The 18 Minutes Podcast

Do you check your pulse, blood pressure, O2 levels, and constantly focus on what's happening in your body? I get it. Today I'm talking all about body scanning, and most importantly, how we can let go of the habit.  Body scanning can range from mildly annoying to completely debilitating, and I hope this episode helps you wherever you're at. Enjoy!  Get your FREE Fear to Freedom Guide...

If you have disordered anxiety, panic disorder, agoraphobia, or OCD, this episode is for you! Today we go back to the basics of panic disorder, and I hone in on 4 points that I think are the most important to know (or be reminded) about panic disorder. I'm not a therapist; these are from my own personal experience overcoming the disorder myself. I hope you find it helpful!  Get your FREE Fear...

My friend Austin and I had a great conversation about his experience with mental health. We get into generalized anxiety, PTSD and trauma, acceptance and surrender, and even a crazy ketamine treatment story. If you experience anxiety in any capacity, I think you'll find this episode informative and encouraging. Enjoy!  Get your FREE Fear to Freedom Guide here !   TikTok: @heyamandaklay Instag...

If you've lived with intense anxiety for any period of time, you've asked yourself this question. "Do I have to live with anxiety forever?!" I've asked it myself hundreds, if not thousands of times. Today I'm going to walk you through why I believe you DON'T have to live with anxiety for the rest of your life, and a specific recovery method that's backed by...

Do you feel anxious every time you're in a situation you can't easily get out of? You might have agoraphobia! I suffered with this fear for YEARS, and learned some really effective techniques for overcoming it and getting to live the life I had only ever dreamed of. In today's episode I share my story and the easy-to-follow steps I took to gain back my freedom. Enjoy!  Get your FREE...

Episode #2 with my dad! In episode 42, I sat down with my dad and we had a fun conversation about his recent anxiety wins, and what he did to get there. We also talk about maintaining the progress we've already made, and how to live healthy, full lives during and after recovery. Enjoy!  Get your FREE Fear to Freedom Guide here !   TikTok: @heyamandaklay Instagram: @heyamandaklay YouTube: @hey...

I worked myself into disordered anxiety by avoiding discomfort and the feelings of anxiety at all costs. Real, lasting change started happening for me when I learned how to build up my tolerance for discomfort around anxiousness again. Today's episode is full of practical tips you can use to start building your tolerance for fear, anxiety, and discomfort, and start getting your life back. Enj...

Today we're talking all about high-functioning fear and anxiety. What's behind the choices we're making, and how do we live a more free and open life? Living with high-functioning anxiety can hide some of our motives from even ourselves, and today's episode highlights what that can look like and how to get out of the loop. Enjoy!    Get your FREE Fear to Freedom Guide here !   ...

Today's episode is an overview of my experience with health anxiety. I went from being agoraphobic and stuck in my house to traveling the world, and you can do it, too! I'll talk about what my experience with severe health anxiety was like, and the specific steps I took to make my way out of it. Enjoy!  Get your FREE Fear to Freedom Guide here !   TikTok: @heyamandaklay Instagram: @heyam...

You've heard that exercise is good for stress a hundred times, but did you know that exercise and fear feel almost identical in our bodies?? In this episode I get into how movement is beneficial for anxious people, how I started with the tiniest bits of movement when I could barely leave the house, and how to tell when exercise has tipped from self-care into a safety behavior. Enjoy! SOURCES:...

We've all done it. Waking up anxious at 2am and pulling up ChatGPT to ask it our burning questions. Are we ok? What can we do to calm down? How do we keep this from happening again?  Today I'm talking about my own AI use and what I learned from it. I cover the limitations and risks of using chatbots as therapists, and how we can use it thoughtfully to help us grow. Enjoy!  Get your FREE...

If you struggle with the fear of dizziness, this episode is for you! Today I talk about why it's such a common fear among sufferers of disordered anxiety, what the causes are, and what we can do to overcome it. Enjoy!  SOURCES:  https://birchgrovementalhealth.com/would-anxiety-cause-dizziness/ https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/6422-dizziness Get your FREE Fear to Freedom Guide he...

Today's episode is all about my favorite fear trap: avoidance. It feels like coping, but isn't actually helping us the way we think it is. In this episode I walk through six ways avoidance can be keeping you stuck (often without your realizing it). Enjoy!  Get your FREE Fear to Freedom Guide here !   TikTok: @heyamandaklay Instagram: @heyamandaklay YouTube: @heyamandaklay Email: amanda@a...

This week we're flipping the script on fear. Fear is not just the enemy we've been treating it as for years. In this episode of The 18 Minutes podcast I walk through the reframes that helped me come to love this work, including how fear builds your tolerance for discomfort, what it actually takes to move through fear (instead of around it), and how fear shows us what really matters to us...

This episode is the heart of everything I talk about on the show: the path from fear to freedom. I share some of my own story and then walk you through the four shifts that made all the difference for me: learning that we can actually change, that we are more capable than we've been told, what real bravery actually looks like, and how confidence and feeling empowered get built. If you've...

If you're doing the work and feel like your exposure practice isn't paying off, this one's for you! I walk through what I think are some of the most reasons facing your fears might not be moving you forward. Plus a couple of reminders most of us need to hear (recovery is measured by what you're doing with your life, not by how anxious you feel doing it!). Most "stuck"...

Some of the most common "healthy" habits in the wellness and anxiety recovery world (breathing exercises, grounding techniques, meditation) can actually be the thing keeping you stuck. In this episode I walk through five of them, the genuine pros of each one, the trap each one falls into when it turns into a safety behavior, and the simple way to tell whether a habit is helping you or ho...

What's left when the anxiety finally subsides? In this episode I talk about a part of recovery I LOVE: when anxiety has been part of you for years, you get to actually rediscover who you are without it. I share how anxiety became the center of my own identity, why losing it can feel disorienting, and the practical work of reclaiming the person underneath the fear. Plus - a few things I discov...

What do you actually do when anxiety comes back after you thought you'd put it behind you? In this episode I talk about why recovery was never a straight line to zero, and why I measured my own recovery by "widening the gaps" between panic attacks instead. I get into why a single anxious moment usually isn't the "setback" you think it is (and what a real setback actua...

If you love someone with disordered anxiety, your most loving instincts are often what's keeping their disordered anxiety alive. I unpack the research on family accommodation, why reassurance is a long-term harm even when it feels kind in the moment, and the caregiver burden conversation we shy away from. Includes real examples from my own recovery and how my partner showed up alongside me. I...

Has your world been gradually getting smaller? Fewer places you'll go, more cancellations, a mental map of where it feels safe and where it doesn't? You might be dealing with agoraphobia. In this episode I unpack the real definition (it's not "fear of open spaces"), the panic-and-avoidance loop that builds it, a little entry-level neuroscience on what your amygdala and sym...

Overpreparing might be the most socially acceptable safety behavior there is. It doesn't always look like anxiety, it looks like being responsible! In this episode I unpack what overpreparing actually is, why our brains love it so much, and the mental and physical cost we pay for it. Then we talk about how to gradually let go of it without flipping your whole life upside down, and what life l...

You're probably going to have another panic attack. Sorry!! But what if you could prepare for it in a way that actually moves your recovery forward? In this episode, I walk through the mindset shift that changed my own recovery, the neuroscience of why you can't think your way through panic in real time, and a practical toolkit for setting yourself up before the next adrenaline surge hit...

 Ever wake up at 2am in panic mode? This episode is for you! Today I'm talking all about nighttime anxiety. How to recognize it, why it happens, and practical steps to move past it. Thanks for listening!  FREE Recovery Guide: https://the18minutes.com/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the18minutes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the18minutes/ Get your FREE Fear to Freedom Guide here !   Ti...

On this episode of The 18 Minutes I get into the science behind why it feels IMPOSSIBLE to calm down during an episode of intense anxiety or panic, and what we can do about it. Enjoy!  Get your FREE Fear to Freedom Guide here !   TikTok: @heyamandaklay Instagram: @heyamandaklay YouTube: @heyamandaklay Email: amanda@amandaklay.com