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

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 Send in a ques...

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 bes...

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 pat...

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 T...

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 o...

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 reason...

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 es...

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 t...

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://t...

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://th...

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...

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/111My Links:https:/...

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...

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...

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 brai...

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...

(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 tha...

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...

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. D...

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 nailin...

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 co...

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 dr...

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...

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 habi...

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 di...