Blog · 2026-10-28
Afraid AI Will Replace Your Job? A Counselor Reviews Two Psychologists' Advice
If you've caught yourself wondering whether AI will take your job, you're not being silly. It's a real question, and nobody has a sure answer. Two psychologists recently talked through that exact fear on video. I agree with a lot of what they said. Here's my review, plus a few tools I'd add from my counseling chair.
The video
The video is “AI anxiety: Two psychologists talk about how to cope with being replaced by AI” from the Turning Toward channel on YouTube. It features psychologists Liang Liao, Ph.D., and David Messer, Ph.D. It runs about 33 minutes and was posted in March 2026.
Dr. Liao opens with a thought experiment: "Imagine a world in which your job will be replaced by AI in 5 years." For him, the job in question is his own. He pictures an AI therapist on a video call who looks and sounds human, is patient and attentive, and is trained in many methods. He admits he may be catastrophizing, but he says he feels the anxiety anyway. Dr. Messer says he went through a few anxious days of his own when he first thought it through.
I appreciated that. Two professionals who help people with anxiety were honest that this topic got to them, too.
I wrote recently about AI making Americans' top 10 fears. This post zooms in on one piece of that worry: the fear of being replaced at work.
What they got right
1. Anxiety is a signal, not an enemy. Dr. Messer explains that the body gives us unpleasant feelings when part of us senses a threat, to get our attention so we take care of ourselves. So, "rather than trying to hack your brain to not feel anxious," he says, "the anxiety might be a really healthy signal to take whatever valued action is there." Dr. Liao agrees. He says it's healthy to admit, "I'm feeling anxious," instead of pushing the feeling down or distracting yourself.
I agree completely. In my office, the goal is almost never to make anxiety vanish. The goal is to hear what it's trying to say and then decide what to do.
2. Figure out what the fear is really about. This was my favorite part. Dr. Messer points out that we often get scared and then turn away, maybe to a favorite Netflix show. Instead, he suggests asking, "what is the actual event that I'm scared of?" Is it not having enough money for your family? Losing your sense of who you are? Losing the feeling that you have something useful to offer? Not knowing your purpose?
Dr. Liao adds that even if money were handled, a bigger question might be left: "who am I?" without the work you've built your life around.
3. Take action on what you can. The hosts talk about two kinds of action. One is money: Dr. Liao says he likes having no debt because it gives him more freedom, while being clear that's his personal choice. The other is skills. He shares a saying that "your job won't be replaced by AI, but your job will be replaced by people who know how to use AI." Dr. Messer says he was a "hard no" on using AI to help write therapy notes, until he tried it once or twice so he would understand how it worked. He's also pushing himself to get better at his own work.
Near the end, Dr. Liao sums it up well: "the more action we take, the more proactive we are, it helps reduce our anxiety." Dr. Messer names this "problem-focused coping," a term from stress research.
4. Life has never been fully certain. Dr. Messer draws on a Buddhist view: our minds try to hold life still because that feels safer, but life is always changing. He says, "the truth is life is not entirely safe." He also reminds us that "you're only in control of your actions," and that if big change does come, "we're not in it alone."
Dr. Liao even offers a hopeful flip. Losing a job role could be a chance to do things you never had time for, like "a blank canvas again."
Where I'd add a therapist's view
Proportional to what, exactly? Dr. Liao says "The anxiety should be proportional to what's at stake." I like that, but an anxious mind is not a fair judge of what's at stake. It tends to picture the worst case and then treat it as the likely case. So I'd add one step: before you decide how worried to be, check the facts you actually have about your job, not the scariest headline you saw this week. Dr. Messer says it honestly: "I don't really know how scared to be." When you don't know, that's the time to slow down and look at the evidence, not to assume the worst.
Not all "action" helps. Some things feel like action but are really just worry in disguise. Reading AI news until midnight. Checking job boards ten times a day. Asking a chatbot over and over whether your job is safe. In the video, Dr. Messer asked an AI how to prepare, and it told him therapy jobs are among the least at risk. The hosts joked about it, and that was the right response. A chatbot's guess is not proof, whether it comforts you or scares you. Helpful action has a clear next step and an end point. Worry just loops.
Pair doing with accepting. Problem-focused coping works best on the parts of a problem you can change. Stress researchers Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman also described emotion-focused coping, which means caring for your feelings about a problem. That fits better with the parts you can't change. AI job worry has both kinds of parts. You can't control what tech companies build. You can control your next step, your budget, and how you treat the people you love while you wait.
Watch where the stress goes. Because I work with anger and relationships, here's what I see often: job worry rarely stays at work. It shows up as a short fuse at dinner or as pulling away from your partner. If you're more irritable lately, ask if fear is hiding underneath. Then say it out loud to someone you trust.
Tools you can use this week
1. Name the fear underneath. Finish this sentence three times: "If my job changed, what I'm most afraid of is..." Money, identity and the unknown are common answers. Each one calls for a different plan.
2. Make two lists. On one side, write what you can control: your skills, your spending, your effort, how you talk to yourself. On the other, write what you can't: the economy, company decisions, the speed of AI. Put your energy into the first list. For the second list, practice letting go.
3. Check the catastrophic prediction. Write down the scary thought, like "I'll be out of work by next year." Then ask: What evidence do I have for this? What evidence goes against it? What's the most likely outcome? If the worst did happen, what would I do first? Having a plan for the worst case often makes it feel less huge.
4. Give worry a time slot. Pick 15 to 20 minutes a day to think about AI and your job on purpose. When the worry pops up at other times, jot it down and save it for your slot. I explain this "worry time" tool more in my earlier post.
5. Take one small step. Choose one action for this week. Try a new tool at work. Have an honest talk with your manager. Look at your budget. Small, steady steps beat one big panic move.
6. Separate your roles from your values. A job title can change. Values travel with you. If you value helping people, creating things, or providing for your family, list three ways you already live that value outside of work. That's the answer to "who am I?" that no machine can take.
7. Come back to now. When the "what if" spiral starts, pause. Notice your feet on the floor and take three slow breaths. Name it: "This is worry about the future." Then return to the person or task in front of you. Dr. Liao describes this well. When he's done his planning, he can be present with his family because he knows he has a plan.
A steady hand on the wheel
None of us can see exactly where AI is taking the job market. But you don't need to see the whole coast to steer well. You need to know your values, check your map, and take the next right step. The rest is weather, and weather passes.
How counseling can help
If worry about AI, your job or money is costing you sleep, putting a strain on your relationships, or keeping you stuck, counseling can help. Together we can sort out what's in your control, calm the "what if" loop, and build a plan that fits your values. I use mindfulness-based CBT with adults in Franklin and Nashville, and by telehealth across Tennessee.
This post is for educational purposes only and is not therapy or medical advice. If you are in crisis, call or text 988. In an emergency, call 911.
Sources
- Turning Toward (Liang Liao, Ph.D., and David Messer, Ph.D.), "AI anxiety: Two psychologists talk about how to cope with being replaced by AI", YouTube (Mar 9, 2026)
- Lazarus RS, Folkman S, Stress, Appraisal, and Coping (Springer, 1984)
- American Psychological Association, "Problem-focused coping", APA Dictionary of Psychology
- OpenStax, "Regulation of Stress", Psychology 2e (coping styles section)
- Travis Hill, "AI Just Made Americans' Top 10 Fears: CBT Tools for Worry About Jobs and the Future", Navigate Life Counseling (Oct 2026)
Related at Navigate Life Counseling: Navigate the Shift and anxiety counseling in Franklin, TN.