Having panic attacks does not always mean you have panic disorder. This week on The Anxious Truth we're digging into what differentiates panic attacks - even recurring panic attacks - from panic disorder.In a nutshell, the primary differentiator here is fear/avoidance.  When you begin to fear panic attacks because you interpret them as dangerous or too overwhelming, then you begin to modify and restrict your lifestyle to prevent or avoid them, you are panic disorder territory. Compare this to the very large number of people that will have panic attacks now and then without ever treating them this way. They have panic attacks, which they experience as individual events that they do not link together, and go about their lives mostly unconcerned or worried about a next panic attack.This week we're also talking about why being anxious all the time is quite common in panic disorder and how panic disorder relates to other closely related conditions all categorized as "anxiety disorders" from a diagnostic point of view.For full show notes on this episode:https://theanxioustruth.com/285For more content and resources:https://theanxioustruth.comDisclaimer: The Anxious Truth is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to The Anxious Truth does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the host or guests of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.

Struggling with constant anxiety, recurring panic attacks, or a full blown anxiety disorder? Avoiding anxiety and panic triggers might seem like the safest path, but let's look at why this understandable and common response can be more foe than friend. In this episode we'll look at some of the mechanics of panic attacks and panic disorder, shedding light on why evading anxiety can inadvertently feed the beast, intensifying and fueling the cycle of fear. Prudent prudent avoidance in the face of true danger is a helpful survival tool, but avoidance can become problematic when we use it to sidestep anxiety and fear themselves, rather than actual danger.So if avoidance is more harmful than helpful, what next?  Unfortunately, what's next is the dismantling of avoidance and a turn TOWARD what you fear most. This may sound ridiculous or unthinkable to you right now, which is perfectly OK. Everyone comes to grips with this approach - or doesn't - in their own way and in their own time. If you're not feeling this idea today, it doesn't mean you're doing something wrong, broken, worse than everyone else, or beyond hope. Take whatever time is needed to think about this and consider the concept. Everyone has to do that part - the mental wrestling with an unpleasant idea.As we move toward an acceptance based recovery, embracing discomfort becomes an unexpected and paradoxical compass.  This approach may appear daunting, yet it paves the way to teaching our brains that the alarm bells of anxiety and fear are false signals. that don't actually need to be interpreted and treated as disasters or emergencies.   There is quite a bit to digest when we decide to move away from avoidance and toward facing fear. It can't all be explained in one video or one podcast episode. There are lots of principles to follow and concepts to understand.If the idea of eliminating avoidance to recover is making sense to you know and you want to know HOW this works, first accept that you're going to have to take some time to listen, learn, contemplate, and get a better understanding of the principles and mechanics of acceptance based recovery. Take advantage of all the free podcast episodes, videos, and social media content I've created that all discuss these ideas. Check out the workshops I've created to help explain these principles. Consider consulting my recovery guidebook, also called "The Anxious Truth".  You won't solve this problem or change your relationship with anxiety overnight, but you can start to turn in the direction of recovery by reading, learning, listening and starting to consider this different approach.  Links from this episode:Episode 152 - Agoraphobia ExplainedMy Panic Attacks Explained WorkshopMy Agoraphobia Explained WorkshopMy Panic and Agoraphobia Recovery GuidebookDisclaimer: The Anxious Truth is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to The Anxious Truth does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the host or guests of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.

LIVING WITH ANXIETY ...I HAVE TO RECOVER SO I CAN LIVE MY LIFE AGAIN!But really, do you?  Or is it better to do your best to re-engage in life so that you can recover? This week we're examining the concept of life AS recovery rather than life as something you get to do only after you've reached some magic state of "recovered".  Yes, at times recovery from an anxiety disorder involves manufactured exposures and doing things that don't look all that much like a regular life, but recovery can be so much more.  We can also intermix life - as best we can - into the recovery process in such a way that we use life activities and experiences to help us practice handling anxiety, fear, uncertainty, and discomfort. Moving through an anxious moment while doing something that feels like life is generally more valuable and will likely lead to a deeper and more durable recovery, so consider living (to the best of your ability today) to recover, even when you're convinced that you're not ready for life.  For full show notes on this episode visithttps://theanxioustruth.com/283To find my books, workshops, social media links, and all the other anxiety and recovery resources I produce, visit my website at theanxioustruth.com.Disclaimer: The Anxious Truth is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to The Anxious Truth does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the host or guests of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.

HOW TO CALM DOWN FROM A PANIC ATTACK? This is one of the million dollar question in our community, so let's take a look at how to calm down from a panic attack. I know you likely want tips and tricks for how to stop a panic attack and calm down, but could the act of embracing, rather than fighting off a panic attack, be the hidden doorway to "calm"?  Let's look at true acceptance, and unpack the idea that true calmness emerges not from a frantic search for escape but through allowing and riding out the panic storm.This isn't about finding a quick fix. It's about redefining your relationship with anxiety and recognizing the strength in vulnerability. Remember, every moment of openness to the experience is a step toward lasting improvement and recovery.Episode Links:My Recovery Guidebookhttps://theanxioustruth.com/recoveryguidePanic Attacks Explained:https://learn.theanxioustruth.com/panic-attacks-explainedAgoraphobia Explained: https://learn.theanxioustruth.com/agoraphobia-explainedMy website:https://theanxioustruth.comFull show notes for this episode:https://theanxioustruth.com/282 Disclaimer: The Anxious Truth is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to The Anxious Truth does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the host or guests of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.

WHAT DOES A PANIC ATTACK FEEL LIKE?Let's unpack the harrowing reality of a panic attack, peeling back the layers to expose the heart-thumping, breath-stealing beast it can be. My journey as a therapist in training, fused with raw personal encounters, brings a unique perspective to the forefront. We dissect those suffocating episodes, where your own body feels like an unwieldy adversary, and thoughts of impending doom loom over you like a dark cloud. In this episode we can work together to comprehend the true gravity of those moments and the relentless quest for an escape hatch.Links from this episode:The Anxious Truth, my panic/agoraphobia recovery guideMy Panic Attacks Explained WorkshopMy Agoraphobia Explained WorkshopEpisode 239 of The Anxious Truth - Anxiety SymptomsEpisode 168 of The Anxious Truth - The Panic Attack HangoverEpisode 152 of The Anxious Truth - AgoraphobiaDisordered - "Does Anyone Else? (The Symptoms of Anxiety)"My WebsiteMy Workshops and CoursesFollow me on InstagramMy YouTube ChannelFollow me on TikTokFor full show notes on this episode:https://theanxioustruth.com/281Disclaimer: The Anxious Truth is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to The Anxious Truth does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the host or guests of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.

Ever wondered how to recognize a panic attack? Want to understand the physical and mental symptoms that hint towards an oncoming episode? Not sure if what you're experiencing are panic attacks or something else? This episode of The Anxious Truth is for you. Tune in as we delve into panic and panic attacks, demystifying the sensations, the thoughts, the fear,  and the need to escape that often accompany these episodes.This is the first in my "Foundations of Panic" series so come back in the next 4-5 episodes for a deep dive into the mechanics of panic and panic attacks, how to best approach them, why they happen, why they're not dangerous, and what turns panic attacks into chronic conditions like panic disorder or agoraphobia.Find the symptoms video I mentioned in this episode:https://youtu.be/a5xQ2Q5rZp0?si=R1bS1SNshXFPloqLMy Panic Attacks Explained Workshop:https://theanxioustruth.com/panicMy Books on Anxiety and Recovery:https://theanxioustruth.com/booksFor full show notes on this episode:https://theanxioustruth.com/280Disclaimer: The Anxious Truth is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to The Anxious Truth does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the host or guests of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.

Struggling to find the right anxiety therapist?Are you curious about how a therapist becomes a therapist?Let's take a look  through the maze of credentials - from Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) to Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), and Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). Let's shed some light on the demanding journey of training and education, from undergraduate studies to intensive graduate training and clinical experience.Understanding how a therapist becomes a therapist, and what that means to you, can go a long way toward untangling confusion that comes with finding qualified mental health assistance.Wondering about the difference between a master's level therapist and a doctoral level psychologist? I've got you covered!  I'll also cover the role of psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners in the mental health field and explain how to determine which therapist is right when  struggling with anxiety disorders.Join me on a stroll through the world of mental health professionals. You might pick up a few things that you can use in your recovery journey. xxFor full show notes on this episode:https://theanxioustruth.com/278-----For all the resources I offer related to anxiety, anxiety disorders, and recovery visit my website:https://theanxioustruth.com

Do you need to find a therapist that knows and follows the "Claire Weekes method"?This week we unpack the impact of Dr. Claire Weekes, shedding light on her influential role in the therapy world, specifically in the realm of anxiety disorders. Dr. Weekes' groundbreaking principles of acceptance have proven to be timeless, remaining relevant in therapy practices today. We go beyond the surface, debunking myths about her work and examining the current relevance of her methods in therapy. It's a bonus if your therapist is familiar, but its definitely not a deal breaker if they aren't.Dr. Weekes' methods, although foundational, are not the be-all and end-all. We discuss how therapies like ACT or mindfulness-based CBT or metacognitive therapy have broadened and deepened the roots she established. Even if your therapist isn't familiar with Dr. Weekes, there's no cause for alarm - I promise it's not absolutely necessary. For full show notes on this episode:https://theanxioustruth.com/278-----For all the resources I offer related to anxiety, anxiety disorders, and recovery visit my website:https://theanxioustruth.com

Anxiety recovery can be a highly individual journey. This is especially true if you have ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, or otherwise identify as neurodivergent. While there are certainly general principles we rely on, every person will find recovery to present specific and unique challenges that have to be addressed as part of the process. For neurodivergent members of our community, this is also true. This week Dr. Terri Bacow took some time to chat with me about the intersection of anxiety, recovery, and neurodivergence. Terri is experienced, well trained and qualified in these areas, and does a great job of presenting an accessible, kind, compassionate view of how recovery strategies can be adapted and tailored for neurodivergent folks working on overcoming chronic/disordered anxiety. Find Dr. Terri Bacow: https://instagram.com/drterribacow https://drterribacow.com For full show notes on this episode: ⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/277 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠⁠⁠

Anxiety and the recovery process do not exist in a vacuum. You are an entire person, and all the parts of you come into this process. Holistic is not a word you hear me use often, but it is a word we need to acknowledge because when dealing with chronic/disordered anxiety and the recovery process, your background, experiences, beliefs, and views of yourself and the world will enter the picture in various ways. * They will influence how you conceptualize your anxiety. * They will influence how you embrace and approach the recovery process. * They will influence the parts of recovery you "get" and the parts you may need to adjust here and there. * They will cause you to confront emotions, situations, and challenges that aren't always about anxiety, but may be indicative of other parts of you and other parts of your life. Forgetting this - forgetting that anxiety and recovery do not exist in a vacuum - can lead you into a trap where you're judging yourself negatively, giving up, or seeing your situation as hopeless when you don't have to see it that way. As always, comments and questions are welcomed. I hope you find this episode helpful in some way. For full show notes on this episode: ⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/276 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠⁠⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠⁠⁠

The anxiety cycle starts as a seemingly never ending loop where you get triggered, you fight through it, you calm down, then you worry and fret over the next time you might get triggered. It can become an exhausting merry-go-ground if you're new to this process and convinced that high anxiety and panic are horrible disasters that must be avoided or "managed" at all costs. But over time, you will likely begin to notice that your logical brain will question that assertion, and you will start to see that you are not just being triggered into an anxious state, but that you are being TRICKED by that anxious state. When you begin to see the trickery involved in internally focused disordered anxiety, things can begin to change. When you can nail a "tricked" point to the circle, that can become the point at which you start to peel off the circle on a tangent toward recovery. Noticing and understanding that anxiety is tricking you into behaving as if you are in danger creates a fork in an otherwise endless circular road. It gives you a point at which you can choose a new path and ultimately break the cycle that has trapped you up to this point. For full show notes on this episode: ⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/275 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠⁠⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠⁠⁠

No new podcast episode this week, but we will be back next week with a new episode on September 27, 2023. Going forward, new episodes of The Anxious Truth will be produced every other week. I'm making this change based on time constraints and the fact that we are producing episodes of "Disordered" every week, and that's a really good podcast! Listen to Disordered here: https://disordered.fm On the weeks with no new episode of The Anxious Truth, you can catch my "Recovery Monday" livestreams on YouTube (either live or via replay any time): https://youtube.com/@TheAnxiousTruth See you next week, and thank you for all your support!

Self-care in anxiety recovery. We hear about it all the time, but is self-care always essential oils and hot baths and candles and soothing? It certainly can by, but self-care is also giving yourself what you really need, which isn't always what you want. Sometimes self-care means challenging yourself a bit to help break the avoidance cycle. Sometimes self-care means you choose to be uncomfortable now to feel better about yourself later. Let's take a closer look at self-care in a way that might not all that obvious. For full show notes on this episode: ⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/274 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠⁠⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠⁠⁠

This week we answered some common - and not so common - questions about anxiety and recovery. Thanks to everyone on Instagram that submitted a question. I appreciate it! First I reviewed some basic principles you can fall back on when asking many of the questions that were asked. That's about the first 15 minutes of the episode, which will be useful if you're new to this or need a refresher to remind you of what you're dealing with. Then we moved on to some specific questions. AFTER THE CRISIS HAS PASSED, DO YOU STILL NEED THERAPY? DO YOU STILL HAVE TO WORK ON YOURSELF? WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OCD AND GAD OR PANIC DISORDER AND HEALTH ANXIETY? HOW CAN YOU BE SURE THIS IS JUST ANXIETY? WHEN AM I ALLOWED TO REST? HOW DOES MINDFULNESS FIT INTO RECOVERY? ARE POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS OK? HOW DO I ACCEPT ...? WHAT ARE THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS OF SELF-REGULATING WHEN ANXIOUS? WHAT ABOUT THIS KIND OF ANXIETY? For full show notes on this episode: ⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/273 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠⁠⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠⁠⁠

This week my guest is anxiety and OCD specialist Joanna Hardis who stopped by the podcast to talk about the art of doing ... nothing. Wait ... what? Nothing? Yes. Nothing. Humans are conditioned to automatically spring into action to solve problems, and often we declare that our emotional and mental states are automatically problems that must be solved. When we experience discomfort, distress, anxiety, or any "negative" feeling we can get trapped into automatically trying to do something .... anything ... to solve that problem and make it disappear. The thing is, this is often paradoxically harmful in that it can keep us trapped in the very state we're trying to escape. Learning that it is possible to do nothing about negative internal experiences - learning to ride through them without hitting the panic button - can go a long way toward getting us closer to where we want to be both in anxiety recovery and in life. And as it turns out, if we look at what Joanna wrote about in her book "Just Do Nothing", we see that even as we struggle with recovery from an anxiety disorder, we're not all that different from all the other humans walking the planet. The issues are often the same, just experienced at a different degree in our community. This is good news, because we're afraid and unsure, but not defective and not broken. For more information about Joanna and her book: https://joannahardis.com For full show notes on this episode: ⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/270 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠⁠⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠⁠⁠

If this is all new to you, asking for more information is normal, expected, and healthy! Everyone needs more information and explanation to start. But if you are not new to this and you've heard me and others talk about your scariest symptom or stickiest recovery issue over and over, ask yourself what you are hoping to get when you ask us to talk more about it. After multiple books, videos, social media posts, livestreams and podcast episodes on a given topic, it can be helpful to stop and consider what more you think you need to hear, and why you need to hear it. Consider that asking for encouragement or cheerleading is likely more productive than getting stuck in the "tell me more" cycle, which can lead to judging yourself negatively because you can't seem to move forward. For full show notes on this episode: ⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/271 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠⁠⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠⁠⁠

Help! I can't get motivated to do my exposures and work on my recovery! This is a thing I hear often in this community, so this week let's address motivation and the myth surrounding it. Often we think that getting motivated means that we create a certain feeling, then we act on that feeling. This is incorrect. In fact, it's almost entirely backwards! Demanding to conjure of a feeling called "motivation" before you can act is selling yourself short and can accidentally lead harsh self-judgment that doesn't have to be there. In this episode we talk about the myth of "feeling motivated", how feeling does not have to precede action, values and goals in relation to motivation and how to tap into self-compassion and smaller steps to build momentum and feelings of motivation through action. For full show notes on this episode: ⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/270 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠⁠⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠⁠⁠

EMDR. It's become an insanely popular therapy over the last few years. Originally developed as a trauma recovery tool, EMDR is often touted as being appropriate or effective in many more clinical circumstances. But ... is it? Is EMDR an anxiety disorder recovery treatment? This week I'm joined by Florida therapist Anne Thomas to talk about EMDR, what it is, what it isn't, and how it might be applied in the context of panic disorder, agoraphobia, and other anxiety disorders. The takeaway here is that EMDR is not going to magically fix your anxiety problem simply by moving your eyes back and forth. There's still real-world work to do as usual. But there may be instances where EMDR can be useful in addressing some of the negative beliefs about yourself and about past events that can be real obstacles in recovery. Expectations and a clear sense of what EMDR can and can't do, are always going to be important as they would be with any type of therapy. In this episode we mentioned EMDRIA, which is the organization that trained Anne and trains other EMDR therapists. https://emdria.org To find Anne on Instagram: https://instagram.com/sitwithanne For full show notes on this episode: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/269 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠⁠

Just a quick update on reaching the field/clinical work phase of my masters degree and why there's no actual podcast episode this week. We'll be back with another episode of The Anxious Truth next week as usual, but in the meanwhile why not check out Disordered, the podcast I do with Josh Fletcher. Find that podcast at https://disordered.fm Of course, you can also check out any of the 268 previous episodes of The Anxious Truth that I've recorded over the last 8 years or so. They're all free on your favorite podcast platform and on my YouTube channel. I'll see you next week! :-)

It's not really what I did in my recovery that matters. Its WHY I did it. This week we're talking about why its far more useful to focus on the principles I followed in recovery than to try to mimic my recovery step by step and action by action. Don't use my recovery as a literal blueprint for yours because you are not me and I am not you. We are all different and those differences matter in terms of specific steps, actions, and instructions to follow in recovery. Instead, connect to the principles I'm discussing and do your best to apply those principles within your specific situation. If you find a helper that just keeps going back to what they did and uses they own personal experience as the basis for much of what they say, be mindful of that and beware of the traps that lie in that approach. You can accidentally wind up feeling more confused, frustrated, and upset with yourself than you need to be. For full show notes on this episode: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/268 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠⁠

Let's talk about the dreaded social media doom scroll and the negative impact it can have in your recovery. Learning to be a bit more mindful and intentional with your social media use can go a long way toward helping you get what you need while avoiding some of the more common traps and pitfalls that default scrolling without purpose can have. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/267 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠

When you decide to start facing your fear, doing exposures, meeting challenges, and breaking your avoidance cycle, that's awesome! You're being brave and choosing to do hard things because it's help you in the long run, so take the credit for making that leap! But you may - like many do - accidentally fall into the trap of only meeting challenges, doing your exposures, and generally doing hard things only on the days when you feel "good". This week on the podcast we're talking about why that's a bad idea and why its so important to take action and do the hard things when you're having "bad days". When you take action in your recovery on the days when you feel like you can't or shouldn't, you learn the most valuable recovery lessons. Let's dig a bit deeper into this idea so we can help you avoid or break free of this common trap that can leave you feeling stuck, frustrated, and down on yourself. PS. Like the new show music? Drop me a line at hello@theanxioustruth.com and let me know! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/266 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠

There is no automatic immune response that fixes an anxiety disorder while we retreat, rest, wait, and hope. This is an active process that requires that you do more than just hope and wait. This week we're trying a little experiment! I'm re-visiting episode 11 of the podcast from way back in 2015 to give it a little update, add some detail, clarify a few things, and make some much needed corrections. I hope you find this helpful in some way. Feedback - as always - is welcomed. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/265 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠

Recovery from an anxiety disorder can impact not only the recovering person, but the people close to them. Sometimes our helpers wind up needing help themselves! When that happens, we may want to be supportive of them, but anxious fear may also turn this into a disaster. Anxiety may tell you that your helper reaching out for help is a nightmare and that the fear, uncertainty, and discomfort you feel about this turn of events means you must insert yourself into the process and try to control the narrative around the help they are accessing. Remain aware of this trap! You may find it very uncomfortable when your helpers reach out for help, but do not believe your anxiety when it insists that you must try to control what your loved ones feel, what they say, and who they say it to. This can cause even more problems than the anxiety itself has caused in the relationship. Giving in to these anxious demands and trying to soothe your fear by attempting to control things you do not have a right to control is buying short term relief at the expense of long term progress both in your relationships and your recovery. This is a topic that does warrant some discussion so take a listen and I hope you find it helpful in some way. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/264 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠

HOW CAN I ACCEPT OR ALLOW ANXIETY WITHOUT SPIRALING? This week on The Anxious Truth let's answer a common question about "spiraling". This is a term used every day in our community so lets dismantle it a bit and re-conceptualize spiraling in two parts. One spiral - the downward spiral - is based on how you feel. The other spiral - the anxiety itself - is an UPWARD spiral, which is more accurately described as a storm. Let's look at how we can address the first spiral by addressing the second - robbing the anxiety storm of its energy rather than feeding it more. This episode is - as usual - full of paradoxical stuff. Isn't recovery both interesting and really confusing sometimes??? For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/263 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠

End Stage Anxiety Recovery - What Does It Look Like? What does end stage recovery from an anxiety disorder look and feel like?  How do you know when you're recovered? Is there a moment when things change?  Will you automatically be happy and joyful? What will like look like as you get closer to the recovery "finish line".  Lets talk about end stage anxiety recovery so you can have a bit of a road map to bring with you as you progress. It might help you stay out of some common traps. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/262 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠ Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) ⁠https://bendrakemusic.com

If you love anxiety success stories, you're gonna love Jon Brandon Cruz (aka "Cruz'). Cruz went from stuck in his apartment, riddled with panic and afraid to leave, to back at work on a world tour to promote the Black Adam film with Dwayne The Rock Johnson.How did he do it? Cruz is an almost textbook case of how to apply the principles of recovery in a committed, tenacious way. Grab a beverage and listen to this one. Cruz is inspiring and his story will give you hope. Check out Cruz's "Do It Scared" video here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CrtGPsnN115/ For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/261 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠ Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) ⁠https://bendrakemusic.com

I CAN'T STOP SCANNING FOR HOW I FEEL!!! This is a common issue for anxious people that leads to frustrating and a fear/scanning/fear cycle that seems like it never ends. This week we're talking about that cycle and answering the question, "How can I stop constantly scanning and checking how I feel?" For full show notes on this episode: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/259 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠ Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) ⁠https://bendrakemusic.com

VALUING YOURSELF MEANS MORE THAN JUST SOOTHING AND SMOOTHING... This week we're examining the idea that in recovery we must value ourselves in such a way that we go beyond the common sense of soothing and smoothing to allow ourselves to struggle for a reason. There are lessons - critical lessons - in the recovery struggle. Allowing oneself to struggle is important. We must be mindful of either devaluing ourselves or accidentally coddling ourselves because we think that's what high self-value means. We also touch on the idea of self-parenting and how that relates to this often overlooked recovery concept. For full show notes on this episode: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/259 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠ Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) ⁠https://bendrakemusic.com

This episode was recorded on a beach by myself in a spot where my cell/mobile phone gets no signal, where there were no people to save me if I needed to be saved, and where I was far from help. This is a place I would never have come by myself when I was struggling, but I don't even think about it now. This is part III in a series of podcasts where I'll take you to places that I was once terrified to go. I hope you find some hope or inspiration in this one. People often ask me what I do to "stay recovered" and to be sure that anxiety doesn't come back. To be honest with you, I don't really do anything to stay recovered and I don't have to worry about "it" coming back because there is no "it" in my life any more. Anxiety and fear stopped being "it" many years ago from my point of view as a fully recovered person. In this episode I talk about my changed relationship with anxiety and fear, why I don't have to do anything to stay recovered, and why doing healthy, helpful things is a good idea even when they have nothing to do with anxiety or anxiety recovery. For full show notes on this episode: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/258 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠ Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) ⁠https://bendrakemusic.com

Distraction For Anxiety: Does It Work? "When I panic, I have to scroll through Instagram to distract myself!" Distraction is one of the most popular "techniques" for getting away from high anxiety, panic, and any thoughts or sensations that people hate or fear. It's talked about all the time.  A quick look on social media would likely reveal many many posts about "tips for anxiety" that are based primarily on distraction techniques. Distraction - in the moment - can often bring some quick relief.  Not always, but in many cases people find that it they run to a distraction to escape from anxious feelings and thoughts, then can feel better.  But does distraction actually "work" in the context of real recovery, or is it just a band-aid you use to get you through one anxious moment so you can fear the next anxious moment and do it all again? For full show notes on this episode: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/257 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠ Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) ⁠https://bendrakemusic.com

I can't stop thinking, "What if it comes back?" This is one of the most common issues I hear almost daily from people traveling along the path toward anxiety recovery. This week on the podcast we look at why we often overlook a very important aspect of the recovery process that renders this question almost irrelevant. The important part is that YOU change in recovery. Anxiety doesn't change at all, and that makes your fear of it "coming back" far less important and worthy of attention. For full show notes on this episode: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/256 --- My books, social, and other links: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links ⁠ Support The Anxious Truth: ⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support ⁠ Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) ⁠https://bendrakemusic.com

When I was struggling with anxiety, panic attacks and agoraphobia, I was terrified to go just 3 or 4 miles from my house the the business I owned. Anxiety made it really difficult for me to go there or stay there for any length of time. This is the second in a series of podcast episodes where I'll take you to places that anxiety, panic, and agoraphobia used to tell me I should never go. This week we're at my old office where I'll share what that experience was like, and how I conceptualize it today as a fully recovered person. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/255 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

For many in our community, addiction coexists alongside an anxiety disorder. Maybe one precluded the other, or maybe they developed concurrently. Regardless, this can often add additional shame and a sense of hopelessness. This is a topic we'll talk more about going forward so today my friend Adam Jablin stopped by to talk about his addiction story and how it related to his struggles with anxiety, both then and now. Adam speaks openly about his struggles with addiction and is an excellent advocate for those struggling with this problem. If you are struggling with an anxiety problem and also find yourself struggling with dependency on alcohol or drugs, this episode may help you see that you're not broken and you're not alone. I hope you find it helpful in some way. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/254 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

This week I want to introduce you to a new anxiety and mental health resource. Disordered: Anxiety Help with me and Joshua Fletcher (aka "AnxietyJosh"). Josh popped in to chat about why we started Disordered, what we hope to achieve with it, and why we think its a resource everyone should take advantage of. To learn more about Disordered, to contact us with questions or comments, and to hear all the episodes, visit us online at https://disordered.fm For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/253 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Trauma And Anxiety. Are There Conflicting Messages In Recovery? Trauma and anxiety often co-exist.  That's not news.  For many in this community, the lingering effects of traumatic experiences are real, and they can impact the anxiety recovery process.  Today I want to take a look at something a little out of the ordinary.  I want to talk about how some of the core principles of anxiety recovery might cause confusion and even conflict for those working to overcome trauma. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/252 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

No new podcast this week, but we'll be back next week with episode 252.  I asked my Facebook group which of the old podcast episodes they like the most and these are a few that came up often in the discussion: Episode 150: How Do I Talk TO My Anxiety Episode 51: Panic Attacks - The Critical Moment of Decision The Exposure Episodes: 13, 17, 192 and 226 Related to Exposure: Episode 116 - Are You Trying To Ignore Your Anxiety? I did a short series detailing my personal experience with medication in episodes 145 through 147, and Jenn Swantowski stopped by to share her experience with benzo withdrawal on episode 223. Finally, the success story episodes are popular.  Search "success story" on my website, on my YouTube channel, or in your podcast app to find those. And ... check out the new podcast with Joshua Fletcher at https://disordered.fm I'll see you next week!  :-)

WHY Did I Have A Panic Attack? I NEED To Know! "Why did I have a panic attack?" is a question asked many many times every day in the community surrounding this podcast.  People early on in the anxiety journey labor under the assumption that in order to get better they must uncover and decode their panic triggers and understand WHY panic attacks are happening to them repeatedly. This might make sense at face value, but it's often quite unhelpful or even harmful. People down the road to recovery might go a long time between panic attacks, then experience once, then immediately get dragged down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out why it happened and what it means. Again, not terribly helpful and not necessary.  Let's look at why. While we're at it, let's do the first in my mini-series visiting places that I used to be terrified to go, starting with the end of my own driveway.  True story.  I was afraid to go that far from my front door at one time. That's why this episode was recorded there. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/251 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Afraid During A Panic Attack ... Or Afraid OF Panic Attacks? This is one of those recovery concepts what will make you tilt your head and wonder what I'm talking about.  But there is a difference between being afraid during a panic attack, and being afraid of panic attacks. That difference matters because it speaks to the mechanics of issues like panic disorder and agoraphobia. TL/DR: EVERYONE is afraid during a panic attack. That's normal.  That's natural.  You can't get rid of that.  The problem is the fear that persists BETWEEN panic attacks, where you're afraid of the next one.  That's the part we're working on in recovery. See how that can be subtle, but important? For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/250 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Examining Body Dysmorphic Disorder Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is a condition in which a person sees - and becomes excessively focused on - problems or "defects" in their appearance that nobody else sees. This can become overwhelming when the person with BDD starts to see themselves as completely defined by this problem that nobody else would call a problem. This week therapist, BDD and OCD specialist Robyn Stern dropped in to talk about body dysmorphic disorder and how it can exist alongside conditions like OCD and other anxiety disorders. I learned so much in this conversation, and I'm hopeful that you will too! For full show notes on this week's episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/249 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Scary And Difficult Do Not Mean Ineffective Recovery by way of facing fear is scary and difficult. When people choose to recover by learning how to accept, tolerate, surrender to and move through anxiety panic and fear, sometimes they will declare that it doesn't work for them.  They'll say that because they are afraid and they are challenged. They accidentally equate being afraid with recovery not working.  They'll decide that being challenged means that they're not getting better or can't get better this way. These are logical errors. Today lets talk about how recovering in this manner means you WILL be scared and you WILL be challenged, but that neither of those facts means that this doesn't work. Let's talk about accidentally selling yourself short and abandoning hope simply because you are afraid or encountering difficulties. For full show notes on this week's episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/248 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Anticipatory anxiety - the anxiety you feel when you have an event or challenge coming up that you know will make you anxious and therefore fear - is a common type of anxiety that many struggle with. This week on the podcast two giants in the anxiety community, Martin Seif and Sally Winston joined me to explain in the ins-and-outs of anticipatory anxiety, worry, and what they call fear of fear of fear.    This is a GREAT episode full of amazing information so check it out! Show notes for this episode:  https://theanxioustruth.com/247 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

The state of mental health care - at least in the west - is such that many in our community have a difficult time either locating a therapist that specializes in treating anxiety disorders, or accessing professional mental health help for economic and other reasons.  This leads many to ask, "Do I need a therapist to recover?" While the help of a trained, experienced professional is certainly helpful, we have to look at what happens when that isn't possible.  Lauren Rosen and Kelley Franke from the Purely OCD podcast join me this week to talk about this problem and to explore options, alternatives and possibly helpful strategies for when accessing professional therapy proves difficult. Disclaimer: In this podcast episode we attempted to address a problem we all know exists and to be realistic in our assessment of what options there may be for someone that has to "do recovery" on their own.  We simply cannot provide you with a definitive answer as to if you need a therapist or not. That answer is based on so many individual variables that without knowing you there's just no way to provide black and white answers to that question.  What you read, hear, and see in this episode is meant as general guidance and for informational purposes.  Only you can judge what is right for you in the end. For full show notes on this week's episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/246 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

How do you see your anxiety?  Is anxiety a monster?  Is anxiety like a storm or an invading army that comes to get you?  Are you powerless over it?  Do you feel that you can't resist, stop or control it no matter how hard you try? What if it wasn't a monster attacking from the outside?  What if instead you could recognize that you are playing a role, that you have choice, and that you have power in the process?  Abandoning the "monster" narrative can be a powerful thing that informs a shift in the way we react to anxiety and fear. For full show notes on this week's episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/245 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Do you see yourself as being OK "as long as" specific conditions are met?  Or are you learning that you can be OK "even if" those conditions are not met?  This can be a critical concept in recovery that can get us stuck in the dreaded, fragile acceptable bubble, or launched into a more complete and lasting recovery. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/244 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Do you have to be a positive person to get better?  Do you have to choose positivity?  Eliminate the negative energy?  Vibrate correctly?  Manifest positive things?  Accept only positive vibes? Develop a positive mindset?  Are these things required in anxiety recovery? I think that developing a sense of competence and self-efficacy through action is WAY more impactful that trying to think or emote positivity.  Let's talk about that in this week's episode of the podcast. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/243 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

In recovery we are sometimes dealing with more than one issue beyond just your panic, agoraphobia, health anxiety, or OCD. Maybe there is another phobia or phobias involved.  Maybe you are dealing with tendencies toward perfectionism, people pleasing, or trying to control everything.  Humans are complex.  We have lots of facets!  What happens when these other issues conflict with our recovery work.  What happens when we try to serve multiple masters in recovery? Josh Fletcher (School of Anxiety) and Kimberley Quinlan (Your Anxiety Toolkit) joined me today to talk about this. It's worth a listen. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/242 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

When dealing with an anxiety disorder we often talk about why excessive reassurance seeking is counterproductive and can make things worse.  But why is this?  And is there any time where seeking assurance is OK?  Let's answer these two questions, and look at ways to start breaking the cycle of reassurance seeking, in this week's podcast episode.   For full show notes on this episode:  https://theanxioustruth.com/241 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Anxious people focused on health issues often spend lots of time being checked, tested and examined by doctors.  In recovery, I'm often asked if calling a doctor if never allowed, or if calling a doctor is wrong or indicates a setback of some kind.  The short answer is, "No.  It's not wrong."  But there's more to it than that, so let's talk about it in this week's episode of the podcast. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/240 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

The Same Anxiety Symptons, But Different Reactions?   Two people can have the same anxiety symptoms but different reactions to those symptoms. There can be common thoughts, fear themes, and bodily reactions, yet wide variations on how those things are interpreted and in the reactions they trigger.  Let's talk about this, and what it can teach us about anxiety and recovery.   For full show notes on this episode:  https://theanxioustruth.com/239 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

For most people, the things they fear the most in relation to anxiety and panic fall into one of three common categories or themes.  Let's look at these three themes:   Death/ Physical Incapacitation  Loss of control / Insanity  Embarrassment / Shame   Understanding these common themes can save you from digging deeply into each individual fear you have.  It can help you see that you are NOT specially broken and without hope, and it can inform productive recovery actions and choices.   This episode of The Anxious Truth is sponsored by My Life In A Book.  My Life In A Book is a great way to preserve the stories and memories of our loved ones.  The service helps a cherished member of your family tell their story, ultimately compiling their memories and experiences in a beautiful hardbound book that can be passed down through the generations.  For more on My Life In A Book, visit mylifeinabook.com . Use discount code TAT22 for $10 off your order. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/238 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Everyone wants to talk about the most common anxiety symptoms.  I get it.  Your symptoms feel important.  They're scary and you see them as dangerous.  In many many cases with it comes to anxiety disorders, the symptoms of anxiety become the source of the anxiety. Fear of fear is often based on fear of the most common anxiety symptoms - fear of your own body.  Let's talk about that this week. This episode of The Anxious Truth is sponsored by My Life In A Book.  My Life In A Book is a great way to preserve the stories and memories of our loved ones.  The service helps a cherished member of your family tell their story, ultimately compiling their memories and experiences in a beautiful hardbound book that can be passed down through the generations.  For more on My Life In A Book, visit mylifeinabook.com . Use discount code TAT22 for $10 off your order. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/237 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

This week sleep physician Daniel Erichsen stopped by to talk about insomnia and a cognitive behavioral approach to the problem. If you're struggling with your sleep ... and struggling because you're struggling ... this episode is for you.  Spoiler alert: The most helpful approach to sleep issues is going to sound very familiar to you.  ;-)   This episode of The Anxious Truth is sponsored by My Life In A Book.  My Life In A Book is a great way to preserve the stories and memories of our loved ones.  The service helps a cherished member of your family tell their story, ultimately compiling their memories and experiences in a beautiful hardbound book that can be passed down through the generations.  For more on My Life In A Book, visit mylifeinabook.com . Use discount code TAT22 for $10 off your order. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/236 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

When in the thick of the struggle, it can be easy to fall into the trap that makes anxiety a major part of your personal identity.  UK psychotherapist and anxiety specialist Josh Fletcher is back this week to talk about this common problem and ways to separate yourself from anxiety so that it doesn't dominate your identity. This episode of The Anxious Truth is sponsored by My Life In A Book.  My Life In A Book is a great way to preserve the stories and memories of our loved ones.  The service helps a cherished member of your family tell their story, ultimately compiling their memories and experiences in a beautiful hardbound book that can be passed down through the generations.  For more on My Life In A Book, visit mylifeinabook.com . Use discount code TAT22 for $10 off your order. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/235 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Can anxiety be cured? I know that if you look for an answer to this question you will find a very wide range of answers.  This week on the podcast we'll look at why there's such a wide range of opinions on this and where the truth - if there is even a universal truth - lies. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/234 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Real events that you witness or stories you see on social media or in the news show us the power of suggestion at work when it comes to triggering anxiety.  Today an old friend popped in to relay his experience with being "triggered" by the death of a celebrity and how he navigated through that as mostly recovered person.  It's a great chat.  I can't thank my friend Jay Floyd for stopping in to share with us. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/233 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

I am often asked if hypnosis and anxiety go together.  Does hypnosis or hypnotherapy "work" for anxiety?  Will it make your panic attacks or scary thoughts stop?  Will it calm you down?  I am far from an expert on hypnotherapy so I asked my friend and qualified psychotherapist Emma Garrick to join us to talk about the role of hypnotherapy in anxiety recovery.  This episode is jam packed with really useful information so grab a coffee and take a listen! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/232 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Sleep Anxiety and Insomnia: A Success Story Sleep anxiety and insomnia are big topics in the community surrounding this podcast.  My friend Ande Lyons struggled with sleep and tons of anxiety around sleep for many many years.  She was gracious enough to stop by the podcast this week to talk about how learning to let go of the ritualization and distorted beliefs about her sleep changed everything.  For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/231  ---  My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support  Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Anxiety Recovery Program - Is The Anxious Truth One Of Those??? Is The Anxious Truth an anxiety recovery program?  Does this podcast, the books I write, and all the content I create describe a program or method for recovery? Can you follow things step by step to know exactly what to do when anxious or afraid and how to feel better?  This is something I am asked all the time, so is The Anxious Truth an anxiety recovery program? It is. And it isn't. How's that for a vague answer? For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/230 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Physical symptoms of anxiety are usually at the top of everyone's "talk about" list. Today I'm joined by my friend and anxiety therapist Jenna Overbaugh to talk about how we can learn to fear the physical sensations of anxiety and how this relates to exercise.  We also chat about interoceptive exposure and how it can be useful in addressing your fear of the physical symptoms of anxiety.  Jenna is always a great guest and this episode is no exception, so listen in! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/229 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Demanding to create positive emotional states on demand is common misguided strategy that many fall into during recovery. While often we fear emotions because they turn into fear so quickly, we can also demand that we should be able to experience positive emotional states when we want to.  When we do this, we are generally trying to achieve a few basic goals: We are trying to escape the emotional state that we fear and hate by replacing it with a positive emotional state. We are attempting to eradicate negative states like sadness because we believe that we should always "choose happiness" or some such nonsense. We think that we are incapable of "handling" negative emotions or that they will automatically lead to some form of disaster or catastrophe. We are afraid that if we do not experience positive emotional states in given situations, that something is wrong with us. Let’s talk about this today on episode 228 of The Anxious Truth! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/228 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Even when we work with a therapist, listen to podcasts, watch videos, and read books, some parts of the recovery process remain completely our responsibility. There are recovery things that other people cannot do for us. We’re responsible for: Showing up and being an active participant in recovery Being consistent in the work we do Finding and displaying courage when we need to Remaining willing and open to the process and the experiences we have to have as part of the process Let’s talk about this today on episode 227 of The Anxious Truth! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/227 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

How Does Exposure Work For Anxiety? Habituation vs Inhibitory Learning We know about exposure. Going toward the thing we fear rather than trying to avoid it, escape from it, or engineer life so that it is never “triggered”. We know that exposure is en effective tool when it comes to anxiety disorders. But how does it actually work?  Why does it sometimes only work halfway?  Why does it sometimes not last?  What is habituation?  What is inhibitory learning?  Let's get geeky with it this week! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/226 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Many people dealing with anxiety disorders experience problems sleeping from time to time. Many anxious people also wind up stuck in mental loops where they obsess about sleep and worry excessively about not sleeping and not sleeping "properly".  This can result in a few common themes that revolve around disastrous feared outcomes associated with sleep or sleep distrubances. "If I don't sleep enough, I can't heal and will never get better!" "If I don't sleep enough, I will seriously harm my body and get very sick or die!" "If I don't sleep enough, my anxiety will go through the roof!" Let's examine these three common sleep-related anxiety themes this week. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/225 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Everyone loves a good success story.  Katie's story certainly qualifies! When I first met Katie she was crippled with fear, riddled with anxiety and panic, and generally spending her time on the floor with a fan blowing trying to calm down.  Now she's living her life and even traveling solo to Europe multiple times. What a difference 18-24 months can make! Go Katie! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/224 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

This week I'm joined by therapist and author Jennifer Swantowski as she shares her ongoing experience with benzodiazepine withdrawal and anxiety.  Jennifer is the author of "The Waiting Room" a most excellent book that anyone dealing with this challenge will find useful and inspiring. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/223 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

This week on the podcast we're talking about the difference between a survival mindset and a defiant mindset when it comes to anxiety, panic, and fear. Like it or not, we all have an anxiety mindset.  We have a framework or a conceptualization of our anxiety situation. We formulate a platform that we stand on when it comes to anxiety.  This influences how we interact with anxiety, fear, and discomfort. Your mindset is formed over time based on your experiences, how you interpret them, and your beliefs about yourself and the world in general. Your anxiety mindset dictates to some extent how you approach anxiety when it makes an appearance.   For full show notes on this episode: theanxioustruth.com/222 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Flying Anxiety It's a thing. This is not the same as fear of flying.  In this episode of The Anxious Truth we're talking about flying anxiety - being afraid to fly because of your anxiety issues.  This is a topic I've been asked to cover for quite some time, so let's get to it! For full show notes on this episode: theanxioustruth.com/221 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

I am asked all the time if it is OK to use safe people when doing exposures or facing anxiety challenges.  Let's do our best to answer that question. We'll define the term "safe person" then explore situations where use of a safe person is perfectly fine. Then we'll look at situations where we must leave our safe people behind to go it alone for full and lasting recovery. For full show notes on this episode: theanxioustruth.com/220 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Many people in our community worry about the long term health effects of chronic anxiety.  For some this is concern that pops up from time to time. For others, this can become an obsession and  the primary driver of anxiety.  Regardless of which situation you are in, we can acknowledge that the question is a reasonable one.  This is a thing that we are justified in expressing concern about.  Today we need to take a look at why concern may be warranted but going into complete freak out mode is not. For full show notes on this episode: theanxioustruth.com/219 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Sometimes podcasts like this one can become soothing rituals, safety devices, and crutches in your recovery. While it might seem crazy for a podcaster to warn you against listening to his podcast, it's not in your best recovery interests to rely on crutches for too long.  So stick with me, because there's a method to my madness and we examine this important concept in recovery. For full show notes on this episode: theanxioustruth.com/218 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

This week we have ten more of the most commonly asked questions about anxiety and recovery. Tune in as we tackle the following questions and issues: Is recovery possible even if I've suffered for many years? What if I don't have panic attacks and just feel anxious all day? How can I drive during a panic attack?  Its not safe What if I have a real medical condition? How do you accept anxiety or surrender to it? What exposures can I do to get ready for ....? Does this method work if I have trauma? I'm accepting!  Why am I still anxious?!?! I'm doing exposures and doing things but it's not working!  Why? How do I deal with a setback? If you have not listened to part 1 of the frequently asked questions series in episode 216, check that one out too! For full show notes on this episode: theanxioustruth.com/217 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

This week we're answering ten of the questions about anxiety and recovery that are most often asked in our community. Tune in as we tackle the following questions and issues: Am I fully recovered and do I experience anxiety or panic any more? Is full recovery possible? Can you recover without medication? This is all easier said than done, Drew! How can you be sure that this really is just anxiety? How can you be brave and face anxiety without running? Do you need to find the root cause of my panic attacks to get better? Why don’t I talk about nutrition or diet or supplements? Why do you need a recovery plan? Any tips for ….? Tune in next week for part two when we'll tackle ten more of the most common questions about anxiety and anxiety recovery. For full show notes on this episode: theanxioustruth.com/216 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

There's no podcast episode this week but I wanted to remind everyone that every episode I've ever recorded is on my website for your consumption.  Browse, listen, and read show notes for each old episode here: https://theanxioustruth.com/listen You can also search all the old episodes by using the search tool in the menu on my website, so check it out! We're back on July 20 with new episodes.  There's a ton of good stuff coming up, so I'll see you then.  Thank you as always for your support! --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Being afraid that you MIGHT harm yourself or commit suicide even though you have no desire or intention of doing that is a very common fear in our community.  Today I was joined by OCD and anxiety specialist Kimberley Quinlan who stopped by the podcast to help me address this scary and sensitive topic that I know is important to many listeners. Please remember that a podcast is not therapy nor a substitute for therapy or a suitable crisis management tool.  If you ever find yourself in a truly dangerous situation, reach out for immediate in-person help. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/215 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

You don’t have to recover.  Nobody, including me, should force you or shame you into getting better.  In the end, you have full control over the choices you make and you are free to make whatever choices you want to make based on what you think is best for you.  Only you get to decide whether the things I say on this podcast are right for you, and that should always be respected. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/214 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Accepting that you are responsible for your own recovery leads to empowerment and puts you in a position of strength.  But often responsibility is confused with blame or fault, which can lead us into bad places that we don’t need to visit.  Let’s talk about that in this week’s episode of The Anxious Truth. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/213 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Spirituality. How does it factor into the recovery process?  What even is it?  How do we define it?  How does it relate to religion and faith?  How do those factor into recovery? All great questions that I have not paid enough attention to.  This week on The Anxious Truth UK psychotherapist and bestselling author Joshua Fletcher stops by for a great chat about spirituality, its many forms, and the roles it can play in anxiety recovery.  We need to spend more time on this topic from time to time, and we will! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/212 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Emetophobia - fear of vomiting - is a major driver of anxiety and even panic for many in the community.  Today on The Anxious Truth my old friend and collaborator Holly is back to share openly about her experience with emetophobia and what ultimately helped her get past what can be a crippling phobia. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/211 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

This week I am joined by a friend and frequent collaborator, Lauren Rosen.  Lauren in a licensed marriage and family therapist in California specializing in OCD treatment. In a bit of departure, we're doing a top five list! Lauren and I decided to share the top five anxiety busting recovery tips and concepts that helped us both along the path to recovery.  Is it click bait?  Is it helpful?  It's probably both, so check it out! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/210 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Are you feeling stuck? Are you struggling to make progress or overcome obstacles in your anxiety recovery journey?  This is a really common situation for most members of our community from time to time.  My friend and frequent collaborator Joe Ryan stopped by the podcast to talk about how he got himself un-stuck, one small step at a time. It's a great story full of lessons that you can apply in your own situation. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/209 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

“Recovery is not linear”.  How many times have you heard this? There are ups and downs from day to day or even hour to hour.  Some days it seems like we’re killing it.  Other days we feel frustrated, impatient and discouraged. This is difficult to navigate.  It confuses us.  It also triggers an emotional reaction in many cases.  This week on The Anxious Truth let’s take a look at how that emotional reaction can create a pattern that will have you swinging from one recovery extreme to the other and back end. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/208 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

“Change your thoughts, change your life!", right? NO! This is a thing we hear all the time in self-help and personal development but in all honesty, it's nonsense.  Let’s talk about the fact that you cannot stop, control, or change your thoughts no matter how much you want to or how hard you try. And really, that's fine because controlling thoughts is not what will set us free. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/207 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

"I just want my old self back!" When wrestling with an anxiety disorder, the current state of suffering can sometimes warp the accuracy of our memory.  We remember being "anxiety free" before things went south, but often this is not true. There's a chance that you did have anxiety before you had anxiety!  Most members of the community would look at this statement sideways, insisting that they were anxiety free before the wheels fell off.  But you likely did experience anxiety in the past.  You just experienced in a different way. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/206 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

This week I'm joined by working therapist and OCD specialist Joanna Hardis to ask the million dollar question ... "Is there a secret sauce in recovery?" The short answer is that there kinda is, and that secret sauce is overcoming your intolerance to distress! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/205 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

This week on The Anxious Truth we're talking about the concept of “white knuckling” through exposures and through anxiety and fear in general. White knuckling is the term we use to describe the act of holding on tightly and fighting through an exposure or a challenging anxiety experience just to get through it and back to safety.  Imagine gripping something so hard that your knuckles turn white.  That’s what we’re talking about. I’m often asked when white knuckling ends, so let's talk about that. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/204 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

This week on The Anxious Truth we're talking about what your anxiety support system looks like.  We'll dismantle the common misconceptions about what support should be, and how those can be problematic in recovery. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/203 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

How does a highly respected psychologist approach panic attacks?  This week on The Anxious Truth we’re going to find out as we talk to Dr. Dave Carbonell about panic, panic attacks, and the second edition of his book, The Panic Attacks Workbook. --- For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/202 My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Depression is a hot topic in our community.  I get asked about my personal experience with depression all the time.  It had taken me a while to get around to this but on this week's episode of The Anxious Truth I will share my experience with depression.   Let's talk about how I handled it then, and how I handle it now. Disclaimer:  I am not an expert on depression or is this a substitute for therapy.  I can only share my own experience with this topic and what I've learned both from the community and from people far smarter than me.  As always, please consult your medical and mental health care providers with questions or concerns.  Of course, if you feel that you are a danger to yourself in any way, please reach out immediately for in-person help in your area. --- For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/201 My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

This is the 200th episode of The Anxious Truth podcast. When I started this podcast in 2014 all by myself, talking to myself in my living room (it was called "That Anxiety Guy") back then, I would never have imagined where it would go.  The podcast was something I did just to pay things forward into the universe.  I had no plan, no desired outcome, and no real interest in doing any more than that. I just hit the button on my four dollar podcasting app, and said things that I hoped would be helpful for somebody.  It was the least I could do. Since then, and especially in the last three years or so, you have driven this thing to a place I never expected it to go.  You guys did this.  I am grateful not only for the opportunity to speak TO you, but to speak WITH you, because that has been the fuel that sustained The Anxious Truth and helped it become what it is now. --- For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/200 My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Many people get confused and worried when they cry while anxious or afraid.  Let's clear this up, because this is NOT a problem. Highlights From This Episode: Is Crying Wrong? Is Crying Avoidance?  Does Crying Mean I’m Not Accepting? I cry because I am upset. I am upset because I cry. --- For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/199 My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Jen Kirkman is a comedian, author, actor, TV writer, and podcaster that has lived through anxiety and panic for large portions of her life. I was fortunate enough to have Jen on the podcast this week to talk about her path into anxiety and panic, then out the other side.  I’m sure her story will sound familiar to most listeners. While talking with Jen (I was on her podcast last week), I realized that we had lived very different experiences emotionally and mentally, yet both wound up in the same place with regard to anxiety and panic issues.  Panic attacks.  Irrational fears.  Driving anxiety.  Life restrictions.  Jen and I lived a similar experience with anxiety even when our emotional and thinking styles could not be more different. I spent some time this week exploring this with Jen. --- For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/198 My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

In today's episode of The Anxious Truth, we are going to talk about success and struggle within the anxiety recovery process and how, for many people, the two can look very similar at face value. As I have said many times, anxiety recovery is possible when we are able to sit in the discomfort of doing the hard things. Doing the things that scare us. Doing the things that purposefully put us in an anxious state so that we can learn to disassociate it from actual danger. Now, this might be what could be considered the 'struggle'. Yet, how is it that one person can be seen doing the things, facing challenges, embracing the struggle, facing their fears, and make progress while someone else can appear to be doing the exact same things and remain feeling stuck? Today, we discuss one possible reason for this. --- For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/197 My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

In episode 196 of The Anxious Truth, we will explore the urge to focus on the outcome in anxiety recovery rather than giving our attention to the process. Everyone wants to feel better.  Clearly, this is the outcome we are all after.  That’s fine, but this outcome is a long-term thing. Feeling better, experiencing less panic and anxiety, and having a “normal” life is something that happens over time, and it only happens when we learn the lessons of recovery. Where do we find those lessons? The PROCESS of recovery teaches us those lessons.  It would seem obvious to state that the process leads to the outcome, but this is often overlooked by anxious people that want to skip the process and go right to “no more panic”. --- For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/196 My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Today we will tackle the paradox of letting go in the anxiety recovery process. The concept of letting go - giving up the struggle - is a key concept in anxiety recovery.  But in the context of recovery, letting go is not a thing designed to create instant calm or tranquility.  In fact, the initial act of letting go will do quite the opposite.  It will likely increase tension and discomfort. Over time we find a reduction in tension. As we progress, we do find increased contentment and calm. This is achieved through the repeated, long-term practice of letting go, even when letting go may increase discomfort at any given moment. --- For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/195 My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Making up your anxiety recovery as you go along is not a good plan. An anxious person will wait to see how they feel before deciding what to do, so avoidance and taking the more comfortable way can accidentally become the default. Anxious people are also not very good at making productive decisions about what to do while anxious. Building structure and having a plan to execute without assessing how one feels or having to think about it is a very useful tool in recovery. In today’s podcast episode we’re going to discuss three reasons why it’s important to make an anxiety recovery plan. --- For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/194 My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

So much of the anxiety and fear struggle is based on what we feel, what we think, and what we think about what we feel. What if thinking and feeling were NOT the most important things in the universe all the time?  What if you could learn to pay attention to other things instead? How would that help you in your anxiety recovery journey?  --- For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/193 My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

“I’m doing things, but it doesn’t seem to be working! Why?” If you feel like you’re doing all the exposures but nothing is changing, you may be doing “half exposures” without even knowing it. Let’s look at what full, effective exposures really require. Exposure is what we do when we intentionally place ourselves into situations that purposefully trigger anxiety, panic, fear and all the things that come with them. We do this in order to learn a new way to relate to anxiety and fear so that we no longer fear it. Successful and effective exposures require two primary ingredients: Willingness: You must work to get to the point where you are willing to intentionally do these scary and challenging things consistently to get better. This does not mean you’re happy about doing them consistently, just that you are fully willing. Acceptance: You must be fully accepting of the fact that doing scary and challenging things will - in fact - be scary and challenging. You must accept that this is the whole point. You must accept that you have to do your best to navigate through the scary and challenging stuff rather than trying to save yourself from it, stop it from happening, or otherwise “side by it sideways”. The most common issues that result in “I’m doing exposure but it’s not working” involve being only partially willing (inconsistency) and lacking acceptance (trying to find ways to do scary things without being scared). --- For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/192 My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

This week I’m joined by my friend Kimberley Quinlan to talk about responsible use of social media as it relates to mental health and anxiety recovery.  Kimberley starts from the premise that social media is neutral, but that the way we use it defines it as healthy or unhealthy.  Let’s take it from there! Kim and I went over: Taking responsibility for your mental health and social media use Recognizing the limits and pitfalls of social media Knowing the difference between psychoeducation and behavioral change Why the ability to find everything on the Internet can be a bad thing And more! --- For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/191 My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com Additional Music Credit In This Episode: Local Forecast Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

“I know what I’m supposed to do, but it’s just so hard to do it!” Am too broken or too weak? No. You are not broken or too weak. This is a difficult process. I say all the time that recovery is a simple plan, but that plan is very hard to execute. Let’s look at the two main reasons why this is such a hard road to travel. Why is recovery so damn hard? There are many reasons that all come together to make the process of recovery from an anxiety issue as hard as it is. In this episode, let's focus on what I think are the big two. These are the primary reasons why recovery can be so challenging. 1. Humans HATE Fear and Discomfort I’m not telling you anything you don’t know here. The bad news is that recovery requires that we intentionally and repeatedly move into a state of fear and discomfort. 2. Recovery Experiences Are NOT Conducive To Forming Good Habits When we compare experiences that help build strong habits, and experiences that help us toward recovery, they are polar opposites. Recovery experiences - being afraid and uncomfortable on purpose - are more well suited to the inhibition or blocking of good habit forming. We don’t like to have negative experiences (see reason one above), and we sure as hell don’t want to repeat them when we have them. So there's almost nothing about intentionally creating panic or near panic that sounds encouraging in terms of forming productive recovery habits. FOR FULL SHOW NOTES ON THIS EPISODE: https://theanxioustruth.com/190 MY BOOKS, SOCIAL, and OTHER LINKS: https://theanxioustruth.com/links SUPPORT MY WORK https://theanxioustruth.com/support MUSIC CREDIT:  AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Everyone wants to "overcome anxiety" in 2022.  Totally doable, but we do not slay this dragon in one epic swing of a sword. This is a journey of small steps that add up. Recovery is granular. It happens in small bits as the result of small changes and small individual experiences that add up over time. Recovery does not come in giant leaps and broad sweeps. Successful recovery is very much about starting small, being incremental and being consistent.  Really, recovery is about developing strong recovery HABITS. Let’s look at five small anxiety recovery habits you can work on to start the new year. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/189 My books, social media, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

The Anxious Morning is a project I've been working on for about a year.  On January 3, the first edition of The Anxious Morning will hit the street, and the airwaves! For all the ways to listen or to subscribe free to the email newsletter, visit https://theanxiousmorning.com My goal with this project is to give you a more in-depth discussion of important anxiety and recovery topics that you can consume outside the chaos and algorithm madness that is the endless social media scroll.  Subscribe free to The Anxious Morning email newsletter and have everything dropped in your inbox each weekday morning.  Follow The Anxious Morning podcast on your favorite podcast app and listen to each episode as you start your day. These will be little 300-500 word newsletters and 3-5 minute podcast episodes that you can consume when in a quiet time, reflect on, then hopefully use as you go forward in your day.  I'll share some of my own stories, we'll go over recovery tips and techniques, I'll give you things to think about and work in, and I'll do my best to educate, encourage and empower you on your journey. I've always wanted to do a little morning "show" this way, and I love to write, so this is the best of both worlds, and hopefully a win/win for you and me. Join me in launching The Anxious Morning and making it a success. Thank you as always for your continued support and enthusiasm for my work.

Recovery is based so much on intentionally doing things that are scary and difficult.  This concept is often interpreted as being a “mind over matter” thing.  While I understand the spirit and intention of this interpretation, is it quite incorrect and can actually be counterproductive. In reality, recovery is the exact opposite. Recovery is about allowing MATTER (reality) to take precedence over MIND. ---- For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/187 My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth with a small donation: https://theanxioustruth.com/donate Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

When gripped by an anxiety disorder, much of life is dictated and driven by fear.  We make our choices and our decisions based on what we fear in an effort to avoid feeling the things we do not want to feel. When we work to build a new relationship with our anxiety, and we learn to no longer fear it, our lives become less about fear and more about what we truly value.  The process of recovery is in many ways a march from a fear-driven life to a value-driven life. For full show notes on this episode:  https://theanxioustruth.com/186   My books, social, and other links:  https://theanxioustruth.com/links   Support The Anxious Truth with a small donation:  https://theanxioustruth.com/donate   Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission)  https://bendrakemusic.com

"Why can't I feel happiness and joy?!?!?!" This question gets asked all the time.  It's a question I am personally quite familiar with.  When we are in the middle of the recovery process, still in the grips of anxiety and fear, we often find that we are unable to experience feelings of happiness, joy, or gratitude, at least not the way we think we should be experiencing them. But really, this is not a matter of being unable to feel happy.  This is really a perception problem, and a patience problem.  We often carry a somewhat distorted and unrealistically high expectation of what "happy" is supposed to feel like and how often we should feel it.  Then we want so badly to feel happy and joyful in contrast to how we feel when we suffer, that we forget that the path to happiness is an incremental path that requires patience. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/185 My books, social and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links MUSIC CREDIT: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Why on Earth am I talking about living recklessly? Most of us would agree that being reckless involves intentionally doing dangerous things and being somewhat responsible. Let’s take a few minutes to relate that to the process of anxiety recovery. And no, I am not going to teach you how to be truly reckless. It might just feel that way. When we do the hard and scary recovery things that we’re always talking about, that often feels really dangerous. You resist that for two reasons. First, nobody wants to do difficult scary things. This is just human nature. But you may also resist this recovery principle an entirely different level as well. You may resist this because intentionally doing scary and difficult things may FEEL IRRESPONSIBLE, DANGEROUS, AND RECKLESS. In many ways, the process of recovery actually feels like living irresponsibly and recklessly for many of us. We're not truly doing dangerous things. But when we stop trying to save ourselves from the perceived but false threats and disasters of disordered anxiety, that often feels very wrong. That feels dangerous. That feels irresponsible. That feels reckless. When we engage in the practice of exposure, non-reactivity to fear, and disengaging from the maladaptive thinking habits that fuel conditions like GAD, we may truly feel like we are being reckless. In this light, the process of recovery can be very much an exercise in learning to live recklessly, even if it really isn’t. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/184 My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links MUSIC CREDIT: "AfterGlow" by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Positive self-talk is awesome. But not in the way you may think. When I tell people that positive self-talk is bullshit, I mean that it does not belong in your arsenal in the heat of the moment when experiencing that high anxiety spike or a panic attack. Positive self-talk, mantras and affirmations are great as a setup tool BEFORE things get rough for you. Use them when calm.  Use them when getting yourself ready to do hard things. But ritualizing positive self-talk as a safety behavior when in the grips of panic is a bad idea and isn't terribly effective anyway. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/183 --- My books, social media, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links MUSIC CREDIT: "AfterGlow" by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

"BUT WHAT IF THERE ARE REAL HEALTH ISSUES OR LIFE CHALLENGES????" This is a question I get asked all the time.  In this week's episode, we find some inspiration and encouragement from the awesome Jessica Sidener. Jessica is an inspiring example of a real human that was forced to handle two of the most stressful events imaginable at the same time. Jessica not only managed to get through it all intact, but she also turned her experience into something positive in the world. When you are sure that your anxiety struggles are too much, or if you're dealing with anxiety alongside other problems, Jessica's story will provide hope and inspiration that we all need sometimes. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/182 My books, social media, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links MUSIC CREDIT: "AfterGlow" by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Coping skills. This is a term heard every day in mental health circles when trying to get a handle on anxiety problems. But what are coping skills? What are they designed to do? Do we really want or need them? Traditionally, the most common coping skills are all targeted at helping you escape the discomfort, fear and distress of anxiety. They may try to distract you, "ground" you, or help you find assistance from people that will help you get away from the anxiety or panic situation. They are offered with the best of intentions, but special evasive maneuvers designed to get you out of an anxious state or to help you "make it" through another panic attack are not really the best options when it comes to long term, durable recovery. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/181 My books, social media, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links MUSIC CREDIT: "AfterGlow" by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

One of the more common mistakes, especially in early recovery, is trying to actually reach a recovered state before you do the recovery work. If you're trying to figure out a way to not be afraid so that you can start your recovery, you're putting the cart before the horse. If you're hoping that you'll find some magic words that will make all this hard stuff "click" so you can get started, you're doing it backwards. You must do the recovery things first, then you "get it.” It "clicks" after you do the work. And you must do the work of recovery WHILE AFRAID in order to ultimately not be afraid. If you could find a way to not be afraid first, then there would be no need to recover. You'd already be there! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/180 My books, social media, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credit ---------------- "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

While you may want to ask for specific instructions on exactly what to do to feel better right now, this is not always the best approach to recovery in the long term. Asking for instructions can become a bit frustrating and overwhelming as you find yourself returning again and again for instructions based on today's thought, sensation, or specific fear.  Focusing on understanding and applying the concepts and principles of recovery is a better approach that leads to longer lasting and more durable results. Knowing the principles of anxiety and recovery means that you no longer need specific instructions for every situation.  Instead, you become better equipped to stand on your own as you successfully navigate through previously "impossible" situations. Learning and applying principles allows you to give your brain the productive experiences it needs to move down the path to recovery. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/179 My books, social media, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credit ---------------- "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Everyone wants instant competence and confidence in recovery, but unfortunately it does not work that way.  Competence and confidence in recovery are things we build through doing the hard things, and the hard things are carried by courage.  So the three C's of anxiety recovery are COURAGE, COMPETENCE, AND CONFIDENCE.  Start with finding your courage, which will lead to and increased sense of competence, which when used to its fullest potential builds the confidence we desire, and a more lasting and durable recovery. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/178 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

So much of the recovery process brings us discomfort. Discomfort is woven into everything that we talk about with anxiety, panic, exposure, and recovery. Being uncomfortable is something that we unfortunately have to accept as part of the process. When it comes to doing exposures, we often feel hesitant about it. We have that anticipatory discomfort that builds up and sometimes leads to us choosing not to do the exposure. But then, we have the discomfort of feeling like a failure for not doing the task. Can you relate to this? Today, we'll examine a third type of discomfort that many of us have experienced but often don’t talk about. The discomfort that happens when you can’t decide whether you will do the task or if you will choose not to do the task. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/177 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Therapist and author Joshua Fletcher returns to the podcast this week. In this episode, Drew and Josh talk about understanding the fear of fear, compassion and its role in exposures and recovery, and why Josh’s course is so heavy on the concepts of compassion and proper reactions. Drew and Josh also engage in a slightly spicy discussion about all the ‘dangerous’ courses out there that should be avoided. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/176 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Self-compassion.  We hear about it all the time.  It's quite a popular buzzword in mental health social media circles.  But what really is self-compassion?  What does it look like?  What role does it play in the recovery process?  How important it is?  This week we are fortunate to Kimberley Quinlan, LMFT on the podcast to teach us about this oh-so-important concept.  Kimberley is the author of The Self-Compassion Workbook for OCD, an amazing resource that hit the shelves earlier this week. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/175 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

You may feel powerless over your anxiety, pain, and past.  But in reality, you DO have power and influence in this process. In this episode I am joined by Dr. Bridget Cooper to discuss awareness, choice, power and responsibility in the recovery process.  Becoming aware that you DO have choice means that you do gain power and responsibility that you can use to propel yourself in the right direction toward recovery.  It's not easy and not always pretty, but you are not powerless, so let's talk about it! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/174 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

If you can learn to slow down, while anxiety, fear, panic, and stress are telling you to speed up, good things will happen over time. On this podcast episode we take a look at the speed response that is baked into anxiety, fear, panic, and stress.  When you are anxious or afraid, the odds are very high that you will automatically speed up.  This is not helping.  In fact, it is making things worse for you.  This is why I wrote my new book Seven Percent Slower - A Simple Trick For Moving Past Anxiety and Stress.  Let's talk about this, and let's listen to a free chapter from the book while we're at it. Find Seven Percent Slower here. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/173 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

The magic of recovery lies in allowing and passing through fear, not for fun, but so that we can learn the lessons that reality hands us afterward.  Specifically, "That was really hard and scary, but nothing bad happened."  Often, we make the mistake of refusing those lessons, choosing instead to follow the fear based, irrational lessons that anxiety tries to force onto us. Let's look at this problem and what we can do about it. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/172 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

At some point in recovery, every one of us faces unplanned exposures and challenges that life throws at us.  This is just part of the deal, so we must accept that.  In this episode we'll answer a very common question: "How do I handle an unplanned exposure that I can't practice for?" For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/171 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Today we have an anxiety success story that goes beyond just anxiety!  My friend and frequent collaborator Dean Stott from the DLC Anxiety Worldwide platform stopped by to talk about his anxiety journey, how he created the DLC platform, and the state of the mental health community online.  This was a really great chat that I know you're gonna like. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/170 Find Dean and the DLC Anxiety Community on Instagram: https://instagram.com/dlcanxiety -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

What happens AFTER a panic attack?  Do you suffer from panic attack "hangover"?  Does it impact you for hours, or even days after the attack ends?  In this podcast episode we'll look at the panic attack hangover, what it is, and what to do about it. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/168 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Morning anxiety.  It was a thing for me, and I know based on massive amounts of feedback on this topic that it's a thing for many others.  In this episode of the podcast, we'll look at morning anxiety and how to approach it most effectively. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/167 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Sometimes we take our inspiration and encouragement from outside the anxiety disorder realm.  Sometimes we find someone that had been knocked down HARD, yet found a way to stand back up and get back into the game of life on good terms.  Sometimes that person does it in creative and inspiring ways.  Then we can use that story and apply it in our own recovery person. Today that person is my new friend Lora Plank Cheadle.  Let's listen to Lora's story.  She was totally shattered by the discovery of infidelity in marriage, then had to figure out how to get herself out of a very dark place and back to living life again.  While she may not be talking specifically about anxiety, the lessons she learns and shares definitely apply to us! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/166 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Anxiety recovery is a strange war.  You only win it when you stop fighting. In this episode we look at the need to stop being an anxiety warrior, and start being an anxiety student.  Learning, not fighting, is the way to recovery. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/165 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

This is part 2 of my conversation with my friend and social media collaborator Lily Bloomberg. In this episode Lily talks about the process of her recovery.  There are twists in Lily's story that I found fascinating, and I hope you will too. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/164 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

I had the privilege of spending an hour with my friend and some-time collaborator Lily Bloomberg.  Lily is a school psychologist and anxiety coach that has lived her own struggles with anxiety disorders and other mental health challenges.  Today Lily speaks about her anxiety struggles and the time she spent trying to find solutions to her anxiety, panic, and other mental health issues through the years. This is part 1 of 2.  Next week Lily returns to talk about her anxiety recovery story, so come back for that one too! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/163 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

In this episode I take questions from listeners.  Some questions came in as voice messages on my Anchor podcast page.  Others were submitted on Instagram.  I wasn't able to answer all the questions because I only have 30 minutes or so for each episode, but I did my best to answer questions that were asked by multiple people.  I hope you find it helpful. If you want to leave me voice messages on Anchor, you can follow this link. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/162 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

"What does it take to really recover?" Good question.  I can tell you one thing it takes.  It takes this. Calling out our habit of choosing temporary relief and comfort when we avoid and escape and run and refuse to face the scary stuff.  This is the habit of making decisions rooted in fear and based on achieving short term comfort at the expense of long term progress and recovery. Confronting this habit and recognizing the reality of what this repeated choice means is one of the first things you can do to move yourself down the path to real recovery. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/161 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com Sponsorships: off for this episode

This is a question I get asked literally every day.  The answer may not be the one you want, but it's the one you need.  In this episode we examine how we can learn to be sure (enough) that it really is just anxiety. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/160 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

SOCIAL ANXIETY - LET’S TALK ABOUT IT My guest today is Sadie Hall, creator and host of the Your Social Anxiety Bestie podcast and a lifelong social anxiety sufferer. Sadie was kind enough to spend some time with me to help bring some understanding of social anxiety to the podcast. This is a topic I have not covered nearly enough so I appreciate Sadie helping me to remedy that. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/159 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

This is a theme that has come up now and then in the community surrounding the podcast.  When I asked my Instagram community how many people felt that anxiety means they are being punished in some way, I was blown away by the magnitude of the response.  Clearly, many people that suffer with anxiety and anxiety disorders see this problem at least to some degree as some form of punishment they are being subjected to. We need to talk about that, so let's do just that in this episode.  We don't be covering faith-based or religious issues in this podcast.  That's a topic I will return to down the road. Spoiler alert: An anxiety disorder is not evidence that you are being punished in any way. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/158 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

ANXIETY IN CHILDREN AND OTHER FAMILY ISSUES Today we're joined by Dr. Jacque Bogdanov, a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in anxiety and behavioral issues in children.  Dr. Jacque is trained in using CBT and PCIT (Parent-Child Interaction Therapy) and was kind enough to take the time to talk about anxiety issues in children and families in general.  It's a good listen full of great info! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/157 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

RECOVERY IS POSSIBLE! Meg is a great example of someone that spirals into a full blown anxiety disorder, then works really hard to follow that spiral back out of the jam she was in.  If you're not sure if you can recover, or that your anxiety is somehow special or worse than anyone else's, Meg's story will be encouraging and inspirational. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/156 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

For many anxiety sufferers, an obsessive and consuming fear of death and existential issues becomes a real problem. Let's talk about it in this episode of the podcast.  The most important thing to remember is that ALL humans struggle with thoughts and fears about death and existence from time to time.  This is NORMAL! Your relationship with those thoughts and fears is just a bit off the rails right now! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/155 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

In this issue I had the good fortune to chat with Tori Chavira about her journey through OCD and mental health issues while also handling the issues faced by a member of the LBGTQ+ community.  Tori is a strong, positive voice in both the mental health and LGBTQ+ communities.  I appreciate having her stop by to share her story and her insights. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/154 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

I HATE MY INNER CRITIC! Everyone does! Your inner critic will say all kinds of horrible things to you. This builds obstacles along the path to recovery.  In this episode I am joined again by UK psychotherapist Joshua Fletcher to examine the inner critic, where it comes from, and how to best react to it and ultimately silence it. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/153 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

Agoraphobia goes well beyond "can't leave the house".  In this episode, let's examine the nature of agoraphobia.  We'll talk about: What agoraphobia really is What it isn't How it develops The impacts of agoraphobia Recovering from agoraphobia For full show notes on this episode, visit https://theanxioustruth.com/152 -------- My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

A couple of months ago I did a "gender issues in recovery" episode with my friend Bridget Cooper.  The response was good!  ALL voices and experiences matter, so this week we chat with Dr. Lisa Cortez about anxiety and mental health issues in the Latinx community.  Lisa and I discussed cultural, religious and gender issues that impact mental health treatment and anxiety recovery in the Latinx community. Dr. Lisa is a VERY BUSY practicing therapist in south Texas.  Her region is predominately Mexican-American.  Lisa's own heritage and her involvement in the mental health of her community have provided her with an inside look at the issues that Latinx men and women face when approaching anxiety and mental health in general. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/151 My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

How do I talk to my anxiety?  This is a common question.  In this episode we'll explore why and HOW you can "talk" to your anxiety as part of an effective recovery strategy. For full show notes on this episode visit https://theanxioustruth.com/150 THE HIGHLIGHTS: Why talk to your anxiety? Your amygdala does NOT understand words! You Can Only "Talk" To Anxiety With ACTIONS! My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

This is a topic that people have been asking me to talk about  lately. In the last six months, I've developed much more an interest in health anxiety. If you had asked me a year ago about it, I would have told you, "I don't want to get into that!" But actually, I do want to get into that!  So let's look at health anxiety.  What it is, what it isn't, and how the principles of recovery we talk about all the time apply. Does my book apply to health anxiety?  It does, but you have to know how to apply the principles correctly! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/149 My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

I'm asked all the time ... "Does this recovery method apply to GAD?" The short answer is that it does, but there are extra wrinkles with GAD that we must be aware of.  We must learn to relate in a new way to anxiety and the symptoms and thoughts that come with it.  This is the same way we approach the other anxiety disorders.  However, we also must be aware of the meta beliefs and thinking habits that drive anxiety.  Knowing how your beliefs and habits fuel your anxiety is the first step in changing those habits.  We cannot really address GAD effectively unless we also address these underlying issues. So can you recover from GAD this way?  You can, but there's extra work for you to do, so let's talk about it in this episode. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/148 My books, website, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

I used Paxil between 1996 and 2005. This is part 3 of a 3 part series detailing my experience. My experience with SSRI withdrawal was difficult, to say the least. I’ve been asked to tell this story, so I did for those that want to hear it. Spoiler alert: I survived and it turned out OK! My experience with antidepressants and anxiety is mine. Yours may be different.  Please keep this in mind. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/147 ----- My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://bendrakemusic.com) with permission

In this episode I finally discuss an issue so many people have been asking me to discuss for so long.  My experience with anxiety medications.  I used Paxil between 1996 and 2005. This is part 2 of a 3 part series detailing my experience.  My experience on Paxil for 9 years was not a good one overall. In retrospect, the medication did its job, but there was a price to pay for that. My experience with antidepressants and anxiety is mine. Yours may be different.  Please keep this in mind.  For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/146  -----  My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links  Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://bendrakemusic.com) with permission

In this episode I finally discuss an issue so many people have been asking me to discuss for so long.  My experience with anxiety medications.  I used Paxil between 1996 and 2005.  This is part 1 of a 3 part series detailing my experience.  Today I talk about my position on medications, why I chose to use medication in 1996, what my and what my initial experience was. My experience with antidepressants and anxiety is mine. Yours may be different.  Please keep this in mind. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/145 ----- My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permission

On this episode I was able to spend 30 minutes or so chatting with Joshua Fletcher.  Josh is a working therapist in the UK that runs a practice specializing in anxiety disorders.  Josh is also the host of The Panic Pod podcast.  We covered therapy issues, recovery in general, and we managed to tell a few joke along the way. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/144 Thanks to Josh for taking the time to share his knowledge and perspective with us. Find Josh online here: Instagram - @anxietyjosh Podcast - The Panic Pod Josh's Amazon author page ----- My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permission

We often talk about starting recovery by taking small steps, but did you know that those small steps can often be taken right inside your "safe zone"?  It's true!  Odds are your home base - your safe zone - is chock full of hidden avoidance and anxiety inducing gems that you can uncover and use to start building the foundation of your recovery. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/143 My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permission

Donna grew up surrounded by discussion of cardiac health and blood pressure.  When she started experiencing panic attacks, and the blood pressure spikes that naturally come with them, her struggle with health anxiety and an obsession with her blood pressure was ignited.  For full show notes on this episode, visit https://theanxioustruth.com/142 Donna worked herself into a position where she was obsessed with her blood pressure.  She was continuously terrified and convinced that she was on the edge of a fatal blood pressure spike at all times. This obsession drove the compulsion to check and record her blood pressure many times each day.  To Donna, the compulsion to check her blood pressure was an attempt to soothe her fear and convince herself that she was safe, even when she was sure that she was not. She became a slave to the blood pressure monitor and was frozen by the irrational fear that she was in mortal danger at all time In the end, Donna not only conquered her health anxiety and blood pressure obsession, but learned that she is able to handle all kinds of obstacles that life sometimes throws at us.  The lessons she learned while conquering her anxiety disorder gave her a strong foundation to stand on when things went south in her personal life.  Donna has passed through major relationship changes and a global pandemic and social upheaval and all the things we've all been subject to over the last few years, and she's out there enjoying her life and in her own words ... "living big".   GO DONNA! My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permission

In the field of anxiety disorders and the treatment of anxiety disorders, you will not find anyone with more street cred than Dr. Winston.  Dr. Sally Winston knows what she's talking about. Today I had the privilege of spending 25 minutes chatting with her about recovery, the obsessive need for certainty and comfort that drives many disorders, and why reassurance and soothing is decidedly NOT the way. For full show notes on this episode (you'll WANT to read these): https://theanxioustruth.com/141 Find Dr. Winston at https://anxietyandstress.com My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permission

I am often asked an important question. "How do I learn to float and accept when one person makes me anxious?"  This question is asked by people that will often explain that they experience anxiety or even panic when in the presence of a specific person or group of people.  Often, there is a history of abuse, or there is ongoing abuse of varying types (mental, emotional, or even physical).  So the question I am really being asked is, "How can I float through being with someone that has harmed me or is harming me right now?" The answer is simple.  You are not required to accept and float through abuse.  Not now.  Not ever.  I am teaching you how to become non-reactive to irrational fear.  Fear that feels real, but has no basis in reality. This is why we learn to accept that fear and float through it.  This is why we surrender to it.  Because in doing so we learn that there is no real danger, and that we no longer have to be afraid.  When in an abusive relationship, there is REAL DANGER.  REAL HARM is being done.  Your fear and your anxiety are justified!  I am not teaching you how to float through that. My old friend Joe Ryan joined me to discuss this important topic and share his experience with abusive relationships. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/140 My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permission

Building your own personal recovery from an anxiety disorder means using ALL the resources you have available to you.  In this podcast episode I talk about combining books, podcasts, social media streams, online support groups, hard work and professional help into a powerful recovery toolkit. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/139 My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permission

Today Dr. Bridget Cooper (Dr. B) and I talk about gender issues in mental health and anxiety recovery.  There are clearly differences between men and women and how we talk about mental health, think about mental health, and approach solving mental health problems like the anxiety disorders we're talking about all the time. The way we define our roles as men and women and the way we are socialized into those roles make a difference in the way men and women approach mental health and emotional issues.  Given that in the end we are all humans with the same emotional and mental health needs and problems, we would do well to learn lessons on how to break down some of the gender based issues that can hold us back in recovery. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/138 Find Dr. B online at https://drbridgetcooper.com My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permission

Therapists and counselors also struggle with mental health. Licensed mental health professional Jenna Overbaugh treats anxiety disorders for a living, but after the birth of her son she struggled with postpartum anxiety, depression and OCD. For full show notes on this episode, visit theanxioustruth.com/137 Jenna always assumed that her training and profession would have her well prepared to handle anxiety and depression issues in own life. After a traumatic delivery experience, Jenna began to experience intrusive thoughts centered on accidentally harming her newborn. The thoughts expanded and against her own professional advice, Jenna found herself unwittingly engaging in the avoidance and safety behaviors that she logically knew fuel the problem. Jenna’s experience taught her that there is giant hole in our society where the basics of mental health for new mothers should be. Without having the benefit of the knowledge Jenna has, the average new mom is totally lost and terrified when confronted with the common mental health struggles that can pop up after childbirth. There is plenty of information about the nuts and bolts of delivery and caring for a newborn but virtually no discussion of even basic postpartum mental health concepts. My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permission

There is a HUGE amount of discussion about "treating" anxiety problems with diet and exercise.  In some cases, diet and exercise can actually DRIVE anxiety issues and can even present obstacles to recovery.  In this podcast episode I was joined by therapist and personal trainer Jenna Overbaugh to discuss orthorexia, obsessive focus on exercise and fitness, and the problems associated with these things. For full show notes on this episode, visit https://theanxioustruth.com/136 My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permission

Everyone loves a good anxiety success story and today we have one from our friend, and someone you hear all the time if you're a regular listener, Ben Drake. Ben spent his days for quite a long time just trying to endure anxiety and panic.  Bracing, fighting, and "white knuckling" his way through life as a working musician.  Things changed for the better when he learned a new way to approach his anxiety issues. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/135 My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links To find Ben Drake and his music: https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic

When you interact with the number anxiety disorders that I do, you have the opportunity to see patterns emerge in a crowd.  Over years of doing this thing I do, and interacting with the large number of people that I have, I can see that when it comes to recovery from an anxiety disorder, there are clear "stages" of recovery that most people progress through.  None of these are absolutely set in stone, but the odds are high that you will identify with one of these stages. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/134 My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permission

One of the more common bits of advice passed around for the last zillion years or so is ... "trust your gut".  Regardless of the the circumstance or problem to be solved, if you ask enough people for advice the odds are high that you will have someone ask you what your "gut" is telling you to do, or just telling you to "trust your gut".  Sometimes this is good advice.  Sometimes it is absolutely horrible advice. If you're working on solving the problem of an anxiety disorder, trusting your gut is exactly the opposite of what you should be doing.  Your gut, and your intuition, are steering you wrong on the daily so it's time to recognize this and clear up some confusion. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/133 My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permission

So, here’s some great news if you deal with emetophobia. Bet you didn’t think you’d ever hear that, did you? Well, Drew’s guest on this week’s episode is here to spread some great news, and her energy is absolutely infectious! Christia was emetophobic for decades, and she ran from any sort of incidents or fear of incidents so often...until she got tired of it and decided to make a change. Now, she is sharing her story to spread her hope to other people. As she tells it, she is 100% over it and has no fear of vomiting or being around someone who is. What is even cooler is that she didn’t need to know her triggering event; she could still use EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) and other therapies to overcome the fear that was controlling her life. If emetophobia is ruining your life and if you see no way out, this episode is for you. You too can overcome emetophobia. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/132 My books, podcast, social media, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permission

When Faster Than Normal author and podcast host Peter Shankman was officially diagnosed with ADHD, he decided that it wasn't a liability, but rather a bit of a superpower.  Peter took action to maximize the things he's really good at, while outsourcing and minimizing the negative impacts of the things he's traditionally not been so good at.  This is a lesson on how to find the silver lining in a mental health issue! For full show notes on this episode visit theanxioustruth.com/131 Find Peter, his podcast, and his book at https://fasterthannormal.com My books and social media links: theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credits: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permission

"I've been seeing my therapist for years and she never explained this the way you do!" "How can it be that all the different counselors and doctors I've seen have never talked about my anxiety this way?" "I've been through countless therapists over the years.  None of them explained this problem the way you do!" These are statements and questions I encounter on a regular basis from podcast listeners and members of my social media community.  If you've ever wondered why none of your doctors, therapists or counselors have ever talked about your anxiety problems the way I do, then this podcast episode is for you. For full show notes on this episode visit theanxioustruth.com/130 My books and social media links: theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credits: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permissions

Kyrsty spent 12 years in her house, trapped by agoraphobia and panic.  That's all changing now. In this podcast episode Kyrsty shares with us how she's been taking the core concepts of recovery and putting them into practice on a daily basis.  Her progress thus far has been faster than she expected, and with a growing number of victories under her belt and an amazing recovery mindset, the sky is the limit! For full show notes on this episode, visit theanxioustruth.com/129 My social media and other links: theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permission.

Ask yourself a question.  Is your anxiety your enemy, or is it your teacher?  Most of you are going to immediately tell me that you see anxiety as an enemy.  It lurks in the shadows, stalking you day and and day out, always ready to attack.  Your anxiety drives you to do things you do not want to do.  It drives you to eliminate and avoid parts of your life that desperately want back.  Anxiety is clearly your enemy, right? (For full show notes on this episode visit theanxioustruth.com/128) It is not.  Anxiety  - when dealing with the anxiety disorders I am always addressing - has never been your enemy regardless of how much you may hate and fear it. How do we learn once and for all to “believe” that we are safe even when afraid?  By allowing the fear and the anxiety themselves to be your teachers.  That’s right.  Anxiety and fear MUST be your teachers if you are to achieve true and lasting recovery.  We must be willing to face our anxiety and the associated fear, building a new relationship with it based on dropping all the old fight or flight responses.  When we face it fully and allow it to do the worst we can imagine, we learn through real experience that it cannot.  When we do this, anxiety becomes our teacher.  It teaches us clearly that he has no teeth.  The lesson we must learn is that the dragon breathes no fire and cannot kill us.  We can only learn this lesson by letting the dragon show us.  The dragon - your anxiety - must teach you how to recover.  You must embrace it as your teacher and stop declaring it your enemy. Takeaways: You’ve positioned fear as a threat that you need to run from or fight, but there is a third option--embracing it and learning from it. Your fear is real; the basis for it is not.  This is why anxiety is NOT your enemy and never has been. Do not try to erase your fears. It is human to fear, and you will never succeed in erasing fear from your life! Our goal here is not to become fearless, but to learn that the fear you’ve been hiding from and fighting has been baseless. My books, social media, and other links: theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permission

This is common misconception for many, and it's keeping some folks stuck!  When we talk about accepting anxiety as the path to recovery, and when we talk about surrendering to anxiety, we are not saying that you have to LIKE or LOVE your anxiety.  You do not.  If you've been struggling to find a way to like your anxiety because you think accepting and liking are the same thing, then this episode is for you. Of note is a discussion about people dealing with OCD and intrusive, obsessive, disturbing thoughts.  Acceptance in this case does NOT mean accepting that those thoughts are predictive of the future, will come true, or will represent who you are.  It can be scary for someone to accept intrusive thoughts for this reason, but accepting just means acknowledging that they are here and that fighting them has been fruitless.  Accepting is just a way of giving up the old ways of coping so that you can learn a new way that leads to freedom from the thing you hate - and will continue to hate  - so much. For full show notes on this episode visit https://theanxioustruth.com/127 My books, social media, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake with permission (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic)

Is your worst-case scenario being forced to sit quietly with your own thoughts and sensations?  Are you one of the many that declares that they are "OK" so long as they are up and about and occupied?  Learning to sit quietly with oneself is a challenge for many people, with or without anxiety.  For those recovering from an anxiety disorder, this presents a serious challenge, but a challenge that must be met on route to full recovery. (For full show notes on this episode visit https://theanxioustruth.com/126) It is well worth the time to solve this problem just like it is with all of your anxiety related problems.  First you learn that being quiet and still is NOT a catastrophe, then you learn how to use quiet/still time positively and productively. This is a hard thing to overcome and a hard thing to learn to do.  As always, you can do hard things. My social media or and other links:  https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (with permission) - https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic

For many, having to undergo a surgical or major medical procedure is "worst nightmare" territory anxiety-wise.  There are quite a few fears at play here.  Fear of being out of control.  Fear of being away from safe places and people.  Fear of sedation and anesthesia.  Fear of complication or problems cause by the procedure in question.  It can add up to an almost tragic level of avoidance in some cases, even when surgery or other medical procedures are critical to one's well being. Today I was joined by practicing anesthesiologist Dr. Frank Catanzaro. Dr. Catanzaro has been practicing for over 25 years in the Rochester, New York area and has encountered all these fears in his patients.  Frank was kind enough to take some time to share his knowledge and experience with us. Takeaways: 1. EVERYBODY has anxiety or nervousness going into surgery or other major medical procedures.  Anesthesiologists and other healthcare providers encounter this situation all the time.  They are experienced in dealing with it. 2. If you are worried or anxious because you're not sure how things are going to go, ASK.  Rather than playing the "what if" game in your head, speak your concern to your surgeon or other members of your healthcare team.  Dr. Catanzaro's team is always happy to answer patient questions to help ease anxiety and worry.  Odds are your team will be willing to do the same. 3. Pre-surgical treatment with a benzo is EXTREMELY common.  This will likely be made available to you.  Take advantage of it. Taking a benzo to lower your pre-surgery anxiety level is NOT avoidance and will not lead to addiction in any way. Dr. Catanzaro explains how refusing that option may mean a more difficult recovery post-surgery, so do your best to trust your medical team to give you good information and use the tools available to you. 4. Your anxiety and panic may change the parameters that your anesthesiologist will work within, but in the end even level 10 panic is no match for the medications used during surgery or other major medical procedures.  A common fear is being "stuck" between awake and sedated because of severe panic.  This does not happen. Thanks to Dr. Catanzaro for taking the time to discuss this with us today! For full show notes on this episode visit https://theanxioustruth.com/125 My social media, books, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permission

I often here people saying that recovery becomes harder - or even impossible - if you've suffered too long with your anxiety problems.  This is simply not true.  In this podcast episode let's take a look at why this is a misconception that you're going to have to leave behind. There are three main reasons why you can recover no matter how long you've suffered. 1. Anxiety disorders are not progressive degenerative diseases that take away your physical or mental abilities over time.  If you're thinking of it that way, you're wrong and need to drop that notion. 2. The past does not predict or govern the future.  You are not powerless.  If you begin to make new choices and engage in new behaviors and reactions, new things can and will happen.  Just because you've done a thing for 20 years does not prevent you from doing a different thing tomorrow. 3. You have not been digging an infinitely deep hole all this time.  The hole got as deep as it was going to get early on.  Now you're just jumping in and out of it.  It's always the same hole, so your climb is no longer now than it was 10 years ago.  You just have to stop jumping back in. For full show notes on this episode go to https://theanxioustruth.com/124 My social media and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links My books: https://theanxioustruth.com/books Closing music: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) with permission.

Holly is back in this episode, sharing her long experience using benzos as part of her anxiety management strategy.  Holly shares how she started on benzos, what her doctor told her, and how she actually did use them.  We talk about "as needed" use, daily use, dependency (addiction), effectiveness, and how the use of benzos interferes with learning recovery lessons.  Holly shares her recovery story and how we gradually stopped taking benzos altogether after many years of use.  This is a topic that I know many want me to cover in greater detail. It seemed that this was a good first step in that direction. Please note that neither Holly nor I are medical professionals.  NEVER make changes to your medication without consulting your doctor(s) and NEVER just stop taking benzodiazepines on your own.  For full show notes please visit https://theanxioustruth.com/123 My social media and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links My books: https://theanxioustruth.com/books

In this episode I answer listener questions about: Returning to "normal". Handling thoughts, memories and emotions. Parenting issues in recovery. Sleep anxiety. My own progress in recovery and my issues with coming off medications. For full show notes on this episode, go to https://theanxioustruth.com/122 My social media and other links:  https://theanxioustruth.com/links

This week and next I will take time to answer questions submitted by by Instagram friends.  I had over 130 questions sent in for this episode so lets break it into two episodes.  This is part one.  Part two will be next week in episode 122. Questions covered in this episode are: "I just started therapy, how do I make the most out of it to get the most out of it?" "What's the best way to deal with the urge to talk about feelings often and seek reassurance?" "I always think you need to go to A&E (the ER in the US) when you have a panic attack because you can't breathe.  Any tips?" "Any advice on how to deal with pain due to a medical condition triggering anxiety?" "How do I tell the difference between anxiety and an actual medical issue?" "Benzo/antidepressant withdrawal issues." "What part do other approaches like teas, oils, crystals and inner child work play in the recovery process?" "How do I prevent or deal with setback or relapse?" "Is recovery harder when OCD is involved?" For full show notes on this episode visit https://theanxioustruth.com/121 My links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links

Shelley Hohe has struggled with OCD for many years.  Her contamination obsession and the accompanying compulsions drove her into a very dark place.  Her faith was questioned and shaken, her life was getting smaller, her relationships were suffering, and she simply wasn't sure where to turn for answers or help.  A chance encounter with an old friend changed everything, setting Shelley on a path of renewed faith where recovery from OCD is not only a goal, but a real work in progress.  Shelley was generous enough to share her story with us in the hope that she may shine a light that others struggling with OCD can follow.  Shelley has made it her mission to educate, inspire, and advocate on behalf of the OCD community, and has even taken on the role of OCD Advocate for the International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Foundation. Find Shelley on Instagram at https://instagram.com/theocdcafe Find the IOCDF at https://iocdf.org My Links:  https://theanxioustruth.com/links

One of the most common topics I am asked to address is Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).  GAD is generally categorized with other anxiety disorders such as panic disorder, agoraphobia, OCD and social anxiety.  Today I was lucky enough to spend 30 minutes with Dr. David Carbonell.  A clinical psychologist specializing in treating anxiety disorders, Dr. Carbonell is the author of "The Worry Trick" and three other books on anxiety and phobias.  We had a most excellent talk about GAD, what it is, and how it's treated. For full show notes on this episode, visit https://theanxioustruth.com/119 Find Dr. Carbonell and his books at https://anxietycoach.com My Links:  https://theanxioustruth.com/links

The recovery process will - unfortunately - include days where you still struggle.  This is to be expected.  In this episode I read lesson 5.5 from my book which discusses the struggles you will encounter.  I then discuss the basics of creating a "playbook" that you can turn to on the bad days when you need an easy to follow script rather than thinking on your feet. For full show notes on this episode including the full text of the book chapter I read, visit https://theanxioustruth.com/118 CREATING YOUR "BAD DAY PLAYBOOK" Bad days and period of struggle often include the onset of confusion and forgetting.  I see people declare that they can not remember what they are supposed to do when they find themselves faced with period of struggle in recovery.  This is clearly a normal situation experienced by many.  When discouraged, feeling defeated, and feeling confused and lost, having a playbook or a script that you can reference is VERY helpful. Remember that your bad day playbook is not there to make you instantly feel better.  It will not create instant sunshine and rainbows.  It might, but that's now what it's there for. It exists only to keep up connected to your humanity, and to the process.  It is designed to prop you up and get you back to the basics that will show you that struggle or not, you are still in control and capable of making change in your life. My Links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake

Recovery from an anxiety disorder gets even harder when you judge the presence of fear as an immediate failure.  Dr. B - Bridget Cooper - joined me today to talk about fear, and the misconception that the presence of fear indicates failure of some kind. For full show notes on this episode go to https://theanxioustruth.com/117 The Highlights: 1. Being afraid is NOT failure.  There are a few reasons you may be thinking this, most based on old self-limiting beliefs and what Dr. B calls "old contracts".  Being afraid during recovery does not mean you are failing or "doing it wrong". 2. The Fear - Trust - Control model.  Dr. B uses her model of fear to explain how high levels of fear and corresponding low levels of trust trigger exaggerated attempts at control. We discuss how trying to control things is expressed as our old safety, escape and avoidance behaviors. 3. Are you clinging to old self-beliefs because they are comfortable? We discuss why some people are reluctant to even try to face fear because it may mean becoming a new version of themselves.  Even when the current version is suffering to some degree, what is known is comfortable, and sometimes preferred over the discomfort and uncertainty of making changes. 4. You cannot "mantra" your way out of this situation.  We discuss Dr. B's concept of the inner critic and how attempting to convince your inner critic that it is safe to try hard things will never work.  This is directly related to my discussion of why positive self talk and attempting to simply ignore anxiety do not work.  You cannot dismiss your built-in protective mechanisms with words alone. 5. The only way to improve your fear perception and experience is to let go. Dropping all the old attempts to control (safety and comfort seeking) means passing THROUGH fear and learning through experience that you can TRUST yourself to get that job done.  These are the experiences we do desperately need as a core component of recovery. Find Dr. B online: Instagram Facebook Website Amazon Author Page My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic)

One of the concepts that confuses people more than any other is understanding the difference between accepting and surrendering to anxiety, learning to be nonreactive to anxiety, or ignoring anxiety. Let's talk about that today. There is a difference between ignoring anxiety and learning to become truly non-reactive to anxiety. This is subtle. It's reasonable for people to be confused especially in the early stages of the game. This is a thing that requires a fair amount of thought. It requires a bit of a change in mindset and approach. And it certainly does require practice! For full show notes on this episode go to https://theanxioustruth.com/116 Highlights of this episode: Ignoring Anxiety Is PASSIVE Ignoring Anxiety Is Like Useless "Positive Self Talk" Non-Reactive Acknowledgement - An ACTIVE, Intentional, Purposeful Process Learning The Skill of Non-Reactive Acknowledgement With Practice Acceptance.  Surrender.  Floating. My Links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links

Dr. Bridget Cooper is a cage rattler. Her penchant for confronting old beliefs and challenging thought patterns is helping people to break from from old negative beliefs and ideas.  Dr. B is passionate about showing you that a new way and a new life is possible. Old Contracts Many people want so desperately to recover from anxiety issues, but find themselves trapped by old beliefs and ideas that tell them that they are not capable of recovery.  The belief that one is less than, not strong enough, not smart enough, or simply not worthy of recovery can be crippling to the process of recovery. Dr. Bridget frames these old negative beliefs as "old contracts" that you were forced to sign well before you had the knowledge, maturity, or ability to understand them or even sign them.  You've been given contracts against your will, and you've been acting in accordance with those contracts. Here is news.  You are entitled to tear up those old contracts.  You didn't choose them.  You didn't understand them.  You didn't have the ability or opportunity to read them or object to them.  You can declare your old contracts null and void.  This is the first step toward shattering old beliefs and ideas that have been keeping you stuck. For full show notes on this episode visit https://theanxioustruth.com/115 Dr. Bridget Cooper (Dr. B) Website: http://drbridgetcooper.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drbridgetcooper/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bridget.cannoncooper Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Bridget-Cooper/e/B00LXT7R26 My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links

Here is a paradox. So much of this anxiety complex revolves around a desperate attempt to find 100 percent iron clad certainty. The search for certainty in the face of irrationally perceived threats destroys your ability to handle uncertainty in the face of real challenges and threats. The search for safety undermines the very thing you seek ... For Full show notes on this episode, visit https://theanxioustruth.com/114 My Links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links

Sarah Doan Peace is amazing.  Having been born with VATER syndrome and after 35 surgeries and years of serious medical challenges, Sarah is finding her voice as a speaker and advocate for others that share her experience.  Sarah's honesty and willingness to openly share her story and struggle are educational, enlightening, and inspiring. * For full show notes on this episode, visit https://theanxioustruth.com/113 * To find Sarah online, visit https://sarahdoanpeace.com * My links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links

Do you fear your emotions? Do you see them as threats, or indicators that you are failing in recovery, or destined for disaster? Do you attempt to escape from your emotions or avoid them?  You are not alone. For full show notes on this episode, visit https://theanxioustruth.com/112 Emotions Are A Natural Part of Being Human Every human being experiences emotions.  Some are great.  Some really suck.  But all are normal and natural.  While we may not always like our emotions, we do not have to fear them or see them as disaster.  Regardless of what you think about your emotions, if you are reading this right now, then you have handled and navigated every last thing life has ever thrown at you.  You have handled them and you are still here.  You can handle emotions and emotional waves too!  You are capable of this. Is It The Emotion, Or The Reaction To The Emotion? While all humans experience emotions, and often don't like them, not everyone FEARS emotions. Experiencing emotions is not a problem.  Being afraid of emotions is a problem.   If you see even just feeling some emotions as a failure or a disaster, you have developed this problem.    This happens when we lose sight of the emotion itself and its surrounding context.  Rather than dealing with the emotion or the situation that triggered it, we tag the emotion as a nightmare, put it aside, then write an entire additional fear-based story about the emotion. We construct elaborate tales detailing what the emotion says about you, what it means, why it proves that you are weak or broken, and how it must indicate that you are failing in recovery and doomed to wind up forever ill, depressed, or stuck. So is the problem the emotion, or your reaction to the emotion?  Are you dealing with your emotions, or are you really dealing with the judgements and stories you add to your emotions?  It's very important to see the difference and to recognize when you're adding needless additional burden (judgements, interpretations and stories) to a natural and temporary burden (emotions and emotional waves). We can address this reaction to emotions using the same tools and concepts that we use to address our physical and cognitive panic and anxiety symptoms.  Unlike our panic and anxiety symptoms, emotions are valid.  They do matter.  But that doesn't mean that they are more than they are. They are just emotions and you are capable of feeling them and handling them directly, however difficult that may be. When you pile judgements and fear-based stories on top of those emotions, you are making things harder on yourself than they need to be. My Links ----------- https://theanxioustruth.com/links

You may think that you are afraid of an ever-growing list of places, tasks, people and situations.  You are not.  There is only ONE FEAR driving your anxiety disorder - fear of how you feel and what you think.  Acknowledging the one fear can clarify and simplify your recovery path so let's talk about it. For full show notes on this episode visit https://theanxioustruth.com/111 My Links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links

My friend Nick Maynard is an almost textbook example of how to recovery from panic disorder and agoraphobia.  At one point Nick was in a panic on the ground in a Costco on Black Friday.  He was then trapped in his bedroom for weeks, unable to even get a glass of water.  But Nick changed direction and started putting in the hard work.  Today he's back on his feet, excelling at work, and living a normal life again.  Thank you Nick, for taking the time to share your story today! My Comprehensive Anxiety Recovery Guide Is Here!  -------------------------------  https://theanxioustruth.com/recoveryguide My Links ------------------------------  https://theanxioustruth.com/links

For full show notes and a link to download this tutorial as an MP3, visit https://theanxioustruth.com/109. HOW DO I RELAX, BREATHE, AND FOCUS????   I've been asked to do something like this for a while. With some extra nudging from a friend, I took 15 minutes to record this little beginner's relax, breathe, and focus tutorial. This isn't my usual thing, but hopefully, it will be of use.   This episode will take you through the basics of what it looks like and feels like when you surrender to anxiety or panic.  Instead of fighting and fleeing, this is how we relax into the fear, experience it, and let it pass.  This is how we learn that we do not have to fear our anxiety and the sensations that come along with it.  The basics are relaxing of your body, breathing into your belly, and focusing on your breath rather than on the symptoms and thoughts. This is a difficult skill to learn, and it will NOT make your anxiety go away instantly.  Please do not use is a calming tool or an escape tool to make your panic attacks end.  Use it as a LEARNING tool.  Understand that even if you did none of this, your panic attacks would end.  This is critical!  My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links

This Is Chapter/Lesson 3.6 from my book "The Anxious Truth". I wanted to release a chapter to give everyone a look at what the book is all about.  This is likely the most important chapter I wrote, so it seemed the the best choice to release as a preview. For the full written chapter preview, go to theanxioustruth.com/108 We’ve seen the three reactions that are driving that faulty brain link between fear and danger. The reaction before, the reaction during, and the reaction after. Now that we understand how they work; we can look at how to change them into something more straightforward and more effective. All by doing NOTHING. When we change our reactions to anxiety, panic, and fear before, during, and after episodes of high anxiety or panic, we set our brains on a new path. We weaken incorrect links and build new productive and positive connections. We leave wrong answers and bad cognitive habits behind while learning proper lessons and developing good brain habits. Changing our reactions is a simple idea yet challenging to put into practice. When you find your courage, get determined, and do the work, you will learn it will be well worth it. Then the day will come—maybe sooner than you think—when you suddenly find yourself not gripped by fear and worry all the time. That will be a great day. I promise it will.

For full show notes on this episode, go to https://theanxioustruth.com/107 Many people are struggling with letting go of anger, guilt and bitterness over time lost to anxiety. Learning to "forgive yourself" can be difficult.  While struggling with an anxiety disorder is certainly impactful in a big way, it is possible to learn how to change the habit of blaming yourself and revisiting guilt, anger, or regret over those struggles.  It is possible to learn how to leave the past behind us. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links

(For full show notes on this episode, visit https://theanxioustruth.com/106) Today I was joined by my friend Monique Koven to discuss the concept of feeling safe and secure.  Many victims of past trauma or abuse find that anxiety recovery is made more difficult because they are unable to ever feel safe or secure.  This is understandable, and it absolutely adds a wrinkle to the recovery process that must be addressed for these people. While your past experiences may have taught you that were not safe or secure, this does not mean that you are doomed to forever feel vulnerable in your life.  Abuse and abandonment may have left you with nobody to turn to for support when you needed it.  You may have taken those situations and carried them forward to conclude that you are always vulnerable and never on secure footing.  You may find it difficult to ever really feel safe. For the person wrestling with an inability to ever feel safe or secure, acknowledging why this happens is important. From there, it becomes important to understand and accept that just knowing and validating is rarely enough to remedy the situation.  There are concrete steps - actions - you can take to teach yourself that the world is not inherently dangerous, that you are capable of feeling safe even on your own, and that it is possible to build nurturing relationships that provide the support you need at at times. Find Monique online at cptsdcoach.com or on Facebook and Instagram as "cptsdcoach". My Links ------------ https://theanxioustruth.com/links

For many, the fear of driving on the freeway, highway, or motorway is a big problem.  Often I am told that this seems and impossible task.  A typical person facing this challenge will insist that driving at high speed on a congested highway, involves real danger.  They are convinces that disaster is imminent. This is not true, and represents yet another fear driven distortion, courtesy of our old friend anxiety. While highway driving is in fact more risky for every driver (regardless of anxiety), experiencing anxiety does not instantly rob you of the ability to operate a vehicle.  If you are reading this, you have survived every instance where you have experienced anxiety or panic while on a highway.  You didn't "almost crash" or "almost die" or "almost pass out".  You controlled your car, even when afraid and uncomfortable, and did what needed to be done to remain safe. What you thought was going to happen did not happen, so you must learn to stop judging the situation based on the fear driven story you have in your head about certain disaster.  Instead, judge the situation based on your actual experiences and the positive outcomes you've had. Thank you to my friend Jay for both suggesting the topic, and for recording this one with me.  This is the audio portion of a live video we did in my Facebook group, so you'll hear us discuss the topic, then take questions from group members that were watching while we chatted. My Links ----------- https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music : Afterglow by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic)

Today I was fortunate to have spent 25 minutes on a Zoom call with Dr. Ingvard Wilhemsen, a respected expert in the field of health anxiety and hypochondriasis from the University of Bergen in Norway.  We discussed the basis of health anxiety, what drives it, the underlying principles of uncertainty and safety, and some of the effective methods he uses when treating patients with health anxiety. Dr Willhemsen has been kind enough to offer to do a follow-up episode with us, so if you have questions or comments, please follow the links to any of my social media channels.  Feel free to reach out with whatever questions you might have and I'll do my best to get them answered in a coming episode. To learn more about Dr. Wilhelmsen or any of his work, you can Google him here. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links

Inspired by a post I made on Instagram, here's 25 minutes or so on the difference between feeling OK and actually being OK.  The highlights: Your anxiety disorder has you in the bad habit of scanning and evaluating your state all the time Your anxiety disorder has you interpreting how you feel through a distorted lens of fear and misguided threat assessment You then make the mistake of nailing your assessment of how you FEEL, so your assessment of what you are capable of doing You do not have to feel OK, to be OK.  You must be aware of the scanning and evaluating habit, and you must be aware of the mistake of equating how you feel to what you are capable of doing.  You must ACT even when feeling less than OK. You must show yourself through experience that thinking that you are not OK is incorrect, and that you are able to manage and live a normal day even when feeling badly.  The experience of doing this repeatedly will help eliminate the mistake you have been making and break the scanning/evaluating habit you have formed. Remember, action is required.  You cannot simply choose to believe that you are OK, you must ACT to show yourself that you are really OK regardless of how you feel. Going through this process will teach you lessons about tolerating and managing the distress that are bound to impact every one of us from time to time.  These are lessons that go far beyond anxiety recovery and will serve you will forever. My Links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic)

For full show notes on this episode:  https://theanxioustruth.com/102 One of the two most common fears of anxiety and panic sufferers is the fear of going insane.  Losing one's mind.  Going crazy.  Many worry that they will "lose it", or "snap" when at the height of panic or extreme anxiety.  This is a difficult fear to face, but it remains an irrational fear that never comes true. The fear of going insane or losing one's mind is no different than the fear of dying, or passing out, or vomiting, or anything else.  The fear that you may lose your mind because of anxiety and panic is just another in the long line of irrational, distorted, magnified fears that come along with anxiety disorders.  Your catastrophe (going insane) is not special and does not warrant any special approach or technique to address. Episode Topics: There Is No "Sanity Control" To Worry About Anxiety and Panic Are Not Equal To Severe Trauma You Have Not Kept Yourself Sane Let Go.  Surrender To The Worst. Fear of Underlying Mental Illness Is There A "Breaking Point"? DP/DR - It's Not Special Or More Important My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Facebook Group https://facebook.com/groups/TAGForum

For full show notes on this episode, go to https://theanxiousgroup.com/101 Anxiety disorders are selfish disorders.  Anxiety and fear are self-centered and will push their way to the front of the line at all times.  When struggling with an anxiety disorder, the selfish nature of the disorder often makes you look selfish and self-centered.  The disorder is selfish.  You are not. Anxiety and fear drive self-centered behaviors in three ways: Disruption Based on Avoidance Anxiety causes you to spend your time scanning for threats. Every situation is evaluated based on how it may make you feel.  Decisions are made based on the drive to avoid the feelings and thoughts that you hate and fear.  When your anxiety drives you to cancel engagements, avoid places and situations, and flee from discomfort, the change in your lifestyle impacts the people around you ....  Becoming The Center of The Universe Anxiety and fear will drive you focus on yourself continuously.  In any given situation, anxiety will demand the lion’s share of your attention. While those around you are focused on solving a problem, resolving a conflict, or enjoying a social gathering, you likely found yourself occupied primarily with how you are feeling.  While the world asks, “What shall we do now?”, you will ask, “How will this impact ME?!” .... Feeding The Beast On Down Low When anxiety and fear have the door slammed on them, then get creative.  You may have been told by friends and family  – or even your therapist – that talking about how you feel and seeking constant soothing and reassurance is no longer going to be tolerated.  Your anxiety disorder does not like that news.  Often it will compel you to find “sneaky” ways of making itself seen and heard .... What Can I Do About This? First, work on being aware of when anxiety is driving self-centered behavior.  Then, get to work.  You can't really fix the self-centered stuff without working on full recovery anyway, so this could be the spark you need to start moving forward!  When you're doing the work that needs to be done to solve the bigger problem, change the narrative with your friends and family ... Join The Discussion Group ——————————————– https://facebook.com/groups/TAGForum My Links (social media, podcasts, etc.) ——————————————– https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (With Permission) https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic

My friend Kendra Beavis has an amazing story.  This is a story about making major life changes, solving life problems, and become a better version of yourself.  So much of this is based on belief.  Belief in yourself, and belief in your ability to do hard things and make changes. We can't just choose change.  We can't just decide to believe in ourselves and be instantly confident.  Often we must take action to make the changes we want in our life even before we are confident taking action.  Meaningful progress and change isn't something you may believe you are capable right now, but that's OK. You don't get to be confident, and you don't get to believe in yourself by waving a magic wand. Belief and confidence are things we learn through action and experience. Belief and confidence are earned by doing the hard or scary things you might not think you can do. When we make the choice to move ahead even though you don't feel ready, amazing things can happen. Amazing things happened for Kendra.  I'm grateful that she took the time to share it with us today. You can find Kendra and her two podcasts on her website at kendrabeavis.com. Join The Facebook Group -------------------------------- https://facebook.com/groups/TAGFourm My Links  ----------- https://theanxioustruth.com/links

For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/99 We naturally develop habits with respect to the way we talk about, think about, and write about our anxiety problems. This is the habit of words, and it matters. Identifying unhealthy and counterproductive habits of words, then working to replace them with more recovery-focused habits is well worth the effort. The most common habit of words is the habit of constantly saying how you feel, what you're afraid of, and how much you hate it all.  This is the habit that most people in the grips of an anxiety disorder naturally develop.  This is a bad habit.  Constantly talking about, thinking about, and writing about what you feel is a form of safety and reassurance seeking. This is bad because it reinforces the mistaken cognitive connection between discomfort and fear.  If you are spending an inordinate amount of time telling people what you're feeling and experiencing in a passive way, you are hoping to both comforted and saved from your anxiety and its symptoms.  This sends the wrong signal to your brain.  This tells your brain that anxiety is a problem that requires evasive action and rescue.  You are inadvertently reinforcing the foundation of the disorder. You may understand why seeking safety or engaging in avoidance is a bad thing, however you may wonder why its wrong to want to be soothed or comforted when afraid.  Aside from the reinforcement of the disorder we discussed, asking other people to make you feel better is giving away the power you have to make yourself feel better over time.  YOU are capable of driving the recovery bus.  When you rely on others to comfort and soothe you all the time, you are handing the keys to them.  You are asking them to drive the bus.  They may want to, but nobody can drive your recovery bus but you.  Nobody else can drive you to recovery land. If constantly telling everyone (including yourself) how you feel  is a bad habit, then what is a good habit?  How can you change this? .... My Links ---------------- https://theanxioustruth.com/links

Full show notes for this episode are at https://theanxioustruth.com/98 Telling someone in the grips of a raging anxiety disorder to "check in with themselves" is a TERRIBLE bit of advice.  If you are in the grips of a ranging anxiety disorder - finding it near impossible to STOP thinking about how you feel all the time - it's OK to reject this advice. While in the grips of raging disorders like OCD, health anxiety, panic disorder, and agoraphobia, specifically making time to focus inward on how one is feeling is like pouring gasoline on a fire.  A person that is desperate to STOP paying constant attention to how they feel and what they think does not need to turn inward to see what they need.  What they need is to stop focusing inward.  The inward focus is driving their problem.  Telling this person that they need to check in with themselves to see how they're feeling is like telling an inmate to escape from prison by running back into the cell block.  It's just terrible advice in this context.  Sorry, but it is. Sometimes part of the anxiety problem is compulsion to think about one's state.  Engaging in inner dialogue with fear driven distorted and disordered thoughts becomes a dysfunctional game that the sufferer is powerless to resist.  Every waking moment is spend scanning one's own body and mind for threats to sanity, life, and limb.  Inward focus and self-examination can become a literal torture chamber. This is a fact for many wrestling with anxiety problems. Website and Social Links ------------------------------------ https://theanxioustruth.com/links

Full show notes for this episode can be found at https://theanxioustruth.com/97 Being in an abusive or controlling relationship is difficult for anyone.  Struggling with an anxiety disorder complicates things, making the situation even more difficult to handle. Statistics show that 1 in 3 women, and 1 in 4 men, will be involved in an abusive relationship at one point in their lives. This is a problem in the general population.  My experience in the anxiety disorders community leads be to believe that it is even more prevalent among people suffering from anxiety problems.  Today I was joined by Colleen Merlo and Wendy Linsalata of Long Island Against Domestic Violence.  Colleen and Wendy were kind enough to give their time to discuss the problem and answer questions posed in my Facebook group. Resources: National Domestic Violence Hotline (United States): 1-800-799-7233 National Domestic Violence Hotline web site: https://thehotline.org Long Island Against Domestic Violence: 631-666-8833 Long Island Against Domestic Violence web site: https://liadv.org Join The Discussion Group ——————————————– https://facebook.com/groups/TAGForum My Links (social media, podcasts, etc.) ——————————————– https://theanxioustruth.com/links

For full show notes on this episode, visit https://theanxioustruth.com/96 Perfectionism.  It's a label I hear frequently self-applied by many going through the process of recovering from an anxiety disorder.  Labeling oneself as a perfectionist results in challenges that make recovery more difficult than it has to be. Today I was able to spend time with Dr. Tara Sanderson, a licensed doctoral level psychologist practicing in Oregon.  Tara not only specializes in behaviorally oriented therapies for anxiety issues, but she has experienced the "curse" of perfectionism in her own life and has written a book on the topic. Changing and challenging perfectionism requires an understanding of why you may be labeling yourself that way and attempting to make everything right and perfect in the world.  Are you bolstering your self-image by wearing perfectionism as a badge of honor?  Are you convinced that making everything perfect will make life better or easier?  In both cases, accepting the reality of a life where neither of those motivations is serving you is the first step toward changing things. Join The Discussion Group ——————————————– https://facebook.com/groups/TAGForum My Links (social media, podcasts, etc.) ——————————————– https://theanxioustruth.com/links Find Tara On Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and on her practice website. Find Tara's book, Too Much Not Enough on her book website.

For full show notes on this episode, visit https://theanxioustruth.com/95 Just six months ago, Martine was experimenting with medication, housebound most of the time, and considering hospitalization to deal with her anxiety problem.  Today she is working, participating with her family, living a normal life, and looking forward to what comes next. Today Martine took some time to chat with me about how she changed direction and took control of the situation.  Where once Martine has no direction and no plan for recovery, everything changed when she decided to start doing things she was afraid to do.  Through repetition and incremental progress, everything changed.    Her message?  “Don’t give up.  It will get better!” Truer words were never spoken.  Thanks, Martine, for taking the time so share your story. Join my Facebook group and get involved in the discussion: https://facebook.com/groups/TAGForum My website and all social links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro and outro music - “Afterglow” by Ben Drake (with permission) https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic

For full notes on this episode, go to https://theanxioustruth.com/94 Too often, the responses that result from anxiety disorders and/or traumatic experiences are classified as mental illness.  We talk about anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder.  That word - "disorder" - leads many people to believe that they are broken, damaged, abnormal, or ill. The word "disease" is thrown around, leading to additional despair and distress. It's important to understand that the sensations, thoughts, and feelings you are experiencing, are a NORMAL part of being human!  These are learned responses resulting from your past experiences.  Feeling afraid or anxious is normal and to be expected.  Why then, do we call these illnesses and disorders?  Fear-based responses to anxiety and trauma may be driving your life in directions you do not like.  Recognizing these responses as simply learned responses can help provide the confidence you need to start to make changes. Join The Discussion Group ——————————————– https://facebook.com/groups/TAGForum My Links (social media, podcasts, etc.) ——————————————– https://theanxioustruth.com/links Find Monique Online ——————————————– https://cptsdcoach.com https://instagram.com/cptsdcoach https://facebook.com/cptsdcoach

For the full show notes on this episode including a link to the diaphragmatic breathing video I mentioned: https://theanxioustruth.com/93 For many people, feeling dizzy or unsteady is one of the most enduring and difficult to deal with anxiety symptoms.  If you are There are two main steps in dealing with dizziness and unsteadiness: 1. Change the way you think about and talk about this sensation.  This isn't true physically debilitating dizziness that makes you literally unable to stand upright. This sensation is simply a feeling of visual and physical discomfort when moving through space.  You are uncomfortable when moving, but you are still able to move through space and function without impairment.  Being uncomfortable isn't ideal, but start to embrace the difference between incapacitated and uncomfortable.  They are not equal.  You are unsteady, which is uncomfortable for you, and you are likely reacting in fear to that discomfort.  When think about this issue, this is how you must frame it.  When you talk about it, you must change the narrative. "I'm so dizzy I cant do anything." becomes "I feel unsteady and its uncomfortable and scary, but I'm still capable of living life". 2. Change the way you react to this sensation.  Rather than stopping, retreating, avoiding, bracing and fighting, you must accept and fully surrender to the feeling of dizziness and unsteadiness. Rather than sitting down, leaving to go back to your safe zone, or "going to ground" (a term I hear all the time, you will relax your body, breathe slowly into your belly, and train your focus on your breath or some other point of your choosing rather than on the sensation and accompanying thoughts.  You can slow down and continue doing whatever it is you were doing or want to do, remaining physically relaxed, breathing properly (to avoid the over breathing/hyperventilation that makes the sensation worse), and and focused on the task at hand. Let the sensation and the thoughts come at you full force and surrender to the worst case that you can imagine.  It won't ever happen. Remember, you are trying to learn that even when uncomfortable due to unsteadiness, you are OK.  Your goal with this symptom - as usual - is to learn that you do not have to fear it.  Lose the fear and the fear driven reaction and as usual, things will improve over time. Join The Discussion Group ——————————————– https://facebook.com/groups/TAGForum My Links (social media, podcasts, etc.) ——————————————– https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro and outro music - Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission)

Monophobia - the fear of being alone - is a common component of the panic, anxiety and agoraphobia complex.  When left unchecked, panic disorder leads to agoraphobia.  When this happens, monophobia often develops at the same time.   If your coping mechanisms rely heavily on a "safe" person, or safe people, then you are more likely to develop monophobia.  Monophobics expend a great deal of effort and energy in an attempt to never be alone.  This can be VERY disruptive and impactful when it comes to daily life, and relationships with those people designated as safe or rescue people.   Monophobia is not a different or special kind of problem.  It's simply your fear of anxiety and related symptoms expressed in a given context - being alone and out of reach of your safe or rescue people.  This is simply the mistaken belief that you need someone to safe you from panic and its related sensations.  When deprived of that rescuer or rescuers, the monophobic perceives an even greater danger and reacts accordingly.  This is why monophobics often say they have no safe place.  In monophobia, safe places are replaced by safe people. Overcoming monophobia is handled the same way we handle everything else we discuss here.  Moving toward the fear and exposing oneself systematically and incrementally to those fearful sensations and thoughts without reacting to them.  This can be done by working on other situations - driving, shopping, going to work, going for a walk - or by attacking the "alone" context directly via systematic and incremental periods spent alone, confronting the fear and the associated sensations and symptoms. Repeated experiences with positive outcomes - afraid but still safe and OK - will break the connection between fear and danger.  Once the monophobic person is no longer afraid of his or her own body and mind in any situation, they no longer require rescue and therefore no longer fear being alone. Show notes for this episode can be found at https://theanxioustruth.com/92 Join The Discussion Group ——————————————– https://facebook.com/groups/TAGForum My Links (social media, podcasts, etc.) ——————————————– https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro and outro music - Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission)

Worry and worrying are problems that many people struggle with along road to recovering from an anxiety disorder.  I'm asked to cover this topic again and again.  So ... a few words about worry and worrying. Full notes for this episode can be found at https://theanxioustruth.com/91 Worry is simply thinking.  Thinking by itself has absolutely no impact on the real world.  Worry, therefore is not protective, predictive or proactive.  Worry does not keep you safe from disaster.  It does not keep bad things from happening.  It does not prepare you for when they do.  Worry is just thinking, and its not terribly useful. Worry is related to planning.  Planning is thinking accompanied by action.  When planning, we take our thoughts and transform them into real world actions required to respond to and react to real world events.  Planning is useful.  Planning is helpful.  We all plan in some way. Worry, on the other hand, is thinking WITHOUT action. Worry is half a plan and has no worth or purpose. Worry is not a life sentence. Being  a "worrier" isn't your fate for the rest of your life.  You can change this. Being a "worrier" is often a self-applied label that we secretly wear as a badge of honor.  This is also not helpful.  Worry is not a substitute for love and caring, nor does it prove that you are loving or caring.  Worry matters only to the person worrying.  No matter how much you worry about someone, that person can never experience it because worry exists only in your head.  You can love and care for someone without engaging in worry about them. You can drop the "worrier" label and still be a kind, loving and caring person. We can get off the worry train two ways: 1. Some worries can be transformed into actual plans.  By adding action, we can convert a worry into a plan.  Once you've created a plan, you can remove this item from your worry bucket and move along.  This sometimes involve recognizing that you are simply skipping the action part, or dropping the belief that you are incapable of action. 2. Worries for which there is no plan can be dropped on the floor. This is done by learning how to not engage with worrisome thoughts.  Learning to relax and refocus away from worry is a skill that can be developed through practice and repetition.  This can be difficult because you may be confusing worry with action and safety.  Disengaging with your worry thoughts may make you feel vulnerable to disaster.  Through repetition you will learn that you are just as safe when not worrying as you are while worrying.  Learning the skills of refocus and relaxation will help you break the link between worry and safety that perpetuates the habit. ------- Get Involved In the Facebook Support Forum https://facebook.com/groups/TAGForum Find me on the web, my podcast, and all my social media accounts: https://theanxioustruth.com/links

One of the common worries while recovering from an anxiety disorder is the fear that it might "come back" after recovery.  This is something I hear from many many people.  It's also pretty common in the community surrounding the podcast to see people arrive that have been through these issues before. They thought had it all solved, but find themselves back in the grips of panic, anxiety and associated nastiness. The Acceptable Bubble - What Is It? This is closely related to what I've been calling the "acceptable bubble".  This is the bubble we build when we do the "recovery things", but we engineer them to do them without anxiety.  Often this means that someone has found a panic-free way to do all the required basic life things, then kinda stopped doing the work.  The hallmark of the "acceptable bubble" is the existence of limits and limitations in one's life. What Are The Signs Of An Acceptable Bubble? If you feel like you've recovered, but you still "can't" do things that outside your normal daily experiences, you may be in an acceptable bubble. When are rely on safe people or safety mechanisms to get the bigger tasks done, there's a chance that you're in an acceptable bubble. If you are enduring your days, pushing through anxiety and trying desperately to just get through, you've built an acceptable bubble. The REAL Goal of Recovery When we build a panic free acceptable bubble, we never reach the ultimate goal of recovery.  The real end game of recovery is to learn to not be afraid of our own bodies and minds.  We must learn to experience fear and discomfort without being afraid of being afraid.  This is what recovery is all about.  Going to work, or the supermarket, or on a family vacation are the happy results of achieving this goal.  They are not the goal itself. Avoiding The Acceptable Bubble - Getting The Job Done For Good! In the end, avoiding the dreaded acceptable bubble is a personal thing. You must be able to look in the mirror and know that you are truly not afraid of panic or anxiety any longer. You don't have to love it, but you can't be afraid of it, in any circumstance.  When the day comes that you can honestly say that a level 10 panic attack while alone 200 miles from home isn't a scary thought any longer, you've achieved your goal.  When you work toward that, you never have to worry about it "coming back" again.  Reach that goal, and this recovery journey will be the last one you'll ever have to embark on. Join The Discussion Group ——————————————– https://facebook.com/groups/TAGForum My Links (social media, podcasts, etc.) ——————————————– https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro and outro music - Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission)

"What if I forget how to breathe?" "What if I just stop breathing?" "I can't get enough air in my lungs." "I can't take a deep breath." Breath and breathing focused anxiety is quite common among people that suffer from anxiety disorders like panic disorder and agoraphobia.  In this episode I discuss the two most common forms of this anxiety. For full show notes: https://theanxioustruth.com/89 [1:30] "I Am Afraid That I Will Forget How To Breathe" The first is an obsession with the thought that you have to actively, manually breathe, or your body will somehow forget to breathe or you will stop breathing.  This obsessive, irrational thought may grip you during every waking moment, tricking you into thinking that you must stay involved in the process of breathing to avoid some horrible fate. [12:19] "It Feels Like I Can't Breathe.  I Can't Take a Deep Breath!" This is the second common form of breath and breathing focused anxiety.  You may walk around all day suffering from "air hunger", feeling like you can't breathe or that you can't get a deep enough breath.  You may feel like there is a tight band around your chest, which causes you to attempt to expand your ribcage and "fill" your lungs to maximum capacity to relieve that sensation. Join The Discussion Group ——————————————– https://facebook.com/groups/TAGForum My Links (social media, podcasts, etc.) ——————————————– https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro and outro music - Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission)

My friend Joyce joined me to talk about her slide into severe panic disorder and agoraphobia, which was followed by an aggressive recovery and rebuilding of her life.  Listen to Joyce describe her journey from being frozen in fear on her sofa to being back at work and feeling limitless.  Of particular note is the way Joyce used anger and frustration to fuel her recovery efforts. For many, this can be an excellent strategy and I really appreciate Joyce being so open and honest about how she was feeling and how it helped to propel her forward.  As always, comments and questions are welcomed.  I will do my best to relay any questions or messages to Joyce as they are asked. My Links (website, podcast, social. mailing list, etc.) ---------------------- https://theanxioustruth.com/links

Holly and I discuss chapter 9 of Claire Weekes' "Hope And Help For Your Nerves". This chapter discusses the nature of recovery and the road to being yourself again. Some of the highlights: Your symptoms will not immediately go away, and may even worsen during recovery. You cannot simply decide to not be afraid. You must LEARN to not be afraid. We discuss the use of medication in conjunction with recovery. Keeping occupied - not being wholly consumed at all times with recovery - is essential. Quick recovery is possible and does happen for some people. A big part of recovery is understanding that what you think is keeping you stuck. Setbacks can and likely will happen, but they're not really setbacks if you frame them properly and learn from them. You can buy Hope and Help From Your Nerves by following the Amazon links from my website: https://theanxioustruth.com/shop/  Join The Discussion Group ——————————————– https://facebook.com/groups/TAGForum My Links (social media, podcasts, etc.) ——————————————– https://theanxioustruth.com/links

When confronted with uncomfortable and scary feelings of anxiety, panic or emotions based on past trauma, the immediate response is to "talk yourself down".  Trying convince yourself that you are OK using words, phrases and thoughts often does not work.  When this happens, you are at a fork in the road.  You can enlist the aid of your support system to argue with your anxiety or trauma for you, or you can resign yourself to just feel everything without resistance to let it pass through you and end naturally. Spoiler alert ... you want option two.  Facing and accepting anxiety, panic, and feelings based on your past is harder, but its the path that leads to long term change and lasting recovery.  Continuing to argue, or using your support team to argue by proxy for you, may be an attractive option because it's the "easier" option and may seem like the fast path to feeling better in the moment, but there's no learning or changing to found there. Joe and I speak about this process, the need to face and feel what's in front of you, and how this leads to a deeper understanding of the reality of being capable, competent and safe. This is the direction you want to go.  Trust us. Thanks to Joe for taking the time to chat! Comments and questions are always welcomed. Join The Discussion Group ——————————————– https://facebook.com/groups/TAGForum My Links (social media, podcasts, etc.) ——————————————– https://theanxioustruth.com/links Find Joe at https://joeryan.com or on Instagram at @joeryan.

If you are a regular listener of the podcast, odds are that you've had anxiety, worry and fear focused on your heart at least once or twice.  This is quite common.  Heart-centered anxiety generally involves being afraid of a rapid, strong, or irregular (flutters/palpitations) heartbeat.  This is either due to an underlying fear that something is wrong with your heart or will go wrong, or due to the link between a rapid/strong heartbeat and a panic attack.  In either case, the way out, as always, is through.  We can use interoceptive exposure techniques to intentionally create the rapid or strong heartbeat we fear in order to desensitize and learn that there is no reason to fear your heartbeat.  Yes, this involves intentionally experiencing that which you fear, but this is almost always the case when solving these problems. Comments and questions always welcomed. Find this episode on my website: https://theanxioustruth.com/85 My Links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Music - Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic

Today I chatted with Christa Holmans about some of the overlapping issues found in both anxiety disorders and autism and other neurodivesity conditions such as ADHD.  Christa had so much excellent insight on how autism influences how one may deal with anxiety issues!  I really enjoyed this discussion and I hope you will too! My Links (Website, podcast, social media, etc.) --------------------- https://theanxioustruth.com/links Find Christa Online ----------------------- https://neurodivergentrebel.com

Today I was fortunate to spend about 30 minutes with Dr. Martin Seif, a psychologist and author specializing in anxiety disorders.  Dr. Seif and I talked about intrusive, obsessive and unwanted thoughts.  What are they?  How do they become so troublesome?  How should we approach this problem?  For the full notes on this episode and all links, go to https://theanxioustruth.com/83 Find all my links at https://theanxioustruth.com/links Find Dr. Martin Seif at http://drmartinseif.com Find the Anxiety And Depression Association of America at https://aada.org

Reading, listening to podcasts, watching videos, and otherwise educating yourself about your anxiety disorder is a good idea ...until its becomes a safety and avoidance behavior  Ultimately, overcoming an anxiety disorder only happens by DOING, not by reading.  So after you've read the book for the fifth time, or you've read 10 anxiety books and want to read an 11th, you must realize that its time to actually put what you've learned into action.  There is no lasting progress without action.  There's hard, scary stuff to do here, but its so worth doing, so put down the book and lets actually do the things you've been reading about! My Links --------------- https://theanxioustruth.com/links

Today Monique and I spent some time discussing the memories of past trauma and abuse, and how the old feeling of being unable to escape can often live on.  This can represent an obstacle to recovery when it leads to viewing attempts at recovery and improvement as being futile or not worth the effort or energy. Monique shares some amazing insight about the role of compassion and how we can combine this with the tools and techniques we've discussed so often as being so effective in recovering from an anxiety disorder.  A great listen for anyone dealing with past trauma and/or abuse alongside an anxiety disorder.  Thank you Monique! Find the episode Monique and I discussed here:  https://anchor.fm/monique34/episodes/The-Underlying-Fear-In-Trauma-e5dhrj My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

How my friend Raven went from homebound agoraphobic, crippled with panic and intrusive thoughts and fears, to living her life, not being afraid of anxiety, and making plans for her future.  If there was every an uplifting story from a lovely human being, it would be this one.   If you think you can't, here's 30 minutes that will show you that you CAN! Thank you Raven, for taking the time to share with us!  My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

One of the most common issues that seems to pop up for people doing the work to overcome an anxiety disorder is emotions and how to deal with them while in the recovery.  What do I do when I feel sad, or angry, or generally upset? Is that wrong?  Is this a setback in my recovery?  Its it OK to cry or otherwise express my emotions when they come up?  My friend Joe Ryan and I talk about how its perfectly OK and normal to experience emotions, and how its healthy and productive to express them whenever and however you need to.  We answer common questions, address common concerns, and point out potential pitfalls when dealing with those emotional times. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Joe's Links https://joeryan.com https://instagram.com/joeryan Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Recorded from YouTube Live August 19, 2019  What do you do when you “fail” at an exposure, or when you have a particularly difficult anxiety day and wind up escaping back to your “safe zone”? I can tell you what you should NOT do. You should NOT just sit home and recount the story of how horrible it was and how you failed and how upset you are. That is sending the wrong story and signals to you brain. Think objectively. Realize what you did wrong. Think about what would have been a better course of action. GET UP DO. IT. AGAIN. IMMEDIATELY. Turning a “fail” into a “win” is easier than you think. Do not miss the opportunity to turn things around because you CAN and it will matter in the overall scheme of your recovery progress. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Today I'm joined by my friend Holly to talk about common misconceptions and mistakes surrounding exposure.  Many people are unaware of the true nature of exposure and how it actually works as part of the anxiety recovery process.  Lets clear up a few things. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

You've been doing the work.  You've been working the process.  You're facing your fears and learning not to be afraid of how you feel. You're no longer crippled by panic, fear and anxiety. One day you find that that familiar fear and anxiety is missing.  Is this what it feels like to feel OK?  What am I supposed to do with this?  Where's the anxiety? Should I be happy now?  What if it comes back and puts me back to square one? These are questions I hear all the time from people that have reached the point where they're having anxiety free moments.  Today my friend Joe and I discuss this issue and how he's dealing with it.  We talk about not continually scanning and assessing your state, why you can't go back to square one if you've gone THROUGH the fear, and what feeling "OK" looks like in the real world. Thanks again to Joe for taking the time. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com. Find Joe Online https://instagram.com/joeryan https://joeryan.com

Often, issues of self-esteem, confidence and competence can get in the way when recovering from anxiety and panic issues.  If you've ever been made to feel like you're not good enough, not capable, or not competent, my old friend Joe Ryan shares how he has dealt with this on his own journey.  Thanks to Joe for spending more time with us today! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com. Find Joe Online https://instagram.com/joeryan https://joeryan.com

Its possible to work through anxiety, panic, trauma and pain without having it ruin every day.  Today I'm joined by my old friend Joe Ryan.  Joe has spent years working this process and offers some great insight on how to deal with anxiety, panic and even past trauma without being crushed by every memory, thought or sensation.  Thanks to Joe for spending time with us today! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com. Find Joe Online https://instagram.com/joeryan https://joeryan.com

Q&A from my Facebook group including questions about dizziness, driving, doctor visits, airports, neck spasms, anticipatory anxiety and exposure mechanics. Thanks to Jay, Connie, Charli, Julie, Clay and Marie-Anne for calling in!  My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Anticipatory anxiety isn't a special or different kind of anxiety. It's not a mysterious external force over which you have no control. Let's define it, break it down, and look at ways of moving through anticipatory anxiety so you can get to the work that really needs to be done.  My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Many people are under the false impression that they must honor, follow and engage deeply with every thought they have.  This is simply not true.  When dealing with both anxiety and trauma issues, your thoughts can often be your enemy.  Listening to everything you think and acting as if every thought is correct and valid can lead you deeper in the anxiety maze.  Monique has some excellent ways to frame this and some outstanding ways to approach this problem.  We discuss awareness of our constant thoughts, why we often give them more power and respect than they deserve, and how the nature of thoughts are to be temporary.  If you can stop the mental chatter, things will most times get much better faster than you think. Thank you again to my friend Monique for taking the time with us today! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com. Find Monique Online ------------------------------ https://moniquekovencoaching.com https://www.facebook.com/MoniqueKovenCoaching/ https://anchor.fm/monique34 https://www.instagram.com/cptsd.recovered.coach/

If you're in the grips of anxiety, panic, agoraphobia or PTSD you may feel powerless and incapable of doing what needs to be done to change things.  This isn't true.  Monique and I talk about how you have power and control even in the darkest moments. You are not stuck.  You are capable of making the changes you need.  You might just need to change direction, and you can! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Do you worry that your anxiety problems are going to “ruin everything” for your friends and family? Being worried about letting people down or ruining things can seriously stand in the way of taking the steps you need to take to build a better life. I’ve found this to be a common theme among anxiety sufferers, so lets talk about how the happiness of others is NOT your responsibility. You are not responsible for making people happy or sad, and you are not responsible for the positive or negative outcome of every social event, family function or other situation that involves other people in your life. In this episode Monique Koven and I discuss the origins of this distortion, how it can be an impediment to progress, and what we can do about it. Thanks to Monique for joining the discussion today! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Today I had a chat with Kimberley Quinlan (LMFT) about OCD, obsessive/intrusive thoughts, and how to deal with them effectively. Lots of good information and resources in this one, along with a bunch of concepts you'll find very familiar if you've been following me for any length of time. Thanks to Kim for sharing her time with us! Find Kim on Instagram: @kimberleyquinlan or on her website http://cbtschool.com Find the International OCD Foundation at https://iocdf.org/ My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

The way you talk about your anxiety matters.  More than you think. Are you always speaking passively and just describing how you feel? Are you worried about what people will think about your anxiety? Do you fear that you are boring them, alienating them, or pushing them away when you discuss your anxiety?   Are you ready to adopt a more constructive active voice that reflects ongoing recovery? This is a great question that came up in the Facebook group a few days ago, so I thought it was worth 15 minutes or so to talk about it. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

If you’re suffering with health anxiety – no matter how severe – Sarah’s story will inspire you and give you hope. Join me as we look at Sarah’s journey into completely out of control health anxiety, then back out to a place of calm and peace when it comes to her health and her state of being. Thank you so much to Sarah for taking the time to share her story! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

My friend Andrew has gone from "contented agoraphobic" to well down the path to full recovery and was nice enough to take some time to share his story. We talk about how he got to where he is today, what the future holds, and we we answer some questions asked in our Facebook discussion group. Thank you Andrew! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

"Drew, are you cured?  Do you ever have panic attacks?"  I get this question all the time.  The answer is ... I can still experience a panic attack now and then.  So come listen to me experience near panic on-air in this episode.  Then Billy and I answer more  questions from the Facebook forum. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com. Anxiety United https://youtube.com/anxietyunited

Billy and I discuss the relationship between stress and anxiety and why stress doesn’t have to automatically become anxiety and fear. Afterward we answer a slew of great questions from the Facebook discussion group. This is a long one so grab your favorite beverage and make some time to listen.  :-) My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com. Anxiety United https://youtube.com/anxietyunited

If you have someone in your life that you care about that’s dealing with serious anxiety issues to the point where they can’t leave home, or be alone, or work, or attend school, etc … then this episode is aimed at you. Holly and I talk about the nature of anxiety disorders like panic disorder and agoraphobia, what they are and are not, and the general course of action required to overcome these problems.A good primer if you have a friend, partner or family member that suffers with one of these problems.  Be sure to check out part 1 too! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

If you have someone in your life that you care about that’s dealing with serious anxiety issues to the point where they can’t leave home, or be alone, or work, or attend school, etc … then this episode is aimed at you. Holly and I talk about the nature of anxiety disorders like panic disorder and agoraphobia, what they are and are not, and the general course of action required to overcome these problems. A good primer if you have a friend, partner or family member that suffers with one of these problems. Be sure to check out part 2 for specific discussion of what you can do to help! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Overcoming anxiety problems means making a good recovery plan and executing it.  In this episode I'm joined by my friend Billy from Anxiety United. We discuss the basics of a good recovery plan including breaking things into small steps, the importance of repetition, and changing how you think and talk about your anxiety problems. We also answer questions from the Facebook group. Comments and questions always welcomed. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Anxiety United https://youtube.com/AnxietyUnited Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

A discussion of how anxiety disorders can impact sex, intimacy and relationships in general with licensed therapist and certified sex therapist Leslie Gustafson.  Leslie and I talk about the general approach to this problem, some of the nuances, and  – surprise – we talk about how action oriented behavioral therapies are so effective in addressing not only the sex problem, but the anxiety disorders themselves. Thanks to Leslie for taking the time to help out! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Find Leslie online here: http://authenticandtrue.com http://amazingintimacybox.com http://instagram.com/lesliegusafson1 Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

At some point in this process, you MUST take a leap of faith.  All the talking and questioning and reading and learning must give way to actually leaping off that cliff - fully surrendering to and accepting your anxiety symptoms.  Its terrifying, we know, but in this episode Holly and I talk about how we MUST leap to finally learn that we will be OK.  Without the leap of faith, real progress will be hard to come by. Comments and questions welcomed as always! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Often there is overlap between anxiety disorders like panic disorder and agoraphobia, past trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Monique and I discuss her path to overcoming trauma and generalized anxiety disorder and how the path is remarkably similar when dealing with all of these issues. Comments and questions welcomed as always! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Billy and I discuss anxiety and panic related to dining out, restaurants, bars, pubs and social situations. We talk about how to approach it, steps that can be taken to overcome this problem, and how learning cognitive techniques for thought changing can be so helpful with this problem. Comments, questions and topic suggestions are always welcomed! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

In this episode Billy and I discuss driving anxiety, the fear of having a panic attack while driving, and what to do about it. We talk about specific steps that can be taken to address this fear and overcome it through exposure and cognitive restructuring. Comments and questions welcomed as always! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Lets to clarify the focus of my content on anxiety disorders as opposed to just being anxious about things. A quick chat about the difference and why my approach is what it is. I briefly discuss different classes of therapies and how they apply to each situation. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

One of the tools I hear people talk about often is “positive self talk”. Let me tell you why this is not a good thing when you’re dealing with high anxiety and panic. As usual, there’s no sugar coating in this one. :-) My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Jackie suffered from panic attacks and anxiety for years until she had a “lightbulb moment” and turned the corner. Join me as I chat with Jackie about how she went from the depths of anxiety to a normal life. Thanks for sharing, Jackie! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

This is what nobody wants to hear when it comes to overcoming anxiety and panic related problems, because its the hard part. There’s a large scale commitment/decision you MUST make before you can start making real lasting forward progress. If you can’t make this choice at the macro level, you’ll struggle with consistently making good choices day-by-day as you handle your anxiety problems. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

When panic strikes, we have a critical moment of decision. What will you do? How will you handle it? What is your plan? The decision we make at that moment is impactful in so many ways both short and long term.  Accept how you feel and panic productively and its over quickly so you can get on with your day and your life in general.  React in fear and the outcome will be completely different.  Which way do you want to go with your panic?   This episode was inspired by experiencing some panic while out on a bike ride this morning.  Yes, I still experience panic now and then.  I just don't care when it happens. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

This is a topic I get asked about all the time, so lets talk about what to do when your anxiety has a negative impact on your relationships. How can you approach family members and friends to get them on board with what you’re up against? My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Holly and I discuss chapter 8 of the Claire Weekes book "Hope and Help For Your Nerves". Dr. Weekes explains agoraphobia and walks us through how to approach it for best result. Holly and I spend a while talking about how we overcame agoraphobia and what difference its made in our lives. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Holly and I discuss chapter 7 of Hope and Help For Your Nerves by Dr. Claire Weekes. This chapter really focuses on understanding that you are afraid of how you feel, and that focusing on sensations and symptoms is counter productive. Rather, focus on how you react to those sensations and symptoms. Don't add what she calls "second fear" to that initial flash of "first fear". My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Social media and the Internet have had a major impact on those of us with anxiety disorders. In this episode Billy and I discuss different ways the Internet has influenced anxiety issues. We look at positive impacts, negative impacts, and pitfalls that should be avoided. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Holly and I return for the next chapter of our series discussing "Hope and Help For Your Nerves" by Dr. Claire Weekes. In this episode we discuss chapter 6, which is probably the lynchpin around which Dr. Weekes built her work. Learning to TRULY accept your anxiety symptoms and to TRULY believe that they are not dangerous will allow you to relax into your symptoms rather than fighting against them. Learning to relax, float, and soften in the face of the onslaught is the path to long term improvement. When you no longer fear your anxiety symptoms, they will begin to fade and you will begin to get your life back. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Lets take on our first 30 day exposure challenge. For the next 30 days, start by making a short list of activities you find challenging from an anxiety standpoint. Then, start working on those items. Feel free to talk about your progress or post pics/videos in the Facebook group. We're all there to encourage each other and cheer each other on! Billy and I talk about the nuts and bolts of breaking down your challenge tasks into very small bits and working on each bit one by one. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

"Get busy living, or get busy dying." At some point in the journey to overcome anxiety issues, concepts and techniques and tips and tricks fall by the wayside and it becomes a matter of desire and drive and courage and just wanting to improve your life. You can read and listen and learn and discuss, but at some point you have to find that spark deep in your gut and get moving. In this episode Billy and I talk about finding your spark and using it to launch you forward. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

I've been asked many times over the years how bad my anxiety used to be. Yes, it was probably as bad as yours. In this episode of our Anxiety 101 series, I'll tell you all about it. Everything I've been through. The symptoms I've dealt with. The issues I've had to resolve. The good news is that if I can do it, you can do it! Questions? Comments? Lets hear them. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

What triggers your anxiety? Billy and I discuss anxiety triggers, how to identify your triggers, and what you can do about them. As usual, we answer listener questions near the end of the episode. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Following up on our initial talk about the basics of exposure therapy, Billy and talk about how repetition and practice are so important. We discuss how practicing the small things and continually expanding your scope will make it easy to tackle larger tasks that are harder to practice (i.e. flying, or visiting the dentist). Finally, we take some comments and questions on previous episodes. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Billy and I were both a bit under the weather for this episode, so we thought a discussion of health anxiety and how illness impacts your anxiety was in order. We discuss health anxiety in general, our reactions when feeling ill, and how dealing with health anxiety is more about cognitive work than physical exposure. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Today Billy and I talk about the basics of what exposure therapy is, how it fits into the overall scope of Cognitive Behavior Therapy, and how its important to have proper expectations for what exposure can do for you. Near the end of the episode we take some time to answer questions and comments from past episodes. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

A panic attack isn't always a bad thing. In fact, when you're doing exposure work and trying to learn how not to be afraid of panic and anxiety, having a panic attack is virtually a requirement at some point. Only be experiencing panic without bracing, fighting, avoiding or fleeing can we truly learn that while our fear is real, the danger is not. This is the key to success, so welcome your panic and embrace panic attacks as chances to practice not being afraid! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Today Billy and I answer some of the most common questions we've received while doing the Anxiety 101 series. Did we answer your question? Tune in to find out! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Lifestyle choices can influence your panic disorder positively or negatively. Eating a healthy diet can go a long way toward making you feel better overall. Avoid alcohol and mind-altering substances like recreational drugs. Anything that changes your mental state can be an anxiety trigger when you’re in a hyper-sensitive state (as many in the grips of panic disorder are). Get regular exercise and expose yourself to sunlight for at least 15 minutes every day if you can (use sunscreen when needed of course). Get plenty of sleep. Learn effective time and stress management techniques. Don’t ignore your emotional and spiritual needs. Living a healthy lifestyle make you feel better physically and mentally, and can really contribute to boosting your confidence and the feeling that you are in control of your life! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Today Billy and I talk about the different types of therapy and professional help available for anxiety disorders both from a US and a UK perspective. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is hands down the most effective current long-term treatment for panic disorder and related anxiety disorders. If you’re seeking professional help, look for a therapist that specifically specialized in CBT and anxiety disorders. Therapy focused on simply talking about your life might be helpful to a degree, but that is a very long term process and really does very little to address the immediate needs of a panic sufferer. Use CBT and related techniques to get past your panic attacks first. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Finding the causes of your panic attacks is a good thing, but not by itself. Stress, negative thinking, reactions to past traumas and emotional issues are just some of many possible panic and anxiety triggers. We’re all different, our life circumstances are all different, and that means that there is no one “cause” for panic attacks. Learning to identify your triggers and deal with them is an important part of recovery, but only if you’re also facing the panic and learning not to be afraid of it. Again, there’s no way around that. Learn not to fear panic and in the long run it won’t matter what happens in your life – you’ll never spend your time worrying about having panic attacks again. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

There is no comfortable way to recover from panic disorder. The very heart of recovery lies in learning not to be afraid of panic. The only way to do that is to fully experience panic without fleeing, avoiding, or adding more fear to the situation. You have to be afraid before you can not be afraid. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Learning to not fear how you feel is a huge part of truly overcoming your anxiety and panic issues. Its important to not react physically to the symptoms of anxiety and panic. Reacting in fear only leads to the belief that something you did somehow made you “safer”, when in reality there is no danger at hand. Lets talk about how to just let your anxiety symptoms be without engaging with them or focusing on them. We talk about using coping techniques and also taking an active approach to even welcoming your symptoms or daring them to take their best shot at you. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Lets talk about avoidance and safety behaviors and how they're a bad thing when it comes to dealing with anxiety and panic issues. Avoidance and safety rituals reinforce the mistaken belief that you need to be "saved" from your anxiety. We contract this with the use of positive coping techniques that help teach you that you're in no real danger to begin with. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Billy and I discuss the role of coping techniques in dealing with anxiety and panic issues. We touch on breathing, muscle relaxation and meditation techniques designed to quiet the mind on demand. Coping techniques are designed to limit the duration and intensity of a panic attack, not to stop it dead it its tracks. Coping techniques must be learned and practiced all the time in order to build the skills required to use them properly. We also briefly touch on important difference between coping and safety/avoidance behaviors. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

When it comes to anxiety, fear feeds the beast! We discuss the idea that symptoms and sensations are not anxiety. Rather, your reaction - the fear you create in your own head- fuels the cycle of anxiety. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Today Billy and I discuss the fact that the fear we feel when dealing with panic and anxiety is real, but the danger is not. There's no real danger underneath that fear. Understanding that this is false danger is a key toward making forward progress in recovery. We discuss false danger during periods of high anxiety and "future perceived danger" that drives the lifestyle changes which can become the hallmark of an actual anxiety disorder like agoraphobia. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Lets look at the basics of recovering from anxiety, panic and agoraphobia related issues. First in a series. Billy (from Anxiety United) and I talk about the need to accept that the recovery process will include feeling afraid and uncomfortable, and about building a recovery plan based on acceptance, courage, persistence and patience. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Once you understand that exercise isn't really making things "worse", you can work on solving this common problem.  Lets review what's really going on, and look at how to re-introduce exercise into your life in a step-by-step way.  As with everything we walk about, this isn't necessarily easy, but its absolutely worth the effort! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Holly and I discuss chapter 5 of Hope and Help For Your Nerves. The cornerstone principles of Facing, Accepting, Floating and Letting Time Pass are covered in detail. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Holly and I go through chapter 4 of the Claire Weekes Hope and Help For Your Nerves book. This chapter is entitled "The Commonest Simplest Forms of Nervous Illness". We discuss common anxiety symptoms and triggers, the role of fear, why knowledge and understanding is so important, and why fighting is not really the best approach. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

In this episode Holly and I go through chapter 3 of the Claire Weekes Hope and Help For Your Nerves book. This chapter is entitled "What Is Nervous Breakdown". We discuss what defines anxiety disorders, two types of "breakdowns" and some basic strategies for dealing with the issue. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

In this episode, Holly and I review chapter 2 of Claire Weekes' Hope and Help For Your Nerves. We discuss the fight or flight response, its involuntary nature, and the idea that your panic and anxiety symptoms are normal, natural, not dangerous, and not to be feared. You cannot stop your body from doing what it's designed to do, but that you can change the way you interpret and react to your panic and anxiety symptoms. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Holly and I review chapter 1 of Hope and Help For Your Nerves by Dr Claire Weekes.  This book is what I consider to be the gold standard when it comes to self help for anxiety, panic, agoraphobia and other anxiety disorders.  If you don't have a copy, get one and follow along with us. Its very inexpensive and WELL worth it! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

For many dealing with anxiety and panic issues, exercise can be a real struggle because it may lead to INCREASED anxiety or even full-blown panic. Lets take a look at this problem, what causes it, and why its so worth taking the time to solve. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Depersonalization is one of the most disturbing and hard to grasp anxiety symptoms. If you're dealing with panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder or agoraphobia it really is just another anxiety symptom and we should deal with it like we deal with every other symptom. Let's look at what it is, why it happens, and how to engage in "active nothingness" to deal with it effectively. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

The dissociative states - derealization and depersonalization - are possibly the most common yet misunderstood and under-discussed anxiety symptoms. For many, they’re the most difficult symptoms to fully accept and not fear. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Confidence is essential when overcoming anxiety disorders but false confidence doesn't really help. Learn to walk the walk if you're gonna talk the talk! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Overcoming anxiety disorders often means doing the opposite of what your instincts are telling you to do. This is a challenge, but you can do it if you try. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

The path to overcoming anxiety disorders can be winding and unpredictable. Knowing what to expect and how to judge progress makes the process a bit easier. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

While many dealing with panic and anxiety have had success with exposure therapy, some call it ineffective. Often this is due to simple mistakes and misconceptions. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

For people dealing with panic disorder and agoraphobia, a common complaint is that virtually anything can be a panic trigger. There's a reason for that. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Recovery from anxiety, panic and agoraphobia is an ACTIVE process. Nothing will improve if you just wait passively, so lets go! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Understanding how our anxiety disorders impact our relationships and knowing what steps we can take to address that can help improve our situation. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Facing your fear without fighting or fleeing is a skill that requires practice. Before we get started, we have to get into an objective frame of mind. Learning to assess your physical and mental state objectively - sticking only to the facts without adding judgement, interpretation, inference or prediction - is vital to the success of your recovery efforts. Lets look at what this means. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Your body language is a very strong indicator of how you're reacting to your anxiety symptoms.  Since our goal is to learn to be non-reactive and not fuel the fear cycle, its really helpful to be aware of your body language.  Knowing your rituals and tics and physical habits can help you see how you're adding fuel to the fire.  Once you become aware of your anxiety-related body language, you can start the work of extinguishing all these little things so your brain can learn that they've never been needed to keep you safe. I talk about the use of video as a tool here.  I suggest that everyone video themselves at least a few times during periods of high anxiety and panic, even if nobody ever sees the video but you.  The value as a self-teaching tool is enormous. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Lets make an anxiety, panic and agoraphobia recovery plan. We'll lay out five general strategy points, then we'll put a broad action plan in place. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Panic disorder and panic attacks are related but different. How do panic attacks become panic disorder? Here's a hint: Its more cognitive than physical! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Therapy for anxiety disorders is a not a generic thing. There are different types of therapies and not all are equal when it comes to anxiety disorders. There's a difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist. Understand this before choosing a therapist. There are several common types of therapy. Each is different, and not all are effective therapies for anxiety disorders. Behavioral therapy is shown by a large body of research to be the most effective therapy for anxiety disorders. When looking for a therapist, there are some key things to look for and important questions to ask. Get to know a potential therapist before hiring him or her. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.

Memory has the power to trigger anxiety symptoms and sensations. Understanding this powerful process can go a long way toward helping you make forward progress even when you think you’re going backward.  Lets talk about how to recognize when your memory is triggering anxiety issues and what to do when that happens. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com.   Intro/Ending Music Credit: Title Autumn Day (Kevin MacLeod – incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Overcoming anxiety, panic and agoraphobia starts with the courage to face your fears. In this episode we talk about courage, why its so important, and how you can find it inside you.  You were born with all the courage you need to overcome your anxiety issues.  Lets talk about it! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com. Intro/Ending Music Credit: Title Autumn Day (Kevin MacLeod – incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

Overcoming anxiety, panic and agoraphobia requires the motivation to be active in your recovery. In this episode we’ll look at how the motivation to begin your recovery derives from personal responsibility and accepting that giving in to your fears is really not okay. A bit of a controversial view on things, but worth checking out, so give it a listen. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com. Intro/Ending Music Credit: Title Autumn Day (Kevin MacLeod – incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

In this episode we’ll look at the difference between the physical nature of anxiety and the mental/cognitive nature of anxiety disorders. Understanding this concept and incorporating it into your approach to anxiety is an important step toward improvement. Suggestions are given on how to change your focus and how to start identifying the reactions to anxiety that are the true problem. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook or at bendrakemusic.com. Intro/Ending Music Credit: Title Autumn Day (Kevin MacLeod – incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 

A quick intro to the podcast and what we’re all about.