finally land on the right answer.

But most overthinking isn’t problem-solving, it’s resistance to discomfort.

When you notice the spiral starting, the goal isn’t to argue with the thought, it’s to disengage from it and Just Do Nothing™.

03/19/2026

Many people assume that if something feels harder, they must not be able to do it.

That’s not always true.

Often the ability is there. What’s missing is the capacity for discomfort in that moment.

You don’t build capacity by waiting to feel ready, you build it by staying with discomfort a little longer than you want to.

That’s what Just Do Nothing™ is for.

What looks like luck could be distress tolerance.And what we call chance is often a skill we can’t see. 🍀Staying calm un...
03/17/2026

What looks like luck could be distress tolerance.
And what we call chance is often a skill we can’t see. 🍀

Staying calm under pressure doesn’t mean the absence of anxiety. That person may have the skill set to let that discomfort be instead of immediately responding to it. Having the skill set gives you the ability.

Practicing the skill set builds your capacity. That’s the function of Just Do Nothing™.

Not every urge requires action, but you only learn that by not acting on some of them.Just Do Nothing™ is how you practi...
03/12/2026

Not every urge requires action, but you only learn that by not acting on some of them.

Just Do Nothing™ is how you practice that.

Address

2460 Fairmount Boulevard Suite 320
Cleveland Heights, OH
44106

Telephone

+12166008696

Website

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