A Healthy Push

You might be wondering... Are coping skills 'okay' to use when you're working to recover from anxiety, panic disorder, and agoraphobia? Better yet, are they actually helpful? Josh and I have both struggled with panic and agoraphobia and we have similar views on coping skills. So I sat down with Josh, former sufferer and therapist, to discuss coping skills and whether or not they're actually helpfu...

One of the things I hear most often from women is… My anxiety is so much worse around the time of my period! And trust me, I get it! And although it's common, it isn't something that you should just live with. So today’s episode is all about me sharing 5 of the most impactful changes that I’ve made throughout the years that have helped to relieve the symptoms and anxiety around my period. And I pr...

Religious trauma is tricky because it often occurs in subtle ways, but it has really damaging effects. And it's also really tricky because it happens in the very communities that people are meant to be the safest in. And cue Dr. Quincee Gideon! Quincee is a clinical psychologist who practices in Los Angeles and specializes in religious trauma and cult recovery. And she knows her stuff! Through her...

I'm not gonna lie, you may feel a little called out in this episode! Throughout my journey, I often needed a kick in the butt to keep going and to stop making the journey harder than it needed to be. And that's just it, oftentimes we make the recovery journey harder than it needs to be, either knowingly or unknowingly. So I wanted to created this episode for you because I want to help you uncover...

Grab a big ole' box of tissues - it's one heck of an emotional episode with my mom! My mom has always been my biggest supporter, and while I was struggling with anxiety, panic disorder, and agoraphobia, she was also my safe person. I leaned on her so much, and thankfully she was always right there, guiding me and also giving me the kick in the butt that I often needed to heal and overcome. In this...

In this week's part 2 episode, I'm answering more of your questions! And when I was going through your questions, I noticed some big themes. Things like a lack of self-confidence, and fearing fear, and feeling overwhelmed, and self-doubt, and a lack of trust in yourself and your capabilities. And these are big areas where lots of people struggle in the recovery journey, so these are all things tha...

A few weeks back, I sent out a survey to everyone on my email list and I asked you what questions you had for me relating to your recovery, and I got so many good questions! So in this episode, I’m going to answer 10 of your questions, and then I’ll do a part 2 episode next week so that I can answer some more. And I got hundreds of questions, so if you don’t hear your question answered here, I may...

Just a couple of weeks back, I took my own advice and I gave myself a (BIG, but) healthy push! Not feeling ready, not feeling super confident, and feeling scared as heck... I quit my job in healthcare after working in the field for 17 years! And yeah, I still kind of can’t believe that I actually did it. I want to share this journey with you because it's been a really hard one, one that's been ful...

Ahh, I can’t stop ruminating (worrying)! The thoughts just keep coming no matter what I do! Ever find yourself here? Yeah, you’re not alone! I used to ruminate every day, and oftentimes I didn’t even realize that I was doing it until I was in full blown panic mode. But with lots of practice, I stopped going down the rabbit hole of worries and what-ifs. And even though you might not believe it righ...

I became a mom nearly 2 years into my recovery from anxiety, panic disorder, and agoraphobia, after struggling for 15 years. And if you would have told me years ago that I would be talking to you about how becoming a mom has positively impacted my relationship with anxiety in so many ways, I would have laughed out loud. And quite honestly, all of this is so crazy because a big part of me was convi...

Jamie McCoy is a licensed psychotherapist and a trauma recovery coach. And a big reason why Jamie does the work that she does today as a coach, is because she personally experienced a lot of health challenges and found that many traditional therapies just weren’t helpful. She felt that many therapists didn’t understand the challenges that she faced, how the challenges affected her mental health, a...

Driving anxiety is something that I struggled with for YEARS! Whether it was being the driver or riding as a passenger! And it wasn't just cars... It was trains, buses, planes, boats, and really anything that I couldn't easily get out or off of. And honestly, I used to be convinced that it was something that I'd never overcome. Spoiler alert... I overcame it and I've been driving with lots of peac...

Many women struggle with postpartum anxiety. According to an article published by Harvard Medical School , it’s estimated that at least one in five women has postpartum anxiety. It’s so important to understand postpartum anxiety, and to be aware of what it can look like, so that women can get the treatment they need if they find themselves struggling with postpartum anxiety. In this episode, my fo...

So much of what’s shared about anxiety recovery is about what you CAN or SHOULD do, and what tips and tools you can use that will be helpful, but there’s not much about the flipside, right? Meaning all the things you maybe don’t have to do (or even should do) in order to recover. Because the reality is that you can’t and you don’t have to do it all in order to recover, and the recovery journey is...

Have you ever tried to meditate and felt like you sucked at it or felt like it wasn’t helpful? Yeah, you’re not alone! Meditation is often a big recommendation when it comes to finding some relief from anxious thoughts, feelings, and stress, but how do you do it? And how do you do it and enjoy it? How do you do it and actually experience the benefits of practicing it? How do you become good at it?...

The reality is that the recovery journey IS hard, and I’m proud of you for continuing to do the work despite how hard it is. But your journey doesn't have to continue to be so hard. The 8 tips that I share in this episode are game changing! They are things that I wish I had known back when I was struggling because they would have made my journey a lot less hard (and long)! OVERCOMING THE SYMPTOMS...

Relationships aren’t always easy, right? Never mind when you add anxiety into the mix! Relationship anxiety can look like constantly worrying about your relationship, having the same arguments over and over again, trying to explain how you’re feeling and being met with defensiveness and shutdown, or a whole lot of wondering if this is really the right relationship for you. Does any of this sound f...

Welcome to the very first Q&A episode of the A Healthy Push podcast! I haven’t done one of these yet, and I’m so excited to dive into your questions here so that I can answer them in a bit more detail than I can on other platforms. Here are some of the questions that I cover in this episode: How long did your recovery take when you were actively working on it? At what point did you consider yo...

High functioning anxiety and perfectionism can often look like… Being well put together, being high achieving, being reliable, helpful, successful, organized, and the list goes on! But what’s actually going on on the inside can look much more like… Lots of overthinking, feeling anxious, needing to feel in control, having an immense fear of failure, not being able to say no, and not being able to r...

Let’s be real, we’d all like to experience a little more peace in our lives, right? Especially since the world has felt and has been so chaotic and overwhelming for some time now. Well, when I find myself craving more peace, I know that it’s incredibly important for me to slow down and take some time to reflect and evaluate things. I want to walk you through what this process looks like for me, as...

Exposure Response Prevention (ERP) Therapy is the most effective treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and it can also be an incredibly effective treatment for anxiety disorders. ERP is a behavioral intervention, and it's something that Jenna Overbaugh is hugely passionate about. I came across Jenna’s Instagram a while back and I was blown away by the insight and knowledge that she sh...

Are you currently a consumer of caffeine and have an inkling that it may be causing some of your issues with anxiety? Or, maybe you know that it is causing some of your issues and you’re still consuming it anyway. (Trust me, no judgment here! I used to drink multiple cups of black coffee a day, simply because I liked the taste. And yes, I used to drink coffee every day while struggling with panic...

Trauma can feel like having frequent obsessive thoughts about the traumatic events, having dreams, nightmares, or flashbacks about the traumatic event, experiencing a sudden shift in your world view, believing that most things are bad and most people have bad intentions, avoiding all reminders of your trauma, including people, places, smells, and similar circumstances, shutting down when things fe...

When you’re struggling with the same things day in and day out, it can be incredibly hard to find the motivation to continue to choose to put in the work and heal. I know, because there were so many days when I felt like no matter what I did, I continued to face the anxious thoughts, the symptoms, panic, and fears. And some days, it honestly made me want to just call it quits. And when I’d have go...

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a diagnosis that is often incredibly misunderstood. And a big part of that is due to how OCD is spoken about. It’s a term that is often thrown around in relation to talking about cleanliness or tidiness, but OCD is a disorder that causes significant distress or impairment in the life of someone who is struggling with it. I sat down with Lauren Rosen, a licens...