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

Full show notes for this episode can be found at https://theanxioustruth.com/97 Being in an abusive or controlling relationship is difficult for anyone.  Struggling with an anxiety disorder complicates things, making the situation even more difficult to handle. Statistics show that 1 in 3 women, and 1 in 4 men, will be involved in an abusive relationship at one point in their lives. This is a prob...

For full show notes on this episode, visit https://theanxioustruth.com/96 Perfectionism.  It's a label I hear frequently self-applied by many going through the process of recovering from an anxiety disorder.  Labeling oneself as a perfectionist results in challenges that make recovery more difficult than it has to be. Today I was able to spend time with Dr. Tara Sanderson, a licensed doctoral...

For full show notes on this episode, visit https://theanxioustruth.com/95 Just six months ago, Martine was experimenting with medication, housebound most of the time, and considering hospitalization to deal with her anxiety problem.  Today she is working, participating with her family, living a normal life, and looking forward to what comes next. Today Martine took some time to chat with me about...

For the full show notes on this episode including a link to the diaphragmatic breathing video I mentioned: https://theanxioustruth.com/93 For many people, feeling dizzy or unsteady is one of the most enduring and difficult to deal with anxiety symptoms.  If you are There are two main steps in dealing with dizziness and unsteadiness: 1. Change the way you think about and talk about this sensation. ...

Monophobia - the fear of being alone - is a common component of the panic, anxiety and agoraphobia complex.  When left unchecked, panic disorder leads to agoraphobia.  When this happens, monophobia often develops at the same time.   If your coping mechanisms rely heavily on a "safe" person, or safe people, then you are more likely to develop monophobia.  Monophobics expend a great deal o...

Worry and worrying are problems that many people struggle with along road to recovering from an anxiety disorder.  I'm asked to cover this topic again and again.  So ... a few words about worry and worrying. Full notes for this episode can be found at https://theanxioustruth.com/91 Worry is simply thinking.  Thinking by itself has absolutely no impact on the real world.  Worry, therefore is n...

One of the common worries while recovering from an anxiety disorder is the fear that it might "come back" after recovery.  This is something I hear from many many people.  It's also pretty common in the community surrounding the podcast to see people arrive that have been through these issues before. They thought had it all solved, but find themselves back in the grips of panic, anx...

"What if I forget how to breathe?" "What if I just stop breathing?" "I can't get enough air in my lungs." "I can't take a deep breath." Breath and breathing focused anxiety is quite common among people that suffer from anxiety disorders like panic disorder and agoraphobia.  In this episode I discuss the two most common forms of this anxiety. For fu...

My friend Joyce joined me to talk about her slide into severe panic disorder and agoraphobia, which was followed by an aggressive recovery and rebuilding of her life.  Listen to Joyce describe her journey from being frozen in fear on her sofa to being back at work and feeling limitless.  Of particular note is the way Joyce used anger and frustration to fuel her recovery efforts. For many, this can...

Holly and I discuss chapter 9 of Claire Weekes' "Hope And Help For Your Nerves". This chapter discusses the nature of recovery and the road to being yourself again. Some of the highlights: Your symptoms will not immediately go away, and may even worsen during recovery. You cannot simply decide to not be afraid. You must LEARN to not be afraid. We discuss the use of medication in con...

When confronted with uncomfortable and scary feelings of anxiety, panic or emotions based on past trauma, the immediate response is to "talk yourself down".  Trying convince yourself that you are OK using words, phrases and thoughts often does not work.  When this happens, you are at a fork in the road.  You can enlist the aid of your support system to argue with your anxiety or trauma f...

If you are a regular listener of the podcast, odds are that you've had anxiety, worry and fear focused on your heart at least once or twice.  This is quite common.  Heart-centered anxiety generally involves being afraid of a rapid, strong, or irregular (flutters/palpitations) heartbeat.  This is either due to an underlying fear that something is wrong with your heart or will go wrong, or due...

Today I chatted with Christa Holmans about some of the overlapping issues found in both anxiety disorders and autism and other neurodivesity conditions such as ADHD.  Christa had so much excellent insight on how autism influences how one may deal with anxiety issues!  I really enjoyed this discussion and I hope you will too! My Links (Website, podcast, social media, etc.) --------------------- htt...

Today I was fortunate to spend about 30 minutes with Dr. Martin Seif, a psychologist and author specializing in anxiety disorders.  Dr. Seif and I talked about intrusive, obsessive and unwanted thoughts.  What are they?  How do they become so troublesome?  How should we approach this problem?  For the full notes on this episode and all links, go to https://theanxioustruth.com/83 Find all my links...

Reading, listening to podcasts, watching videos, and otherwise educating yourself about your anxiety disorder is a good idea ...until its becomes a safety and avoidance behavior  Ultimately, overcoming an anxiety disorder only happens by DOING, not by reading.  So after you've read the book for the fifth time, or you've read 10 anxiety books and want to read an 11th, you must realize tha...

How my friend Raven went from homebound agoraphobic, crippled with panic and intrusive thoughts and fears, to living her life, not being afraid of anxiety, and making plans for her future.  If there was every an uplifting story from a lovely human being, it would be this one.   If you think you can't, here's 30 minutes that will show you that you CAN! Thank you Raven, for taking the time...

One of the most common issues that seems to pop up for people doing the work to overcome an anxiety disorder is emotions and how to deal with them while in the recovery.  What do I do when I feel sad, or angry, or generally upset? Is that wrong?  Is this a setback in my recovery?  Its it OK to cry or otherwise express my emotions when they come up?  My friend Joe Ryan and I talk about how its perf...

Recorded from YouTube Live August 19, 2019  What do you do when you “fail” at an exposure, or when you have a particularly difficult anxiety day and wind up escaping back to your “safe zone”? I can tell you what you should NOT do. You should NOT just sit home and recount the story of how horrible it was and how you failed and how upset you are. That is sending the wrong story and signals to you br...

Today I'm joined by my friend Holly to talk about common misconceptions and mistakes surrounding exposure.  Many people are unaware of the true nature of exposure and how it actually works as part of the anxiety recovery process.  Lets clear up a few things. My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission....

You've been doing the work.  You've been working the process.  You're facing your fears and learning not to be afraid of how you feel. You're no longer crippled by panic, fear and anxiety. One day you find that that familiar fear and anxiety is missing.  Is this what it feels like to feel OK?  What am I supposed to do with this?  Where's the anxiety? Should I be happy now?...

Often, issues of self-esteem, confidence and competence can get in the way when recovering from anxiety and panic issues.  If you've ever been made to feel like you're not good enough, not capable, or not competent, my old friend Joe Ryan shares how he has dealt with this on his own journey.  Thanks to Joe for spending more time with us today! My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links I...

Its possible to work through anxiety, panic, trauma and pain without having it ruin every day.  Today I'm joined by my old friend Joe Ryan.  Joe has spent years working this process and offers some great insight on how to deal with anxiety, panic and even past trauma without being crushed by every memory, thought or sensation.  Thanks to Joe for spending time with us today! My Links https://t...

Q&A from my Facebook group including questions about dizziness, driving, doctor visits, airports, neck spasms, anticipatory anxiety and exposure mechanics. Thanks to Jay, Connie, Charli, Julie, Clay and Marie-Anne for calling in!  My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake Collective.  Used with permission.  Find Ben Drake on Facebook...

Anticipatory anxiety isn't a special or different kind of anxiety. It's not a mysterious external force over which you have no control. Let's define it, break it down, and look at ways of moving through anticipatory anxiety so you can get to the work that really needs to be done.  My Links https://theanxioustruth.com/links Intro/Outro Music:  "Afterglow" by The Ben Drake C...

Today I had a chat with Kimberley Quinlan (LMFT) about OCD, obsessive/intrusive thoughts, and how to deal with them effectively. Lots of good information and resources in this one, along with a bunch of concepts you'll find very familiar if you've been following me for any length of time. Thanks to Kim for sharing her time with us! Find Kim on Instagram: @kimberleyquinlan or on her websi...