Disordered: Anxiety Help

Anxiety has a favorite move. It doesn't argue that acceptance and exposure don't work. It just convinces you they don't apply to you specifically. This thought, this sensation, this situation, is the one exception to every rule you already understand. This week we break down what fuels that exception: possibility, intensity, and importance, plus the urgency that makes an unlikely outco...

It's your heart. Or the dizziness. Or the one thought you can't get to leave you alone. If you could just solve that specific thing, you'd finally be okay. This week we push back on that. -- Want to talk about what you're hearing today with Drew, Josh, and others that share your experience? We're hanging out in the Disordered Community Space: https://disordered.fm/community --...

You want to do the acceptance thing. You've read the books, you've listened to the podcasts, you intellectually get it. And then you get triggered, and suddenly the version of you that's anxious, scared, or doubting gets the door slammed in its face. That version of you is broken. That version shouldn't be here. That version needs to go. But that's the version of you that actua...

This week we're talking about attention. Specifically, how where you place your focus directly impacts your anxiety and your recovery. We discuss how an anxiety disorder naturally hijacks your attention, pulling it inward to scan for threats inside your own body and mind. While checking in on how you feel might seem like the safest thing to do, it actually feeds the sensitization process. We l...

Improving vs. Optimizing in Anxiety Recovery In this episode of  Disordered , Drew and Josh tackle a topic suggested by the community: the hidden trap of the "optimization culture" and how it intersects with anxiety and OCD. There is a distinct difference between wanting to improve your health and falling into compulsive, perfectionist territory where every metric must be flawlessly mana...

What do you do when your anxiety finally quietens down for a few days? For many of us, a calm day triggers a completely new set of anxious habits. We treat the absence of panic as a fragile victory, freezing in place so we do not ruin it, or constantly checking around the corner to see if the fear is returning. -- Want to ask questions about this episode? We're hanging out in the Disordered Co...

Can distraction be a compulsion in anxiety recovery? It is a question that comes up constantly in the anxiety community. Many people are told to simply "distract your mind" when they feel anxious, but if you are doing it specifically to escape a feeling, it can quickly turn into a safety behavior or a compulsion. --- Want to talk about this episode with Drew, Josh, and others that are sh...

Asking for help can be difficult, especially when you are struggling with anxiety, panic disorder, OCD, or agoraphobia. In this episode, Drew and Josh break down the nuances of  asking for anxiety help . There is a fine line between asking for genuine support and looking for compulsive reassurance or soothing to make the discomfort disappear. Drew and Josh discuss why so many people feel like a bu...

OCD is a difficult condition to navigate, but it becomes significantly more challenging when obsessions center on taboo topics. Themes involving harm, pedophilia (pOCD), sexual orientation (HOCD), or moral and religious failure often carry a heavy burden of shame. This shame frequently drives people into silence, preventing them from seeking the help they need. --- Want to talk about this episode...

In this episode, Josh and Drew discuss a common hurdle in anxiety recovery: the desire to "win" against your anxiety. For many, especially those with perfectionist tendencies, anxiety is viewed as an adversary that has taken something away. This leads to a constant, habitual checking to see if the anxiety is gone, which inadvertently keeps you stuck in a cycle of monitoring and frustrati...

Let's start with a success story from the UK. While being medically monitored for four hours, our listener realized how much attention she was giving to her physical symptoms. Her story highlights the difference between noticing a sensation and compulsively monitoring it. -- Want to talk about this episode and interact with others that share your experience in a supportive and encouraging envi...

Have you ever felt like a supermarket was a high-stakes obstacle course you just couldn’t wait to escape? In this episode of Disordered, Josh and Drew dive deep into a struggle that almost everyone with an anxiety disorder knows well: anxiety in the supermarket or grocery store. Whether it is the harsh fluorescent lighting, the narrow aisles, or the trapped feeling of standing in a long checkout q...

Want to talk about what you heard here? We're hanging out in the Disordered community space: https://disordered.fm/community --- This episode of Disordered dives into the concept of sneaky compulsions. Many people struggling with anxiety or OCD often find themselves performing behaviors that they do not immediately recognize as compulsions. These can look like productive research, seeking reas...

Want to talk about what you heard today? Check out the Disordered Community space: https://disordered.fm/community ---- In this milestone episode of  Disordered , we discuss the concepts in Josh's upcoming book. The conversation focuses on the gaps in anxiety recovery and the modern hurdles that prevent people from effectively practicing desensitization. They break down how the obsession with...

Want to talk about what you hear on this episode? Join us in the Disordered community space: https://disordered.fm/community --- In this episode, Josh and Drew tackle a common hurdle in anxiety recovery: what happens when an exposure feels like a "failure" or when you choose to "bail." An exposure is the deliberate act of evoking an anxious response. It is a way to rewire the b...

Want to talk about what you're hearing today with Josh, Drew, and others that are sharing your experience? Check out the Disordered Community Space: https://disordered.fm/community --- This episode of Disordered addresses the experience of constant, simmering anxiety that fluctuates in intensity throughout the day without fully disappearing. We refer to this as undulating panic or a loop of pe...

Want to discuss what you hear on this episode with Josh and Drew and others that are sharing your experience? Check out the Disordered Podcast Community Space. https://disordered.fm/communty ---- In this episode of  Disordered , we celebrate the "Global Edition" of  Did It Anyway . We're sharing inspiring stories from our community members around the world who chose to face their fea...

Want to talk about what you're hearing in this episode with Josh and Drew and others that share your experience? https://disordered.fm/community ---- In this episode, Josh and Drew break down the  "Stress Jug" —a metaphor designed to explain why anxiety and panic often seem to appear out of nowhere. The guys discuss how accumulated stress, both positive and negative, can cause your &...

Questions about this episode? Want to interact with Drew, Josh, and other members of the Disordered audience? Check out the Disordered Community Space! ⁠https://disordered.fm/community⁠ ------- This week we're discussing the relationship between anxiety and self-compassion. Self-compassion is often dismissed as a way to avoid difficult tasks or "whine" about struggles, but it is actu...

Questions about this episode? Want to interact with Drew, Josh, and other members of the Disordered audience? Check out the Disordered Community Space! https://disordered.fm/community ------- This episode of Disordered explores the vital role of  attention  in anxiety recovery. Josh and Drew discuss the core skill of moving your attention while feeling high levels of fear. Many people struggling w...

After many months of building and planning, the Disordered Community space is now live. We could not be more pleased about this! Check out the community space here: https://disordered.fm/community Why did we do this? Endless scroll, algorithm-driven, attention focused platforms that only want to monetize your struggle are awful places to support anxious people. A smaller, more focused, intentional...

This episode of  Disordered  examines the fundamental "Golden Rules" of anxiety desensitization. Josh and Drew break down two core principles designed to guide long term desensitization for those struggling with panic disorder, agoraphobia, OCD, and health anxiety. They move away from promising cures or quick fixes, focusing instead on changing the listener's relationship with discom...

In this episode of Disordered, guest co-host Kimberley Quinlan joins Drew to pull back the curtain on one of the most persistent hurdles in anxiety recovery: rumination. Whether you call it overthinking, worry, or mental "problem solving," the process is a universal constant across panic disorder, OCD, health anxiety, depression, and other related issues. We examine why rumination feels...

In this episode, Drew and Josh discuss the world of  anxiety cures  and the "miracle" solutions often marketed to those struggling with panic, OCD, and health anxiety. They share personal stories of the various methods they tried during their own recoveries and explain why many popular trends fail to provide long-term relief. The Magnetism of the Miracle Cure : Why we are drawn to supple...

Have you ever felt anxious about admitting you're doing better? Like saying "I'm okay" out loud might somehow jinx your progress or tempt fate? In this episode, Drew and Josh explore that uncomfortable feeling when someone asks "How are you doing?" and you're caught between wanting to acknowledge improvement and being afraid that talking about it will make everythin...