The Anxious Truth - A Panic, Anxiety, and Mental Health Podcast

Anxiety disorders and OCD are what you get when a perfectly functioning brain applies its usual problem-solving strategies to the wrong problem. Your brain is good at solving things. The trouble is it keeps trying to solve something that isn't actually the problem, and that's what keeps you stuck in the loop: trigger, fix, feel better for a while, repeat. In this episode I want to introduce the concept of strategy mismatch. The things that seem to need fixing in anxiety and OCD (the intrusive...

Anxiety and avoidance go hand in hand, and most people struggling with an anxiety disorder have been told that avoidance makes things worse. But there's a lot of confusion in this community about what avoidance actually means. What are you avoiding? What aren't you avoiding? And why does it feel like letting go of the scary thought is the same as ignoring the problem? In this episode I want to clear that up. The key is understanding the difference between the content of your anxiety and the p...

One of the more common mistakes people make as they progress in anxiety disorder recovery is treating recovery as something separate from the rest of their lives. You do the therapy work in one box, and everything else goes in another. That tends to backfire. In this episode I want to introduce the concept of relapse prevention, and I want to do it in the context of building a daily routine that keeps you connected to the strategies and principles that helped you make progress in the first pl...

Everybody wants to know how to stop obsessing over whatever has them scared right now. In this episode I explain why that's the wrong question, and what to ask instead. In OCD and anxiety disorders, an obsession isn't just a strong thought or a passing worry. It functions like a threat. That's why you can't just decide to turn it off. You can't out argue it, out logic it, or replace it with a happier thought, and I'm guessing you've already tried all three. The real leverage is in the compuls...

In my anxiety recovery journey, there were no game-changing moments. No mic drops, no epiphanies, no single concept or technique that suddenly moved me forward. And when I look at the people I've worked with in my therapy practice and the community I've built around this podcast, that's pretty much how it goes for everyone. You're probably searching for one, though. I get it. Everybody has a right to want to feel better quickly, and the endless scroll is very good at promising you the ONE thi...

In this episode, we are breaking down five core principles of OCD recovery. To help explore this topic, I am joined by Kimberley Quinlan, an anxiety and OCD specialist practicing in Los Angeles and host of the Your Anxiety Toolkit podcast. OCD recovery is often viewed as a rigid list of steps, but it is better understood through specific attributes and ingredients that you can learn to practice and strengthen over time. Here is what you need to know about the core components of OCD recovery: ...

How Does an Anxiety Therapist Talk About Anxiety All Day Without Getting Triggered? People ask me this constantly. I'm a former sufferer of panic disorder, agoraphobia, OCD, and depression — and now I spend my days immersed in all of it. Therapy clients, podcasts, books, social media. Anxiety is basically my entire professional life. So how does a person like me not end up right back where they started? The answer isn't a trick or a technique. It's what recovery actually produces — and once y...

Many people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) struggle to understand how the concept of acceptance applies to their recovery. While it seems straightforward in the context of panic disorder or health anxiety, where sufferers learn to accept temporary physical sensations, applying acceptance to distressing intrusive thoughts and images can feel confusing or even dangerous. In this episode of The Anxious Truth, I'm joined by OCD specialists Joanna Hardis (Cleveland) and Lauren Rosen (Los...

This episode of The Anxious Truth dives into the messy intersection of neuroscience and psychotherapy. I’m joined by Ana Lund, a UK-based psychotherapist specializing in the link between brain science and clinical practice, to discuss how we actually use research to help you recover. -- Want to discuss what you heard today? I'm hanging out on the Disordered Community Space https://disordered.fm/community -- We often hear about "evidence-based practice," but translating a laboratory study into...

If you recognize the sound of a Velcro rip and your heart starts to pound the minute you hear that familiar hum, we need to talk. You likely bought a home blood pressure monitor to feel safer and healthier, but now you might feel like a slave to a rubber tube and a plastic screen. In this episode, we are looking at how a responsible health habit turns into a psychological nightmare in the form of fixation and obsessive fear. We discuss why blood pressure anxiety happens, often in the complete...

Want to talk about what you heard today? Interact with me and others that understand your experience on the Disordered Community app. https://disordered.fm/community ---- In this episode, we tackle a common trap: viewing every uncomfortable emotion through the lens of anxiety recovery. When you spend months practicing desensitization, acceptance, tolerance, and exposure, it is easy to mislabel normal human stress as a setback, a relapse, or a recovery problem. Disordered vs. Non-Disordered An...

Want to talk about what you heard today? I'm hanging out on the Disordered Community space. https://disordered.fm/community ---- Living with an anxiety disorder or OCD often feels less like a medical condition and more like being trapped in a dysfunctional, predatory relationship. In this episode, we explore the metaphor of the "cult leader in your head" to explain why you keep getting tricked by your thoughts—even when you logically know they aren't true. We discuss five specific ways ...

Want to discuss what you heard today with Drew, Josh Fletcher, and others that share your struggle and experience? https://disordered.fm/community ---- Overcoming an anxiety disorder comes with a TON of questions, so let's answer some! Questions Answered in This Episode 03:45 — Why is it so hard to "just let the symptoms be"? I discuss why doing nothing in the face of fear is the biggest hurdle in recovery and why your struggle to do so is completely normal. 08:15 — Can you exercise your...

Want to discuss this episode with me and others that share your experience? https://disordered.fm/community ------- In this episode of The Anxious Truth, we look at why the lessons of floating, mindful acceptance, and exposure can feel out of reach. While the principles of recovery are simple, they are difficult to execute because they are counterintuitive and require facing the things you fear most. Beyond the initial fear, deeper obstacles rooted in background, culture, and personal experie...

Questions about what you've heard today? Want to interact with Drew and other listeners of this podcast? Check out the Disordered Community space. ----- When compulsions are behavioral, like hand washing or door checking, they are easy to identify. But when they are mental in nature, things get much fuzzier. In this episode, I’m joined by OCD specialist Lauren Rosen to take the mystery out of mental compulsions and explain why your "problem-solving" brain is actually keeping you stuck. We bre...

When a blizzard or thunderstorm is in the forecast, do you find your anxiety levels spiking long before the first snowflakes or raindrops fall? You aren’t alone. Many people struggling with anxiety disorders or chronic states of anxiety find themselves extra triggered by significant weather events. In this episode, we’re looking at why anxiety and weather often go hand-in-hand and why it isn't actually the snow or rain that is the problem. We dive into the two underlying processes tha...

When you have an anxiety disorder, it can feel like your list of fears and triggers just keeps getting longer. You might have started being afraid of one or two things, but now it seems like everything sets you off. Driving, being home alone, intrusive thoughts, physical sensations, even opening a new bottle of medication. Despite what it feels like, you're actually only afraid of one thing. All those different triggers lead to the same place, no matter how varied they seem. Whether it's a ...

If you've been searching online for ways to deal with your anxiety, you've probably noticed there's an avalanche of information claiming to be "science-based" or "evidence-based." But here's the problem. That isn't always true. This week I'm joined by Dr. Birthe Macdonald, a research psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist, to talk about why online mental health information is so confusing and full of misinformation. We discuss why things that aren't actually science still look like fact w...

If you're struggling with panic disorder, health anxiety, OCD, GAD, or other anxiety issues you've may have encountered online content that references Stoicism, warrior philosophy, and Marcus Aurelius. The message: master your emotions, be tough, control your fear through discipline and suffering. But that's not what Marcus Aurelius was actually writing about. In this episode, I dig into what Marcus actually wrote in his Meditations—his personal diary that accidentally survived 2,500 years....

Anxious people love coping skills and coping strategies. Everybody loves to cope. But today we're going to talk about how coping can go off the rails and become part of the problem instead of part of the solution. When you're dealing with chronic anxiety or an anxiety disorder, coping strategies can actually backfire. Every time you frantically reach for your grounding techniques or breathing exercises because you desperately need to calm down, you might be reinforcing the belief that your i...

Children with OCD and anxiety disorders have the same diagnoses as adults, but their experience looks and feels different in important ways. In this episode, I sit down with child anxiety and OCD specialist Natasha Daniels to explore those differences and what they reveal about the fundamental nature of these disorders. When you ask a young child why they're doing a ritual, they often can't tell you. They report vague discomfort or say "it just feels weird if I don't." Adult brains, on the o...

Sometimes life throws real challenges at us—loss, relationship changes, health concerns, financial struggles—that naturally trigger anxiety. But when you're dealing with an anxiety disorder, these moments become especially confusing. How do you tell the difference between "normal" anxiety and disordered anxiety? And what do you do when recovery concepts don't seem to apply? In this episode, we explore what happens when bad things really do happen in life and trigger genuine anxiety. We'll ta...

Anxious parenting can feel overwhelming, especially when your own anxiety drives you to do more - more rescuing, more protecting, more intervening. But what if the path to better parenting actually requires learning to do less? In this episode, I'm joined by anxiety/OCD specialist Joanna Hardis to talk about how anxious parenting patterns keep us stuck and what we can really do about them. Joanna just released her new book "Just Do Nothing (For Parents): Parenting Better by Doing Less". Joann...

This week we're doing a special "no frills" edition of The Anxious Truth (just like the old days). I asked my Instagram audience for questions, and I'm here to do my best to answer them. If you're dealing with panic disorder, agoraphobia, OCD, health anxiety, or generalized anxiety disorder, you've probably asked yourself many of these same questions. I cover the most common questions about anxiety symptoms—heart palpitations, dizziness, nausea, breathing difficulties—and explain why tr...

Anxiety that you cannot control, that keeps coming back, that you don't understand and are terrified of, will trick you into believing that something is really wrong. But what if that intense fear you experience—while absolutely real—is based on a prediction your brain is making that isn't actually true? In this episode, I speak with Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett, neuroscientist and author of How Emotions Are Made and 7 1/2 Lessons About The Brain about how anxiety is constructed in the brain. Dr....

If you're struggling with anxiety and searching for ways of calming your feelings, this episode is for you. I break down why the most popular strategies for calming your feelings - like using logic to talk yourself out of anxiety, trying to replace negative emotions with positive ones, attempting to control your body's responses, or avoiding triggers - often backfire when you're dealing with anxiety disorders. Drawing from mindfulness principles and acceptance-based therapy approaches, I expl...

There's whole industry built around helping people feel good about feeling bad, and while validation has its place, this endless cycle of anxiety content might actually be keeping you stuck. In this episode, we explore how consuming validation-focused content can become a form of modern reassurance-seeking that maintains anxiety disorders rather than promoting recovery. We'll discuss the research showing that excessive reassurance-seeking provides immediate relief but leads to increased anxie...

If you're struggling with anxiety disorders and constantly being told you need a positive mindset, stronger beliefs, and better motivation to recover, this episode is for you. I'm breaking down why these three concepts are tragically misunderstood and misapplied in anxiety recovery—and why they might actually be keeping you stuck. What You'll Learn: Why you can't just "decide" to believe in yourself or adopt a positive mindsetThe counterproductive fantasy that words will change how you think ...

Exposure for anxiety is the gold standard treatment for anxiety disorders, but most people get it wrong, especially when trying to use exposure without professional help. In this episode, we're breaking down why so many people struggle with exposure for anxiety and how to avoid the common traps that lead to frustration and giving up. If you've ever tried exposure therapy for panic disorder, agoraphobia, OCD, social anxiety, or health anxiety and felt like it wasn't working, this episode is fo...

For 25 years of my life, I struggled with panic disorder, agoraphobia, OCD, and depression. I was so anxious that I couldn't leave my house or be alone for more than a few minutes at a time. But last week, I finally did something I've wanted to do since I was 9 years old. In this episode, I share a personal story - not as a blueprint for your recovery, but as encouragement that anxiety recovery is possible. When I was in elementary school, a trip to the planetarium showed me what the night sk...

This week on The Anxious Truth, we're talking about what happens when a problem solving mind sees itself as a problem to solve. Your mind is an incredible problem-solving machine - it's what sets humans apart and has helped us thrive for thousands of years. But when that same problem-solving ability turns inward and starts trying to "fix" your own thoughts, emotions, and internal experiences, things can go very wrong very quickly. If you're stuck in cycles of overthinking, constantly trying...

I get asked about medication every single day. Can you get better without it? Is it necessary? What's the best one? Is it cheating to take medication? Today I'm explaining why I don't answer these questions - and why you should be cautious about content creators who do. In this episode, I cover: The three main reasons mental health content creators shouldn't give medication adviceWhy personal beliefs and autonomy matter more than you might thinkThe countless variables that make medication dec...

How do real anxiety therapists apply mindfulness principles when working with real anxiety clients in real therapy sessions? Let's check out part two of my chat with therapists Lauren Rosen and Joanna Hardis. We all make heavy use of the principles of mindfulness in our practices, and in our daily lives. What you'll learn in this episode: Why "being present" isn't about feeling calm or peacefulThe concept of being "aggressively present" when anxiety strikesHow mindfulness is really attention ...

What happens when three anxiety specialists get together to talk practically about how they use mindfulness in anxiety treatment? This week on The Anxious Truth, we find out. I'm joined by Lauren Rosen, who practices in Los Angeles specializing in OCD and anxiety disorders, and Joanna Hardis from Cleveland, also an expert in treating OCD, anxiety, and anxiety disorders. Together, we break down how mindfulness in anxiety treatment actually works in real therapy sessions - not the Instagram ver...

If you've reached the point of declaring "I've tried everything and nothing works for my anxiety," this episode is specifically for you. Many anxiety sufferers fall into this trap and conclude they're uniquely broken or have a special form of anxiety that's resistant to recovery. As both a therapist and someone who personally recovered from panic disorder and agoraphobia, I'll explain why this frustrating experience happens. You'll discover why commonly-tried control and avoidance strategies ...

Do you find yourself running from difficult emotions or trying desperately to control them? Many people with anxiety disorders develop a deep fear of their own emotions, believing they're too intense or unbearable to experience fully. In this episode of The Anxious Truth, Drew is joined by therapist Joanna Hardis to explore the concept of "emotional allowability" – learning to coexist with our emotions rather than fighting against them. They discuss why trying to control emotions is ultimatel...

Navigating driving anxiety with exposure therapy—but not how you might think. In this episode, Drew Linsalata (therapist, author, and former anxiety sufferer) challenges common misconceptions about addressing driving anxiety. Learn why the feeling is the exposure, not the driving itself, and discover how interoceptive and imaginal exposures can help without ever starting your car. Drew explains why pulling over or listening to music isn't avoidance if you're still experienci...

When struggling with chronic anxiety or anxiety disorders, our instinct is often to search for ways to control, manage, or eliminate our symptoms. But what if that approach is actually keeping us stuck? This week we're looking at the fundamental difference between acceptance-based strategies and control/management-based approaches to anxiety recovery. Drawing from both research evidence and real-world experiences of anxiety sufferers, we'll explain why acceptance consistently produces better ...

In this no-frills episode of The Anxious Truth, I'm tackling common questions about anxiety sent in by you, the listeners. No fancy production today - just real talk about real anxiety concerns. We're diving into: 00:00 - Introduction 00:58 - Emetophobia (fear of vomiting) - what it is and how it's typically addressed 06:12 - Nocturnal panic attacks - why they're jarring and how to handle them 11:24 - Is focusing on breathing a distraction or helpful technique? 1...

This week we're looking at why the anxious fear that bothers you most is NOT special - and why that's actually good news for your recovery. After receiving countless messages asking me to address specific fears (passing out, heart attacks, going insane), I've noticed a pattern: everyone thinks their particular anxiety is unique, more dangerous, or requires special treatment. Here's the reality: while your fear feels incredibly real and disturbing, all anxiety disorders follow similar patterns...

When anxiety hits, how do you know what to do? This week on The Anxious Truth we're exploring how your personal values can guide your choices in anxious moments. Tune in to learn practical ways to identify and connect with your values. This can inform more productive responses when anxiety gets triggered. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/311 Send in a question or comment via text. Support The Anxious Truth: If you find the podcast helpful and want to support my...

How to Accept Anxiety: Opening Up to New Options In this episode, we explore the second component of the ACT Triflex framework for anxiety acceptance: opening up to new possibilities. Learn why considering options when triggered—even without knowing what to do next—is a crucial step in recovery. Key Points: Understanding the ACT Triflex framework for anxiety acceptanceWhy mindfulness is essential for breaking automatic responsesHow psychological flexibility develops through small moments of ...

HOW DO I ACCEPT ANXIETY?!?!?!?! Let's start a three-part series on accepting anxiety using the ACT Tri-flex framework. As both a therapist and former anxiety sufferer, I'm going to break down the crucial first practical step of getting present and what it really means in a practical way. KEY POINTS: Why there are no "steps" to accepting anxietyThe difference between "doing mode" and "being mode"What mindfulness actually means in anxiety recoveryHow to develop nonjudgmental awarenessWhy autom...

In this episode of The Anxious Truth, we tackle a question that comes up constantly in anxiety recovery: Should you take time off from work or school because of anxiety? We explore why this seemingly simple question has a complex answer, and why what feels intuitively right might not always serve your recovery. Key Topics Covered: Why the urge to take time off is completely normalThe paradox of anxiety recoveryUnderstanding avoidance vs. strategic restHow to make decisions that serve your rec...

Are you tired of trying countless techniques to "rewire" your anxious brain, only to find yourself still stuck in the same patterns? In this eye-opening episode, we're diving deep into the science of neuroplasticity and anxiety recovery to reveal why popular brain rewiring methods might actually be reinforcing your anxiety. You'll learn why your brain doesn't have a delete button (and why that's actually good news), what real recovery looks like, and how to build new neural pathways that give...

Want to know more about Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and how it might be applied in your situation? Join us this week for insights from the world-renowned therapist Dr. Debbie Joffe-Ellis as she guides us through the origins, core concepts, and application of REBT. Discover how this pioneering cognitive behavioral approach can help you reshape your perceptions and beliefs, offering a path to recovery from anxiety disorders like panic disorder, agoraphobia, OCD, and generaliz...

Unlock the secret to mastering your mental well-being by embracing the art of doing nothing. Join us as we explore this transformative concept with the insightful Joanna Hardis, an OCD and anxiety specialist from Cleveland. We delve into concepts rooted in Taoism and Buddhism that challenge the relentless drive for constant activity in Western cultures. Learn how surrendering to anxiety and panic attacks, without the urge to fix or solve, can lead to a more harmonious relationship with ...

Why is learning to trust your body again so difficult in the face of chronic or disordered anxiety? What if chronic anxiety could make you feel as disconnected from your body as a chronic illness might? Discover the surprising parallels between the two as we unravel the complex relationship anxiety sufferers have with their physical selves. This week on The Anxious Truth we're talking about how anxious people learn to fear their bodies, and lose trust in their bodies. This can have a ...

Resisting the reality of anxiety - the fact that it does exist in your life even when you are trying really hard to escape it or make it stop - means clinging to "feel good" expectations that are rarely met. This mismatch between expectations, demands, and reality can make overcoming chronic or disordered anxiety even harder than it already is. Let's take a look at how expectations and demands can get in the way of learning valuable acceptance and capability lessons that form the core of anx...

Journaling can be a useful tool in anxiety recovery, but how do you ensure it works for you and not against you? This episode challenges traditional journaling methods, especially when grappling with chronic or disordered anxiety, by offering a fresh perspective on how to modify these practices to align with your recovery goals. Beware of falling into the trap of rumination and learn how to use journaling as a constructive tool that supports your healing journey. The discussion centers on fo...

Can you transform your relationship with anxiety by letting go and dropping your resistance? Well, the most effective acceptance-based treatments for chronic and disordered anxiety are based on this exact principle. The concepts are simple and the theory is sound, yet most anxious people struggle with fully letting to and engaging in mindful acceptance of anxiety, fear, panic, uncertainty, and other difficult internal experiences. Of course they struggle! Choosing to fully allow the...

Can skipping a daily calming ritual or delaying bedtime slightly really aid in anxiety recovery? Discover how these seemingly insignificant acts can accumulate into substantial progress on your journey to overcoming anxiety. This week on The Anxious Truth, we’re breaking down the concept of micro exposures—those small, yet powerful steps designed to help you face and manage your anxiety. By starting with these tiny, manageable experiments, you'll gradually learn to experience anxiety without ...

Are you struggling to identify whether your behaviors are forms of avoidance in your anxiety recovery journey? This episode of The Anxious Truth addresses the often murky and uncertain nature of avoidance habits, emphasizing that nobody navigates these waters flawlessly. We'll share insights on how distinguishing between necessary avoidance for safety and avoidance driven by anxiety can help you better understand your reactions and improve your recovery process. This episode looks at key avo...

Is it possible to conquer an anxiety disorder without doing exposure? Well ... there are plenty of non-exposure concepts and techniques that can really help. No doubt about that. But in the end, thinking and feeling is rarely if ever all we need to change beliefs in a way that really makes a difference. Behavior and experience are almost always a part of this puzzle in some way, which means that like it or not, there's gonna be some exposure involved in recovery in some way. Let's lo...

The Internet is packed with anxiety and mental health advice, but not all of it is useful or helpful. Some of it can be harmful. This week I'm joined by Emma McAdam, the therapist behind the Therapy in a Nutshell YouTube channel, to dissect the often misleading and sometimes dangerous information circulating online about conditions like anxiety, depression, ADHD, and bipolar disorder. Emma shares her professional expertise as a practicing therapist, helping us distinguish between cred...

Healing from chronic or disordered anxiety. How do we do it? Do we do it at all? This week on The Anxious Truth we’re talking about healing from anxiety because this is a topic so many people want to hear more about! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/296 If you are going to scroll through any of mental health social media today, you WILL see content that includes the word “heal”. Is that bad? Well, not necessarily. I’m not h...

What if you could transform your relationship with anxiety simply by changing your approach? This week on the Anxious Truth, we tackle the misunderstood phrase "sitting with anxiety" and reveal how it doesn't mean you have to be physically still. We'll break down the true essence of this concept, emphasizing the importance of allowing yourself to experience anxiety without trying to escape or fix it. Whether you're at work, running errands, or simply relaxing, the key is to let anxiety be pre...

HELP! My panic attacks come totally out of the blue! I don't know how to handle that! For an anxious person struggling with the process of anxiety disorder recovery, it can sometimes seem like panic attacks strike completely randomly and "out of the blue", where no clear source of anxiety can be identified as triggering the attack. This can be frustrating, especially if you've been working overtime to manage your anxiety and prevent panic from happening. But there is no such thing as ...

Thinking and feeling are important to humans. Thinking and feeling about thinking and feeling is important to anxious humans! In the world of recovery from disordered or chronic anxiety, what we thinking and feeling about thinking and feeling - our metacognitive beliefs - play an important role in the process but are often overlooked. This week on The Anxious Truth I'm pretty exhausted so we're going to take a look at that to highlight some important recovery lessons. Why is being so ...

You’re in the middle of a huge wave of intense anxiety and fear, or maybe you’re experiencing a full blown panic attack. Someone with all the best intentions and trying to be helpful instructs you to identify five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. This is the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise. If you’ve followed along with me for any length of time you know that I don’t speak too kindly about groun...

Among people that struggle with chronic or disordered forms of anxiety, there are a wide range of individual primary fears or concerns. When you ask a large enough number of our friends what they are afraid of, you’re going to get a pretty wide range of answers primarily because everyone experiences fear, worry, concern, and anxiety in a slightly different way. But hidden within this apparently wide range of specific and individual fears are some common thread and themes. This week on...

People struggling with chronic or disordered states of anxiety often find themselves in a situation where they are hyper aware and therefore overwhelmed by sensory input. Non-anxious humans are so oblivious to what we sense that we sometimes pay to have people tell us to notice what our eyes, ears, noses, and skin are sending and perceiving. But for anxious people dealing with chronic or disordered forms of anxiety, this is not a problem at all. We have the opposite issue. We are const...

Sometimes the toughest opponent we have in anxiety recovery is the belief we can't outrun. This episode challenges you to question the certainties that have defined your battle with anxiety. Is the intensity of our emotions a reliable compass? Is our self-knowledge as accurate as we believe? We'll explore the potential for a fleeting moment of power even amidst the storm of fear, and how reassessing our core beliefs can unlock new possibilities. The thought that what was once unthinkable can ...

DO I HAVE TO STOP BEING AFRAID TO TRULY ACCEPT ANXIETY (AND TO GET BETTER)? Good question. But this is a backwards interpretation of acceptance so let’s clarify. Acceptance is not finding a way to turn off your fearAcceptance is not figuring out some method for hating your anxiety lessAcceptance is not about creating a new state of being or feeling from an emotional or mental standpointAcceptance is an ACTION, not a feeling. Acceptance is a precursor to less fear, acceptance is not th...

Anxiety Triggers: When The List Is Growing Many members of our community will find that over time their list of anxiety triggers or panic attack triggers is growing. More and more things become triggers, which starts to get frustrating and disheartening. Let's talk about why that happens, and what it means in the recovery process. Important Timestamps: 02:17 - Everything becomes an anxiety trigger when you're in an anxious state 08:08 - If you feel like everything is a possible anxiet...

Let's do an old fashioned anxiety questions and answers session, shall we? Today we're answering questions from our friends on Facebook. 02:24 How do I face a scary exposure?05:58 Is it normal to still have symptoms or scary thoughts in recovery?08:48 What do I do when I'm not anxious and have no symptoms or thoughts to deal with?10:40 Which comes first, scary sensations or scary thoughts?12:37 How can I be sure if it's just anxiety or my intuition?15:01 The selfish nature of anxiety ...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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 c...

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...

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 experie...

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...

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 anxi...

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 h...

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 ...

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" livestrea...

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 m...

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 TH...

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 somethin...

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 ...

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-judg...

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 h...

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 o...

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 prin...

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&...

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'...

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 s...

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...

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 sec...

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 t...

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...

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: ⁠h...

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 ...

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 "s...

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 quic...

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 ...

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 ...